THREE ANCIENT CEREMONIES

Solemnity of the Feast of the Presentation of Christ

1 February, AD 2009

TEXT:  St. Luke 2:22-40

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.

“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.  And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him unto the Lord.  And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galillee, to their own city Nazareth.  And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom:  and the grace of God was upon him.”

(St. Luke 2:21-22 and 39-40)

According to our kalendar, today marks the last Sunday in the Season of Epiphany, a season dedicated to the shining brightness of our Lord and his manifestation as the Light of the world.  We have chosen as one final manifestation of that Light to celebrate the Solemnity of our Lord’s Presentation in the Temple to serve for us as a beacon of hope and grace as we move through Gesimatide and, subsequently, Lent and on to Easter; the pinnacle and promise of our Faith.

That portion of Holy Scripture you just heard read began with verse 21 of the second chapter of St. Luke, instead of verse 22 because the circumcision of male children born to Jewish households of that time usually took place at the Temple and included with it the naming of the child before God.  The circumcision and naming made up one of the three ancient ceremonies that every Jewish baby boy and his mother had to undergo according to the Law of Moses.  The second, which is clearly marked in St. Luke’s account was known as the Redemption of the First-born and the third was the Purification of the Mother.  So we have circumcision, presentation/redemption, and purification – three integral rites that established a relationship with God according to the Jewish Law.

The importance of circumcision is obvious.  It had been a part of Jewish culture from its very beginnings.  Genesis 17 established that practice as a sign of the Covenantal relationship between God and His people.  It was a ceremonial “setting apart”; a consecration of a people to God.  It was such a sacred sign and ceremony that its accomplishment was even allowed on the Sabbath when the Law forbade almost every other act which was not absolutely essential.  Likewise, at that ceremony, a boy’s name was given to him to identify him for and to God.  For it was thought that to know someone’s name gave them knowledge of that person.  Recall, Jacob’s wrestling match with the angel.

Secondly, there was the rite of Presentation, also known as the Redemption of the First-born.  According to the Law in Exodus 3:2 every firstborn male of human beings and of cattle was sacred to God.  Scholars believe this law was so because of the recognition that all life was sacred to and a gift from God, Himself.  Therefore an elaborate ceremony was devised to acknowledge this reality and a sum was paid in order to redeem that child from symbolic sacrifice.  

Finally, there was the issue of the Purification of the Mother after child-birth.  When a Jewish mother had a baby, she was ceremonially unclean.  If she had a boy she would be so for forty days and if she had a girl it was eighty days.  She would stay at home and recuperate and could go about her daily routine, but could not take part in any religious ceremonies or go to the Temple.  We find this law in Leviticus 12.  At the end of that period of time she came to the Temple to be purified and made a burnt offering before God in thanksgiving for a safe delivery and re-entry into full religious participation and life.

Today, these ancient rites and ceremonies may seem strange to us, but it’s important to remember that they have behind them the belief that all children and all life, for that matter, is a gift from God.  It costs nothing for us to inhale or exhale and we keep before us always the knowledge that every moment we have on this earth is a gift and a grace from God – because it can all be gone in a moment – in the twinkling of an eye.  Those ancient ceremonies reminded the Jews of that.  That it was God who gave life and as His stewards we are only lent it for a relatively short period of time.

Beside that over-arching truth, what do those three ancient Jewish ceremonies have to do with us as Christians, especially today?  Our answer is found by focusing on the child, Jesus.  It is Jesus who has had the majority of these rites performed upon him.  As His Baptism was done to fulfill all righteousness, for He had no need of a Baptism for the remission of sins, remember, He fulfilled the Law of Moses at His Circumcision and Presentation to fulfill the Law and identify with us as human beings.  As it is, we can go deeper into these ancient rites and see what God would have us do in order to establish a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Him as the Light of the world as we transition into a time of introspection and soul-searching during Lent.  In other words, as the Light of the World, Jesus gives us the means to follow Him through the dark vale of our sins and then will bring us out into the glorious Light of His Father if we but use His Light to illumine our path!  And those tools are before us today in those three ancient ceremonies.

The first is circumcision.  Deuteronomy 10:15 and 16 read, “Yet the Lord set his affection of your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all nations, as it is today.  Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.  For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords. . .”  It was not enough just to bear the mark of the covenant on the outside of one’s body alone.  God wants us to know what that relationship means on the inside!  For when your relationship with God is right by the cleansing of your heart from within, then your relationship with other people is right also.  Conversely, when your heart isn’t right with God your relationship with other people suffers, too.  So we find that we do not have to be male or Jewish to have our hearts circumcised by God the Holy Spirit.  All we have to do is to strive to love God and neighbor.

Secondly, there is purification.  We know today that child-birth does not make one unclean, but our sins do.  Every time we sin we wound the person we sin against, but, more importantly, we wound the heart of Jesus just as if we had thrust the spear into his side at His Crucifixion.  Again, as Jesus fulfilled the Law by reason of His being perfect God and perfect Man, we have been given these means by which we can purify ourselves before God and our neighbor, through the confession and repentance of our sins.

Finally, there is presentation – our own presentation – body and soul – before God.  Every moment of every day beginning at your birth throughout eternity you stand in the sight of God.  You are precious to Him and He wants a relationship with you.  As Jesus fulfilled all the Law and the Prophets, we can have a relationship with God the Father because of what Jesus wrought on that Cross.  In Galatians 4 St. Paul rolls up the theological implication of all of this when he asserts that Christ was “born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those under the law.”  The true character of God’s salvation is an inward grace to our soul available to all people.  Unfortunately to some, Jesus was a stumbling-block; but to others, He is Light, Love, Grace, and Life.  We, too, have been named, purified, and presented to God.  Put the devices and desires of your own hearts away and walk in the Light of Jesus Christ as His named, purified, and redeemed people.

And now, unto God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost be ascribed all might, majesty, power, and dominion as is most justly due this day both now and forever; world without end.  Amen.

SOLI DEO GLORIA – JEU+