Lord Jesus, enlighten us with your light, and open our lives to your glory….
It is just another day in the Temple in Jerusalem….
Busy with the usual hustle and bustle, people coming and going, snatched conversations, fervent prayers, the chink of coins from the offerings, the smell of incense and candles, oil lamps and rushes, the swish of robes as the priests sweep by; there are people everywhere, animals too.
So why would anyone stop to notice one young couple in particular?
We know they are Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus – but to those there that day, they looked like just another family bringing a child to be presented according to the tradition, nothing out of the ordinary.
In fact, nothing but ordinary – see, they have brought a pair of pigeons for the offering, not the more costly white doves –
so, a poor couple then, a poor, ordinary couple, nothing remarkable about them or their child at all.
But someone there sees differently:
Simeon, a faithful man of God, an old man, a prophet, who has spent a lifetime listening to God and so heard the voice of the Holy Spirit prompting him, comes to the Temple to see everything that he has been waiting for…
‘A light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of my people Israel.’
The long-promised, yearningly-awaited, hoped-for Messiah – the Christ – now here in this baby – this infant, six weeks old in his mother’s arms.
Most people there that day just went on with their ordinary lives, while the extra-ordinary passed them by…
But Simeon greeted Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus. Simeon took up the child in his arms, wondering at him, marvelling that the promise has come true – he has seen the Messiah with his own eyes, just as God promised.
And someone else there that day, saw and knew who this baby was – Anna – another faithful prophet, a woman in her 80’s, a widow, who was always in the Temple, who knew and trusted God. Anna saw and recognised and spoke of all she knew to any who would listen….
You’d imagine, wouldn’t you, that when these two venerable people, Simeon and Anna, spoke out and praised God, right there in the middle of the Temple, that people would stop and listen, that everyone would have seen that here was the Messiah?
But who would have thought that this is how the Messiah would come? As a baby? Born in a manger to a poor couple of no importance, unwanted refugees?
But Simeon sees, and Anna sees – two old people who have lived by the light of faith even when the light of hope may have wavered.
And their faithful waiting and expectancy has kept their souls alert – so that when he comes, surely in the last possible form they would have been looking for – they see and they know.
Why couldn’t everyone see what they saw?
Well, we still live in a world that finds it hard to see and believe. We yearn to hear good news and to be able to believe it, but in the midst of so many troubles, so much suffering, so much division and violence, the questions pile up:
Why is there so much violence and cruelty, and still, despite the lessons of the past, unnecessary war and oppression?
Why do we still see difference as a threat? Why can’t we recognise the fullness of God and faithful love in all people regardless of their race, gender or sexuality?
In the midst of all this darkness we long to see light.
Let’s bring the light of God’s love right into our midst now, just like it was in the midst of the Temple that day.
Candlemas is a feast of light – it’s the final feast of Christmas and a moment of transition as we move from Christmas towards Lent.
The radiance of God is seen in the Temple – the tiny young child whose life is just beginning is held aloft by the old prophet whose life is soon to reach its conclusion – the light to enlighten the whole world is here, God has come to be with us and will save us through his love.
It is a moment of recognition and of truth.
Just hold that picture in your mind – who is there, caught, as it were, freeze-frame in that moment? Think of the wonderful fresco of the Presentation by Giotto.
There is Mary and Joseph, there is the baby Jesus, of course, there is Simeon, a man of many years, and Anna, in her 80s, there is the priest, assistants no doubt, perhaps the Temple singers, rehearsing quietly in the background, perhaps other families, older people come to offer a prayer, children playing at the edges.
What do you notice about this? Its just like us here too!
Look about you – here we are – God’s people, all ages, all kinds, all backgrounds, nationalities, cultures, traditions – isn’t it wonderful?!
Here is the church – the Body of Christ – here is the new way that Jesus came to show us – the Temple, the church is not the building but its people.
All of us with our own experiences, gifts, ideas, the wisdom of older people, the energy and insight of children and young people, the richness of our difference and the wonder of how much we have in common.
At Candlemas we celebrate Jesus, the light, in the midst of us – and we recognize the light in each of us.
Later in the service we will light our candles as a sign of this light – and we give thanks for the gift of Christ our light, who dispels the darkness of our fears, and renews our trust in God’s promises so that we can carry this light into all the world.
Today we look back to Christmas and we look forward to Easter – when the darkness of winter gives way to the brightening of the approaching spring.
Today Simeon and Anna speak of God’s glorious promises coming true.
Today a tiny baby is the glory of God and today we, together, all of us, are the people of light.
Let us rejoice in the light, in each other, in God. Amen.
Service: Reverend Michelle Dalliston. 29th January 2023. (St John The Baptist Church Peterborough UK)
Referenced Scripture: Malachi 3:1-5, Hebrews 2:14-end, Luke 2:22-40