Epiphany 4, 02/01/2009

Sermon on Luke 2:22-40, by Nicholas Reade

THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE

Now, today, is a pivotal day in the Church's Year, when we have a last look back to Christmas, and through the prophetic words of Simeon we begin to look towards Lent and the celebration of Our Lord's death and mighty Resurrection, so not surprisingly today's Gospel is not just the story of Joseph and Mary and Anna and Simeon. In a very real sense it's the story of every man and every woman.

First, there are the parents, Mary and Joseph, people of such moderate means that they had to bring a lesser offering to the temple for the dedication of their son. In so many ways they are like all other parents who bring their child to be baptised.

As a parish priest I often used to ask parents at Baptism Preparation what they wished for their child. And the answer was always something like happiness, health, a long life and that their child would grow up to be a good person. But very often they would also express their fears and say things like, ‘they hoped that their child would be safe from harm; that he or she would not get into drugs or violence or casual relationships or be corrupted by what they see on television - and that their child would not have to go to war.' What they are saying is that they hope that their child would not break their hearts.

Just like Our Lady and St Joseph, dedicating their child to God they're wishing the best for their child, yet they are aware of the possibility that because of their child, a sword might pierce their hearts as well. And because of this, today is surely a good day to pray for all parents who have felt that sword.

And then there is Anna who is eighty four years old. She has seen it all, including the death of her husband and perhaps of one or more of her children. She lived in a time when her country was occupied by Roman soldiers. Political corruption was rampant, led by rulers who would come and go after bleeding their people. There was unjust taxation that fell very heavily on the poor, plenty of embezzlement, pay offs, suppression and worst of all, greedy priests ruling the temple.

In Anna's time, some, like the Zealots became secret assassins of the Romans. Others, like the Essenes found the temple and the priests so corrupt they took off and founded their own community by the Dead Sea. Then there were the Sadducees, the aristocratic leaders of the time who controlled the temple and sold their souls to the Romans. And the Pharisees too; they were pious men who concocted rigid burdens and laid them on the backs of the people while they, as Mary and Joseph's child would remind his hearers when he grew up, ‘lifted not one finger themselves'.

And yet, in the midst of all this, there was Anna. Anna the faithful.Anna the loyal.Anna the holy who fasted and prayed.

Today is the day to think of and thank God for the Annas of this world: all those who are hurt by corporate corruption and irresponsible trading, by the trampling of all decent values, and those who suffer abuse at the hands of others. They see it all, they feel it deeply, but they remain faithful. They do not disassociate from the public arena but try to make it better. They do not flee the church when they see a lot wrong with it, but stay in the temple day and night, working and praying for purification and renewal.

The Annas are our hope, our anchor, our faithful ones. With heartfelt thanks we praise God for the Annas of this world.

Finally, there is the old priest, Simeon. He is a man on a mission, always looking, always searching, always living on the slim hope that he would not die until somehow, sometime, someway he would see the face of the Lord and know that all his doubts and fears were groundless. Simeon is the searcher, the one who wants to believe but cannot, whose doubts about God and the Church gnaw at him or her. Simeon is the one who is perplexed; he is the griever, the senior citizen facing death and wondering if he or she will see the face of the Lord soon. He is the parent who has lost a child, either bodily or spiritually and wonders at God's absence; he is the friend at the bedside of a young Aids victim who curses God; he is the soul weighed down with depression; the wife hoping for the recovery of her husband.

That is why Simeon is so compelling. Throughout his life he had struggled, doubted, searched, prayed, pleaded and begged for some sign of God's presence, a sign that God really did care, that behind all of the senseless suffering and pain and confusion in the world there was a larger purpose. Simeon did not want to die any more than we do, before he saw some sign, some hope, some glimpse of the Divine Face.

The message of the Gospel today is that Simeon finally received a sign and when he did he sent up his heartfelt song: ‘Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' Luke hints that all of us, like Simeon, will some day sing that song.

.....Every bit of the Gospel is special, but for me there is something particularly powerful about today's Gospel because it's your story and my story and it gives hope to us all: to parents who inevitably will feel the sword one day or another; to ordinary people, married or single, who are oppressed and dejected by so much that is evil in the world and who wonder where God is in the tragedies and unfairness of life. To all of these people comes this joyful word of the Lord.

God will write straight with crooked lines. God will have the last word - and not us - just as He did in the resurrection of Jesus. God will reward faithfulness. Most of all, God will honour His promises: those who stay true to His love will look into the face of the Lord one day. Yes! We will sing again.

Our life will provide the tune; the Gospel has already supplied the words:

‘Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou has prepared in the sight of all people, a light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.'

Rt. Rev., Bishop of Blackburn Nicholas Reade
Preached at S. Margaret Ilkey, England
E-Mail: bishop@bishopofblackburn.org.uk

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