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.
+++
This Sunday we are in the Christmas
season, which means that, for the culture we live in, Christmas is over. All around we see the debris of Christmas,
while here in the church we’re saying, “At last – we have arrived and we are
just getting started!”
Because there is much more to Christmas
than the shopping and the gift exchanging.
It’s after the rush is over that we have the chance to really see
that. This is a day to get some
perspective on Christmas. This is a day
to get some perspective on giving and receiving. It may take you out of your comfort zone, but
it’s worth considering a different point of view, such as this one.
I read an article that said, from an
economist’s point of view, Christmas gift giving is irrational. It said “ill-chosen gifts caused between $4
billion and $13 billion a year in economic waste.”[1] I didn’t want to know that. Yet I see there is truth in it, for having
personally been in the position of desperately searching for something –
anything – to give to that one person I have absolutely no idea what to
give. Most of us have experienced
that. It’s the reason there are all
those end aisle displays of ridiculous stuff, like football helmet chip &
dip bowls. I used to look at those and
think, “Geez, who buys that stuff?” Then
I went to a relative’s house and saw one under the Christmas tree.
Surely some of the waste comes from the
practice of purchasing some gift items to hold in reserve in case you receive
an unexpected gift and feel the need to equalize. So you pull some generic item out of your
closet – like a cellophane package of potpourri – and pretend you chose it
especially for this person.
But the root of the problem is this
sense we have that we must be givers. It
is uncomfortable to be on the receiving end with nothing to give in
exchange. We feel we’re not holding up
our end of the bargain.
I don’t know if Mary and Joseph felt
that way, but I wonder. After the baby
was born, they made their way up to the temple in Jerusalem to carry out their
religious obligations. The law required
that Mary be ritually purified after the birth, and at that time she make an
offering to God. For the people of Israel it was one of many occasions in life
that required an offering to be made.
There were atonement offerings, purification offerings, and thank
offerings to name a few.
It was most likely a purification
offering, also called a sin offering, Mary and Joseph were making. The Law of
Moses states that the offering shall be a year-old lamb – but if the mother
cannot afford a lamb she may bring two turtledoves or pigeons. This is what Mary brought.
I would imagine that her purification
offering was, in a sense, also a thank offering – for who wouldn’t be thankful
to safely deliver a healthy baby boy?
And I also imagine that Mary wished she had more to give. Wouldn’t she have loved to bring a perfect
lamb to offer that day? She had been
given a perfect child – how good it would have been to make such a fine
offering in return.
But she didn’t, so she gave what she
had to give.
I admire Mary for her dignity and
grace. I know it is the nature of human
beings to want to have the upper hand, to be the one who gives more than she
gets. We never want to feel that we owe
something to someone.
So we stock extra stuff in our closets
– just in case. And we go to the store
and buy what we need and then a little extra – just in case. And we roam up and down the aisles of the department
stores determined to find whatever it takes to even things out, to make sure we
won’t be indebted to anyone.
We have a particular way of looking at
the world, wherein everything is a transaction: giving and receiving. There is power in giving and there is
weakness in receiving. There is power in
giving – especially if it is not reciprocated.
And there is weakness in receiving – especially if we are unable to
reciprocate.
Of course, we would much rather see
ourselves as givers than as receivers.
But the spiritual challenge for people of faith is to let go of that
desire for the upper hand, that need for the power, and do just the opposite:
to see ourselves as the ones who have received so much more than we could
possibly ever repay.
You see, life is not really a
transaction. Life is a gift.
At the temple that day, Mary and Joseph
and the baby encountered a man named Simeon.
Simeon had reached an age where he was looking forward to his
death. He was ready – but he knew that
there was one more thing that would happen for him before he died, one more
gift he would receive. He would see the
salvation of Israel with his own eyes.
And when he saw this little family he knew.
He had seen the light of the world in
this baby boy, and Mary and Joseph were amazed by what he said. I imagine they knew already that there was
something very special about this child, but I wonder what they could
understand about it all. What did
Simeon’s words mean to them? What did
the words of the prophet Anna mean to them?
There are times when the gospel tells
us that Mary “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” There were so many things, so many times,
when Mary would ponder the meaning, the power, of this gift she had been given.
I think that Mary probably didn’t let
it bother her that she had only a meager pair of turtledoves to offer at the
temple, because she was growing accustomed to being a receiver of inscrutable
gifts. She had born in her body the Son
of God, and this had brought her sorrow and discord – but also deep joy, the
knowledge that she had been blessed beyond all reason.
So now, as we are in this season of
Christmas and we take the time to reflect on it, know these things. Know that you are first and foremost one who
receives. Know that there is nothing you
can give that equals what you have been given.
But even more, know that that is perfectly all right.
[1]
“An Economist Goes Christmas Shopping.”
NYT 12.21.14
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