There’s always a bit of a letdown in these days after Christmas. All that pressure — the preparations, presents and people coming together from across the miles! The pressure focuses like a laser beam on one day out of the year. When it’s over, it’s over.
There’s still a good deal of commercial activity going on, of course, at various retailers: returns, gift-card redemptions, and bargain-basement prices on cards and wrapping paper. But that’s just clean-up. The big secular holiday is over. There’s something forlorn about this last gasp of post-dated Christmas shopping.
Which is just the opposite of the way the church looks at it. From now until Epiphany, January 6, we find ourselves in the bright and joyous season of Christmas, that only began on Christmas Eve. But just try to sell that in a culture that believes the Christmas season lasts from Halloween to Christmas Day! After that, for most of our neighbors, Christmas hope winks out like the lights of an unplugged Christmas tree.
Isn’t it high time Mary and Joseph packed up the holiday decor and moved on? Well, more or less, that is what the Gospel of Matthew in particular tells us — an angel will warn them about a threat to their newborn’s life, and they will flee to Egypt. But for now, their task is presenting their new baby in the temple. There, he receives a special blessing. His mother, Mary, also goes through the rite of purification — obligatory for Jewish women after childbirth.
Mary and Joseph bring with them a couple of small birds — turtledoves or pigeons — for the sacrifice. That little detail tells a lot about Mary and Joseph. The ordinary sacrificial offering for this purpose was a lamb and a pigeon — way out of their price range — but the law of Moses takes mercy on the needy. There was a special provision for parents like these, who barely have two shekels to rub together. They were permitted to substitute a second bird in place of the lamb.
Mary and Joseph appear, no doubt, utterly unremarkable as they walk into the temple courts with two cooing birds in a battered wooden cage. Just another raggedy, working-class couple, doing the right thing by their baby, according to the law of Moses. If these two harbor any delusions of grandeur on account of the shepherds and the angels, they don’t show it.
They end up in the center of a little Festival, all the same. Two elderly worshipers, regulars at the temple, have something to say to the holy family. One of these two pious elders is named Simeon. The other is a widow by the name of Anna.
Some years back, Simeon heard the voice of God, the Holy Spirit, speaking to him. “You will not taste death,” the Spirit told him, “until you have seen the Messiah with your own eyes.” He has been looking for the Messiah ever since.
When Simeon gets to the temple that day he sees no powerful orator, no victorious general, just a tradesman from the north country and his young wife. She’s cradling a baby in her arms.
Who can say how Simeon knows this child to be the One? But he does. Luke simply tells us he was “led by the Spirit.” Did his heart burn within him as he looked upon the baby? Did he have a sixth sense — some weird ability to discern halos, as in some gilded Renaissance painting?
Simeon speaks some words of prophecy. But we’ll come back to those in a minute. Let’s first look at Anna.
We know even less about Anna than we do about Simeon. All Luke tells us is that she’s a widow, and well up in her 80s. She comes to the temple each day to pray, and stays well into the night.
Many Christian church denominations don’t have a daily worship tradition, but some do. In the Roman Catholic Church, for instance, you still do see a few Annas at daily mass. Their hair is snowy white, their clothing simple and ordinary. As they kneel in prayer, their hands — resting on the back of the pew in front of them — are in constant motion, clicking their rosary beads. Their lips move wordlessly as they recite the ancient prayers that have become second nature to them.
Anna sits there in the outer court of the temple in her accustomed spot, eyes closed, lips pursed, intoning over and over the words of the psalms. On this day, I surmise, Anna suddenly stops, mid-prayer. Her eyes flash open. Her head turns, as though she has no control of it — as though someone else has gently placed hands on her temples and directed her gaze. Her eyes rest on that oh-so-young mother and her newborn son.
She gets up and scurries from person to person, not to miss seeing this very special child.
Let’s back up now to the patriarch Simeon.
The first thing he says to God, in prayer, is “my eyes have seen your salvation.” A remarkable statement, far-reaching in its implications. In past times, Israel has seen many noteworthy religious figures: prophets, priests and kings. But this child is different. This child is all three. And he will not only lead the people to salvation. This child is their salvation.
Next, Simeon says God has prepared this salvation “in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” This sort of claim isn’t entirely new. Isaiah said much the same thing, centuries before, about the Messiah who is to come. Still, Simeon’s blunt language is startling. This helpless babe in arms is going to change the world.
But then the old man’s prophecy grows dark. “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed …” All is not going to be sweetness and light. This baby will bring salvation to the earth, but he’ll also bring about division between people. Just as Mary’s earlier song, the Magnificat, speaks of the mighty being cast down from their thrones and the lowly exalted, so too this child will leave a heavy footprint on the world.
Then, Simeon gets up close and personal. He speaks directly to Mary: “… and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Can he somehow know what is to come? Can he envision that scene, more than 30 years in the future, when Jesus will hang bleeding on the cross, and will say to Mary, as he does in John’s gospel, “Woman, here is your son,” and then to his good friend John, “Here is your mother” (John 19:26)? Mary’s bereavement at the foot of the cross could well be described as being pierced by a sword, as she beholds that dreadful scene no parent should ever have to witness. Simeon somehow knows Mary’s life as a mother will be one of indescribable joy, but also gut-wrenching pain.
It’s kind of refreshing to see Simeon looking into the eyes of the baby Jesus, praising God and saying, “My eyes have seen your salvation!” One of the greatest gifts the older generation can offer to the young, in just the same way, is the gift of hope.
But it’s a rare gift because, for whatever reason, a lot of us tend to get grumpy in our old age. We grieve for times past, despair of the present and look with trepidation on the days to come. Some, but not all, those fears and trepidations have much basis in reality.
