Christ Episcopal Church
February 2, 2014
The Feast of the Presentation
In the Diocese of Southern Ohio, our diocese, we have the Society of St. Simeon and St. Anna. This society honors the wisdom, experience, and ministry of Episcopalians over the age of 60, and each year, only a few are chosen for this honor. At Christ Church, Marcia Bethel was one of the very first recipients back in 1996. Our late deacon, Donna Hart, was inducted into the society not long before she died, and Johnny Morse, who we lost last fall, was inducted a couple of years ago. Dodi Holmes is our other Christ Church honoree, and we have many, many more people who are worthy of such an honor. The members of St. Simeon and St. Anne are people of deep faith, a life of prayer, and rich ministry.
Today is the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple so we hear the story of Simeon and Anna themselves. We have celebrated Jesus' birth and seen the Magi come to visit. We watched as the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at his baptism, which happened when he was a grown man. And last week, had we not been snowed out, we would have witnessed the calling of the first disciples. Now all of a sudden we are back in time and Jesus is a 40 day old baby being presented in the Temple according to the Law of Moses. Some of us may be scratching our heads, wondering whether this is a new feast day. So, a bit of liturgical trivia-the Feast of the Presentation is always on February 2, 40 days after Christmas, as new mothers and their babies were required by the law of Moses to go to the Temple for rites of purification 40 days after birth. February 2 does not often fall on a Sunday, which is why many of us have not heard of this particular Feast Day. When February 2 does fall on a Sunday, the Presentation trumps the regular readings for the day and is one of the few feast days to do so. So today, rather than hear the readings for the 4th Sunday after the Epiphany, we take a step back to hear about Jesus' first visit to the temple.
Simeon and Anna capture center stage in this story. Both are advanced in years. Both are waiting for the Messiah. Both are deeply faithful Jews, people of prayer who are steeped in the Scriptures. The story of the presentation of Jesus is another Epiphany of sorts as Jesus is revealed through the faith of these two people as the Messiah, the one for whom the Hebrew people have waited and longed. There is a quiet joy that permeates the story, rather than spectacular stars or the song of the heavenly host, but my hunch is that a quiet joy is the response of many of us to the presence of Jesus in our midst.
At the other end of the generational spectrum, Joseph and Mary, a young couple with a new baby, have traveled to Jerusalem both for the purification rites and to make the proper sacrifice in thanksgiving for the birth of their son. They offer a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons, not to appease God so that nothing bad will happen to their child, but to thank God for the gift of this child. They present Jesus at the temple as their first born son, and they offer back to God that which is most precious to them. Had Mary and Joseph not been faithful and diligent in the observance of their faith, Simeon and Anna would never had gotten a glimpse of Jesus. Mary has been visited by an angel, she and Joseph have been visited by shepherds and, in Matthew's gospel, magi, and yet they are amazed by Simeon's words about their son. Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna are all at the temple to offer God what is most precious to them, whether their first born son, or their praise, or their remaining months and years.
And then there are all the invisible characters in the story. Luke tells us only about Simeon and Anna, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. But the temple was a busy place. People from all over came to Jerusalem to make their sacrifices at the Temple for a whole variety of reasons. I doubt Mary and Joseph had a private appointment! We can only wonder who witnessed this encounter between a young family and the two prophets. We will never know what kind of impact the encounter had on the people whose stories are not told. But I would hazard a guess that this epiphany, this revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, touched more people of a variety of ages, places, and backgrounds than the story indicates.
For me, the story of the Presentation is the story of church. Church is one of the few places where people of all generations gather where no one is simply a spectator. We can all attend a sporting event, but we cannot all play. We can all attend a musical performance, but we cannot all perform. Church is different. At our best, we are all looking for the Christ Child. We are all trying to understand what God has done in Jesus, trying to do what is pleasing to God and give thanks for our many blessings. We are all in this endeavor together as we try to seek and serve Christ in all people. We always need those who are older and wiser in the faith, either in years or understanding, to show us Jesus in our midst. We need the youthful energy of others to make the presence of Jesus obvious to us or to point to the light that shines in the darkness. And we need the quiet work of countless people whose stories may never be told After we encounter the Christ Child here in this place, we depart and go out into the world to seek and serve the Christ Child there, either individually or together.
The question of the day is "How can we best be that church?" How can we best be a church that reaches and welcomes all generations, babies to the Simeon and Annas in our midst, with all that each person has to offer? How can we best be a church that serves all generations outside these doors? How can we best seek and serve Christ in all people? Next Sunday, the Rev. John Johanssen will join us as our sabbatical interim rector, and part of his job while he is here is to help you work on these questions. John is an experienced priest, gifted in the work of congregational development, and, as I have said before, someone I trust to be your priest while I am away. Next Sunday, John will preach and I will celebrate, as I then begin my time away to work on these same questions.
Like Simeon and Anna, may we recognize the Christ Child in our midst. Like Mary and Joseph, may we be amazed at what we learn about the presence of Christ when we stop and listen. And like Jesus, may we grow and become stronger, be filled with wisdom, and experience the favor of God upon us so that we can seek and serve Christ in all people.
Amen.
