“When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “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– and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” – Luke 2:22-40
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This past week a couple acquaintances of mine got into a heated discussion on Facebook. Before I dive in to this story I want to assure everyone: I am careful not to repeat things people say to me from the pulpit. But if somebody puts something on Facebook, which is a permanent, public record that can be read and quoted by anybody in the world – I consider that fair game.
So the argument went something like this. (Keep in mind these are two theologians talking.) One friend was saying basically: “I’m so glad that God is a loving God, so people who don’t have their theology perfect can still be brothers and sisters in Christ. They may slip into…” (and here she named a couple of strands of ancient theology that were debunked a long time ago but are making a comeback in recent years). She said, “they may stray across the borders of these theologies, but they love God and love spending time with God, and in God’s mercy they can still be counted among God’s people even though their theology isn’t what the church considers acceptable.” The other friend was saying, “but if people really have a relationship with God their theology wouldn’t stray outside of correct beliefs because God wouldn’t lead them there.”
Of course their argument misses two things: (1) no human being has perfect theology, and (2) no human being understands God perfectly. So whether we approach the faith from an intellectual standpoint or from the standpoint of religious experience, either way our human understanding is imperfect, or at the very least incomplete.
In more practical terms what their argument boiled down to was the difference between living by the letter of the law (which has the tendency to become a bit Pharisee-like), or being led by the spirit into religious experiences (which appeal to the heart but have the tendency to get a little flaky intellectually). So many of the arguments and divisions and rumors of divisions, within the realm of the Christian faith, really come down to this. Even within our own selves sometimes, we debate between doing what our minds say is right vs. doing what our hearts say the Spirit is leading us to do.
Our scripture reading for today gives an answer to this debate by satisfying both sides. Let’s take a look.
The scene is in the temple in Jerusalem. The time is eight days after Jesus’ birth. Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents, have brought Jesus to the temple – as the law of Moses commands – to be circumcised, and as the firstborn male, to be redeemed. They bring two sacrifices: one pigeon for Mary’s rite of purification and one pigeon for Jesus’ redemption. These gifts tell us that Mary and Joseph are not rich; because Moses actually commanded one bird and one sheep – but he said “if they can’t afford a sheep a second bird will do.”
All of this was an experience common to every Jewish family, so there was nothing really remarkable about all this… until Mary and Joseph were approached by an elderly stranger. A man by the name of Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying God had promised him he would not die until he saw the Messiah – and now he can die in peace because God’s word is fulfilled.
And then another prophet, Anna, recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, and starts to praise God and tell everyone in the temple who this child is!
Mary and Joseph are dumbfounded by all this. They take it all in; but then they just sort of carry on with what they’re doing. They don’t ask questions; they don’t start passing baby Jesus around the temple or anything like that; they just finish the sacrifices and return home to Nazareth, where Jesus grows up, and grows strong and wise, with God’s favor resting on him.
But Mary and Joseph do store up all these words in their hearts. Most likely when Luke wrote his gospel he visited Nazareth and interviewed Mary, and she told him what was said about Jesus when he was a baby.
As we start to dig into this passage, looking at the text, we notice the phrase “the law of the Lord” appears five times in this short reading; and the Holy Spirit – or being led or guided by the Spirit – is mentioned three or four times depending on which edition of the Greek New Testament you’re using.
So basically the Law and the Spirit are on equal footing in this passage.
We’ll take a look at the ‘law’ side first. Luke begins by saying “when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses”. He’s referring to Leviticus chapter 12, which describes the religious rite:
“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days… 3 On the eighth day the flesh of [the male child’s] foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Leviticus 12:1-3)
A few verses later Moses details this saying:
“When the days of her purification are completed [that is, after the seven days] whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb… for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. […] 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.” (Leviticus 12:6, 8)
There was also atonement for the child that was spoken of in Exodus. God commanded the people in the book of Exodus through Moses saying,
“The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.” (Ex. 22:29-30)
So the firstborn of any person or animal was claimed by God. The reason God gives for this law was because God gave the firstborn of the Egyptians for the life of Israel. God explains this further in the book of Numbers when he says through Moses:
“all the firstborn are mine; when I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both human and animal; they shall be mine. I am the LORD.” (Numbers 3:13)
I don’t know about you, but I’ve often wondered about ancient Egypt and the story of the Exodus. I’ve wondered: didn’t God care for the Egyptians? God had a legitimate grievance with Pharaoh, but all those plagues God sent hurt the people just as much as they hurt the king.
