Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see:A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.
Luke 2: 29-32
Sometimes the things done in our faith traditions are absolutely
bizarre. And while modernism and relevance have certainly tempered our
practices, we still engage ancient texts and rituals which may not make any
sense to others…or even to ourselves.
Take, for example, the purification rituals that many in our
Christian churches will be recalling this weekend in our Sunday readings. “The
Presentation of Our Lord,” or the atonement ritual that Jesus’ parents shared
after his bris, or circumcision, is what we commemorate this weekend. Because
Jesus was Joseph and Mary’s firstborn son, he was presented for purification in
the Temple in Jerusalem. They participated in this experience as many had done
before, asserting that they were in a long line of faithful families who loved
God and sought both blessing and reconciliation for any actions which cause
separation from God or from one another. There were sacrifices, and blood, and
prayers, all of which would seem very strange to us today.
While this ceremony was happening, Simeon, whose constant
presence in the Temple and devotion to God showed his own faith and desire to
one day see God’s anointed, along with Anna, a wizened prophet and lover of
God, saw and recognized in this child Jesus something special, something new,
something extraordinary. They saw that in spite of the challenges, oppressive
powers, and seeming distance of God from God’s people, there was, in the face
of this child and in the faith they affirmed, the salvation of all peoples, the
righting of the universe, a light in darkness for the faithful of Israel as
well as those who live beyond that faith, a promise of God’s presence in God’s
own creation.
Sometimes it is difficult for us to see that the God of our
Creation is present, is calling us to care, has provided us with all we need.
However, when we do see and recognize that we have been and continued to be
gifted with the divine presence in all, we can both take comfort as well as share
that Good News with others: God is with us.
