There is a structure to biblical praise. Patterns and rituals order the prayer
and praise of God’s people. So, in faithfulness to Leviticus 12, Mary comes to the Temple for the rite of Purification forty days after Jesus’ birth. And in accordance with Scripture, Joseph brings a poor family’s gift of two young pigeons to offer as the “dictates” of the law of the Lord insists for first-born males. A sacrifice to God for the redemption of this first-born Child.
Now it is our opportunity to join in this structure of praise, but as those who
are baptized into God’s holy covenant in Christ. We gather on the same fortieth
day after the birth of the Messiah, on February 2 nd in our calendar. Our Gospel
Lesson is that of Saint Luke as he tells of the events of this day with the Holy
Family there in the Temple. We proclaim the sacrifice of Christ at this Holy Meal
and as we now celebrate “the memorial of our redemption.” 1 This Feast of the
Presentation gathers into one mystery the past events of that day in the Temple and the structure of praise embedded in our worship this day. They come together in the Spirit on this Feast.
It is the entry into St. Luke’s story of the visitation of a man named Simeon
that the unexpected side of God’s providence appears. Simeon is “righteous and
devout,” awaiting the “consolation of Israel,” and has been blessed with the Holy
Spirit. He is also quite old, but was assured by the Spirit that he should not “see”
death until he has seen “the Christ of the Lord.” Clearly, old Simeon brings a new
weight to this Temple visit. Is this meeting with the Child the fulfilment of the
Spirit’s sign that he could now be dismissed and that the Christ of the Lord has
come? Simeon seems to know that he will soon offer the church his Nunc
Dimittis. But first, he takes the child Jesus into his arms and blesses God. In the
Greek text, the word for “arm” is angkale 2 , originally meaning an angle or curve.
(We use the same term for that other “angle” in our body, the ankle.) But the way
it is used in our Gospel Lesson resonates with care and safety. It is rarely used in
Scripture to describe a man who holds a child in his arms. But mothers know all
about such “ankling.” Simeon takes the Christ child in his arms in a deeply
maternal act of love.
In so many wondrous ways, there are deep and rich memories of being “ankled” by our God. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism is filled with the images of such Divine presence. We may recall handing over our little child to the priest at the font who receives our precious one in his arms. Some of us recall looking at those vintage photos, of our own baptism. Family members are there, all lined up, and our mother holds us in her arms. We are robed in a white gown. Divine love and maternal and parental love, all woven together in the Sacrament. So old Simeon receives the Christ Child in his arms and blesses God. With care and deep devotion, he holds the Christ Child in his arms.
Now, having seen the Christ of the Lord, Simeon chants his Canticle. Nunc
Dimittis, he sings.
Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word,
for many eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.
We continue to sing and pray Simeon’s prayer, at Compline in the Liturgy of the
Hours. It becomes the Canticle through which we give over ourselves to God for
the night, and for the time of our death.
Following his prayer, Simeon speaks to Mary and prophecies that “this child
is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel. He continues by telling the
Blessed Virgin that Jesus will be “a sign that will be contradicted” and that “you
yourself a sword will piece.” St. Luke will not allow the church to observe any of
the feasts of the Nativity without weaving into the texts and songs a clear reference to our Lord’s Passion and Death. In the icons of the Nativity in the Orthodox Church, the Christ Child in the manger, adored by Shepherds and angels, is wrapped in swaddling clothes that look for all the world like burial shrouds.
Mary’s heart will be pierced as she remains in sorrow at the foot of the Cross. And
this Christ of the Lord will be appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel.
Lutheran liturgical scholar, Melinda Quivak, adds, “Before the rising is the falling.
Before the glory of God is the cross.” 3 The world looks at the movement and likes to see “rise” and “fall,” as in empires and most every human life. But Simeon,
under the guidance of the Spirit, sees things in reverse. Our Lord knows his “fall”
before his “rising.” Jesus tells of a grain of wheat that must fall into the soil and
die, but in dying it bears much fruit. 4
The Paschal Mystery is precisely this journey of our Lord from death to resurrection life. And in Christ we too bump into all kinds of “fallings” before our promised new life in Christ is entered in glory. We are let into a fall at our baptism and rise again as new creatures in Jesus Christ from those cleansing waters. We fall again and again throughout life, meeting disappointment, illness, and loss, but with our foreheads always anointed with the sign of the Spirit’s promise of new and eternal life. We grieve at the falling of so many in our world, through war and captivity, from prejudice and bondage, but pray and work for a liberation that will allow people to rise to full human dignity. Simeon’s final words to Mary speak of this Paschal Mystery, of our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection on the third day.
Now we draw our attention to the second person who will now appear in the Feast of the Presentation’s structure of praise. The prophetess Anna now joins
with Simeon in welcoming the Holy Family. Anna is “advanced in years,” having
been married for seven years and then widowed through many more. She is now
84 years of age. St. Luke shares with us that she never left the Temple in these senior years and that she worshipped day and night. Anna gives thanks to God and proclaims the Good News about Jesus to all of those “who were awaiting the
redemption of Jerusalem.” Once more, the voice of a prophetess is heard in Israel,
after the order of Hannah. Put simply, Anna is a forerunner of Peter who on the
Day of Pentecost proclaims the Good News to the devout of every nation who had
gathered in Jerusalem.
When we encounter
the One who is the Word made flesh,
who is the Bright Morning Star,
the strong redeemer of the nations,
the Balm of Gilead,
our certain hope of eternal life,
and the comfort of all the people of God,
we find ourselves about two responses. First, like Anna, we give thanks. Every
Lord’s Day, at Mass, we make Eucharist for our redemption and the redemption of
the world in Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Spirit, we continue to give
thanks at this Holy Eucharist for the Presence of our Lord in this Feast. Then, with
Anna and Peter we tell this Good News to our own “Jerusalem,” this place we call
home. (The homilist is invited to add some ministry that the parish is considering
or engaged in here.) We continue to proclaim what God has done, is doing, and
will accomplish in His Son, Jesus Christ. When we fall, again and again, by grace,
we arise!
So here we are on this Sunday of the Presentation. We continue in our
structures of praise throughout this joyous Feast. And we join with Simeon and
Anna, and all the saints, in giving thanks for what the Lord has accomplished in the sight of all the peoples.
He is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to God’ people Israel.
AMEN.
1 “Eucharistic Prayer iv”, English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL).
2 (Pronounced “ang KAH lay”)
3 Melinda Quivik, Working Preacher, December 27, 2020 https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/first-sunday-of-christmas- 2/commentary-on-luke-222-40-6.
4 (John 12:24).
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