So, how do we explain these two conflicting viewpoints? We reconcile them by examining where we get those dire predictions of how bad things are. The source of much of this information is the news media. With hundreds of cable channels on TV — many of them delivering news 24/7 — and a virtually unlimited source of news stories on the Internet (even on the smartphones we carry around with us) — we have more opportunity than ever before to hear how bad things are.
What the news media rarely reports is how good things are. The reason for that is simple. Fear attracts viewers, those viewers see advertising and that’s how the media companies make their money. It’s like that notorious TV news teaser: “There’s something in your refrigerator that could kill you. More at 11.” You anxiously tune in at 11, wondering what dread contagion may be lurking in your Tupperware, and you see not only that story (about a minor problem that’s pretty unlikely to happen to you), but also a host of other sound bites about riots, epidemics, identity theft and terrorist threats.
If a building catches on fire, you can bet the TV news vans will be right there, with the eye-in-the-sky helicopter circling overhead. Yet, you’ll never hear on a TV news channel that the increased use of smoke alarms makes it less likely that people will die in fires. That’s because the news has a bias towards reporting things that happen, rather than things that don’t happen. And so, the media is slowly winning its campaign to make fearful pessimists of us all.
This isn’t about trying to be a Pollyanna. We really shouldn’t minimize the suffering some people go through in our world. Nor should we ever let up on our efforts to prevent suffering in the future. It’s just that we need to keep such news in perspective. And we ought to go out of our way to celebrate the victories that do take place, just as much as we warn one another to be careful of the threats.
Can you imagine how the biblical story would be different had Simeon and Anna focused on the bad things that were happening all around them? Nobody could dispute it. Yet, when these two wise elders of Israel catch a glimpse of the baby Jesus in his mother’s arms, they both intuitively zero in on the tremendous potential for good present in this child — who is the Son of God.
It’s all in how we look at it. If Christmas teaches us anything, it’s that there’s more potential in the birth of a baby than in any threat — real or imagined — we could ever dream up. And when that baby is the Son of God, the powers of death and disorder flee in disarray.
Listen well to the words from Simeon and Anna. It’s a word from the truly wise.
Let us pray.
On this, the Feast of the Holy Family, we pray for all families in our parish, and particularly for those suffering sickness or grieving the death of a loved one during this season of joy and celebration. We pray to the Lord.
We pray for the presence of God’s love in our families, a love that shows itself in patience, forgiveness and sincere gratitude. We pray to the Lord
We pray for parents that by word and example they be a shining light to their children and lead them to a greater understanding of God’s generosity and love. We pray to the Lord.
We pray for families in distress, broken families and those who face the challenges of parenting alone. We pray to the lord.
We also for those who look after families in care and for those who look after orphans and sick children. May it be a place where all families are welcome and can fully participate in the worship of our God. We pray to the Lord.
We pray for the world family of God’s creation, that love overcomes all political, racial and social differences and that all God’s children can live in peace and harmony with each other. We pray to the Lord.
We ask that the Holy Spirit lead some benefactors to our humble parish and see our vision and invest in our ministry and parish so that we may have the financial wherewithal to continue our ministry. We also pray for vocations to the priesthood. We pray to the Lord.
For those on our parish prayer list, that they may receive swift answers to their needs and that they may find consolation through Christ’s healing presence. We pray to the Lord.
We bow our heads and remember in silence our own personal intentions and the intentions of those who have asked for our prayers (pause). We pray to the Lord.
In the Gospel according to John, Jesus said to his followers, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27
Prince of Peace, as we continue to celebrate your birth and the New Year bring your justice and peace. For those who would do violence to others, soften their hearts, still their minds and shower your grace upon them that they choose the path of peace rather than that of force. For an end to all forms of violence and the full coming of your peace on Earth. We pray to the Lord.
We ask that the Holy Spirit lead some benefactors to our humble parish and see our vision and invest in our ministry and parish so that we may have the financial wherewithal to continue our ministry. We also pray for vocations to the priesthood. We pray to the Lord.
For those on our parish prayer list, that they may receive swift answers to their needs and that they may find consolation through Christ’s healing presence. We pray to the Lord.
We bow our heads and remember in silence our own personal intentions and the intentions of those who have asked for our prayers (pause). We pray to the Lord.
Loving God, you call us by name and claim us as your people. As we start fresh and new at the beginning of the year, renew us in your love. By the waters of our baptism, claim us anew through the mighty power of your great Spirit. May your love and promise shine brightly over all the world and bring us and all the nations into a family of peace and compassion.
Loving and sovereign God, you are God with us. We have known your presence among us as we eagerly awaited the birth of your son. We know you remain with us because you sent him not to condemn, but to redeem us. The prophet Isaiah says, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined." We know this to be the wondrous miracle we have celebrated this past week -- the birth of the Christ child -- who is the light, the true light of the world.It is our hope that the light of the candle representing your presence in the world would reach deep into the lives of those who are in a time of darkness. Comfort those whose hearts are aching, those who grieve, those who struggle to find joy in this season. Fill them with the reassurance that the darkness cannot ever overcome the power of your light. We ask all these things, through Christ our Lord. Amen
God Love You.
The Most Rev. Robert Winzens
Pastor – St. Francis Chapel
San Diego, CA.
As a small parish, we come to you all as beggars! All non-profits compete for your support, and many serve the community’s great needs, and we do not ask you to stop giving to them. But maybe one week or month, we ask that you consider a small donation to our humble parish. Your generous support also allows us to continue these important projects that fuel the movement of progressive Christianity. God will look on your donation grant you his grace in abundance! Thank you and God bless you! +++
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