In this passage it becomes clear God cared very deeply for the Egyptians. And God wanted Israel to remember that and not forget it. So he claimed the firstborn of people and animals as his own. But in his mercy God allowed the people of Israel to redeem a firstborn child by sacrificing a lamb in his place.
Does this sound familiar?
The irony is that Jesus, being the Lamb of God, didn’t need to be redeemed. But as Jesus himself explained later on in his life:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matt 5:17-18)
And later on in Jesus’ ministry the apostle Matthew records this story:
The collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” 25 He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” 26 When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. 27 However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.” (Matthew 17:24-27)
Jesus in this passage declares himself exempt from the temple tax because he is the Son of the God who is being worshipped in the temple! But he submits to the law anyway so as not to offend.
Coming back to our story of Jesus being presented in the temple, we see the law of Moses being fulfilled. But the fulfillment of the law is not all that happened. People experienced God’s grace as well.
While Mary and Joseph were there, Simeon – whose name in Hebrew means “he who hears” – a righteous and devout man – came and spoke to them. And Luke says ‘the Holy Spirit rested on him’. In other words he had a relationship with God, rooted in deep love, and he had been gifted with the gift of prophecy.
God told Simeon through the Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah with his own eyes. Guided by that same spirit, Simeon takes the baby Jesus in his arms, looks into the eyes of God with love, and says, “Lord, you have fulfilled your word; now let your servant depart in peace, for with my own eyes I have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people; a light to reveal you to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
Simeon knew the Messiah would bring revelation – revealing God to the Gentiles, revealing God’s word and God’s heart to the Jewish people, and revealing the inner thoughts of all people who met him.
Simeon also knew that Mary would bear a heavy cost. He said to her, “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel… and a sword (and the Greek here is more like ‘javelin’) – a sword will pierce your own soul also.”
Simeon’s vision and prophecy had their foundations in the experience of the Holy Spirit, and of walking with God for a lifetime.
During the same visit in the temple, the widow and prophetess Anna also recognized Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit and praised God for the coming of the Messiah. She went around telling everyone she knew that the Messiah was here! In the ears of the priests and Pharisees her words must have sounded a bit crazy. But she spoke by the Spirit, rooted in her long relationship with God, and she praised God continually for the arrival of Jesus.
So we see in this story the law of God being obeyed and fulfilled, as well as the Spirit of God leading people to share the good news with any who will listen.
What this means for us today is that the commandments of God and the sense of being led by the Spirit of God are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they go together, they belong together: mind and heart; knowledge and passion; truth and praise.
So for those of us who love to experience God, who revel in the joy of knowing God’s presence: don’t be afraid of God’s law. As the Psalmist says, God’s law is good. God requires truth and holiness in the inward being, and our joy will increase as we know God better.
And for those of us who love to know God, who love to explore the heavenly logic and laws that help us understand God’s awesome mind: don’t be afraid to experience God’s heart. Welcome the Spirit, place control of your life in God’s hands. Because God is love, and those of us who love God have nothing to fear.
And for all of us: let us join with Simeon and Anna in thanking God for God’s faithfulness and for the birth of this holy child, the light to the Gentiles, who has come to save his people. AMEN.
Preached at Carnegie United Methodist Church and Hill Top United Methodist Church, 12/31/17
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Who is the artist who did the painting of Simeon and Anna in the Presentation if the Lord? I would to have a print but need the artist name. Thanks, Mary
Hi Mary,
The piece is called “Simeon en Anna” and is by artist Jan van’t Hoff. The work can be found here: https://www.artrevisited.com/en/information/artists/jan_van_t_hoff/15591/simeon-en-anna
I wasn’t able to find a place to buy a print though. Good luck in your search!
Peg