Loading...No, today is not about Puxatawney Phil. Despite legend and lore, a groundhog can’t really tell us about the weather. Besides, his “prediction” is only really good for Pennsylvania.
For us in the church, February 2nd is another example of us being counter-cultural.
Rather than go agog about a medium sized rodent,
we celebrate the light of the world —
Jesus, who was taken to the Temple for blessing.
We also note the purification of mother Mary,
a ritual to bring a new mother back into community following a birth.
February 2nd is always Candlemas/Presentation of our Lord/Purification of Mary, but it’s usually on a weekday.
This year, as it’s on Sunday,
it supercedes Epiphany 5 and we get to celebrate the day.
Also, my dear friends,
it supercedes the quintessential American holiday of Super Bowl!
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What’s going on?
We began with the blessing of candles.
Usually the prayer is for blessing all the candles
that will be used in the coming year.
So, we blessed the votive candles used in the back for prayers,
and the sanctuary light — or eternal light — which is always afire
representing the presence of God with us.
You may or may not realize this, but the candles on the Table, on the reredos, and in the acolytes' torches are actually filled with paraffin oil. It’s a little odd to bless bottles of paraffin oil, so we don’t do that.
But, those handheld “vigil” candles which you were holding at the beginning of service are also blessed for the year.
The Gospel story,
one the comes immediately upon the heels of
the beautiful and well-known Christmas story,
describes the faithful Joseph and Mary
bringing their eight day old baby to the Temple to present him to God.
This practice of bringing the first-born son to the Temple to offer him to God to be used by God is an old tradition. You may remember the story of a young boy named Samuel who is the first and only child of Hannah. He is a boy much wanted, longed for, and prayed for. Hannah prays fervently for this child and promises to dedicate and give her child to God. She fulfills that promise and Samuel is raised in the Temple as a helper around the grounds.
That is, until the night when God calls Samuel to a special task: to be the bearer of a message. Samuel becomes one of the great prophets of Israel.
So, in the same acts of faithfulness,
Mary and Joseph bring their child for dedication and blessing.
Simeon is a prophet in the Temple.
He is an old man and has seen many things.
He has endured the oppression and cruelty of the Roman government and military which has brutalized so many of the Jewish people with physical violence and onerous taxation.
He has seen beautiful religious acts of worship and piety be distorted by puppet kings and those who are clawing for any modicum of power in the midst of a corrupt system.
He knows the words of God from of old — the stories, the promises, the hopes, the admonitions. He knows the prophets, the histories, the statues, the Law.
And he waits. He waits for the promise of God — a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
One beautiful day, when surely Simeon must have felt the strength ebbing from him, yet trust in the words of the Spirit that this light is coming soon, a family comes to the Temple. They bring the simplest of offerings — indicating their faithfulness in the midst of poverty —- and their son for dedication. As Simeon holds the child, he knows that this is the promised one.
This child is the one.
This is the hope for all of humanity.
The song he sings is a song of hope and of release.
It is often sung at funerals, as one who has lived a life of faithfulness has died—as the Master is dismissing the faithful one in peace.
But, the wonder and amazement of the day is not over.
Anna, the prophet, who comes from a lineage of prophets,
and who is, herself, quite old (especially for that day and age),
also blesses the baby.
We do not have her words recorded, but this faithful one of God
also recognizes the faithfulness of God to send hope for all the people
and to come to be with the people as one who keeps promises.
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Remarkable parts:
•in midst of huge change and many questions, Mary & Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple for dedication and blessing — they practice their faith in action
•the elders and women are recognized and respected
•even in the midst of a horrible and chaotic time, when even institutions were corrupt, every day people showed up in faith and with hope
•God is present and remembers promise; there is always light, even if it may seem dim.
As people of God,
we show up in faith
most of the time confident in the faithfulness of God
(and some of the time, praying for the faithfulness of God).
We show up for worship
We show up in daily life
We show up for our community
We show up for the people we love and for those whom we don’t know.
And in all of that “showing up”,
we proclaim in words and actions
the goodness of God,
the love of God,
the gift of the Spirit who shares joy and courage.
In the dark days of despair or loss or grief,
light your candle
to remember the light of the world — fragile, yet strong —
who comes with hope and life for the world.
Amen
