Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40
The beauty of Candlemas, melodic settings of the Nunc Dimittis, the intergenerational dynamic of a new born baby, a young mother and elderly faithful figures can all enable a comfortable feeling. Admittedly the warning from Simeon to Mary that “a sword will pierce her heart in two” is heard and liturgically today acts as a pivot point, our focus shifting from the crib to the cross.
The context was a little more nuanced. We need to remember that Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth are all occupied territories under the Roman Empire and subject to its rule. The census that required their presence in Joseph’s home town of Bethlehem. The Temple itself was being rebuilt by Herod the Great on a more magnificent scale to enable Herod, in many respects a vassal to the Roman Empire to “have a capital city worthy of his dignity and grandeur." Thus, the temple in which Christ is presented is bound up in the identity and ego of a leader who would be shown in the gospels to be so insecure that on hearing the enquiries of the Magi about a new-born King, would order the slaughter of the innocents.
Of course, strong leaders with fragile egos, countries being occupied, people being displaced from their recent homes and the totally of human life from new-born through to old age are familiar to all moments of history. And equally within that is the yearning and seeking for something that is beyond the immediate. Simeon is one “looking for the consolation of Israel, with the Holy Spirit resting upon him.” Anna “never left the temple and worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day.” Whilst the turmoil of the nations might be familiar, so too is the presence of faithful men and women.
Simeon and Anna’s faithfulness are not through office or role. They are a clear reminder to us that just as countries cannot be reduced to the actions of their leaders alone, neither should the value of a faith community be focussed on those in specific positions. Of course, leaders have an impact and accountability for their actions and the culture they engender, however, they are not the sum total. Simeon’s words, (the Nunc Dimittis) along with those of the young mother (the Magnificat) whom he met that day, are sung daily throughout the world, the contemporary words of the politically adept High Priestly family are lost and even their names are the subject of debate.
The encounter of Simeon and Anna which would bring them such joy for the redemption of Jerusalem, the glory of Israel and a revealing light to the gentiles, was that with a forty-day old baby, whose mother was conforming to the religious practises. There was no great liturgy, or formal exposition of scripture. Whilst it was in the precincts of the Holy of Holies, the offering of the two turtle doves had occurred. The encounter with Simeon and then Anna coming after the requirements had been fulfilled. The one on whom the Holy Spirit rested recognised in that which most would have ignored, an everyday moment of a young mother and baby that which is transformational to the world.
Thus, in the magnificence of the Temple that which most clearly revealed the actions of God was not of the building itself, but a life found within it. Revealed not to those who were there due to office or role, but the Holy Spirit resting upon them, and their faithfulness in prayer and fasting.
There is a procession of placement of Jesus which Luke subtly interweaves, Mary wrapped the new-born son in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Her Simeon takes the infant in his arms and proclaims the impact both on his life and the world. At the end of Jesus’ life, Joseph of Arimathea, one “looking to the kingdom of God,” takes the body down from the cross, wraps it in a linen cloth and lays it in a tomb cut out of the rock. These two figures of Simeon and Joseph receive into their hands the body of Christ. Another motif is that of the temple, in which we see Jesus as the fulfilment of promise, the expounder of Scripture, one who teaches within it and by words and actions seeks to return it to be a “house of prayer for all people” and on whose death the dividing curtain is torn in two, from top to bottom, thus not by mortal hand from its base. Whilst the Gospel is read from the beginning to the end, we read it knowing its conclusion and thus can note the threads along the way.
The wider context of the Presentation of Christ in the temple therefore is not just that of the geopolitical and religious dynamics of his day, with whatever resonances they might bring to our current situation. The wider context is also that of the totality of who Jesus is, and what his life, death and resurrection will bring. For us to engage with this, we need to fully identify with Simeon and Anna, and those who will follow them in being ones who are prepared to be animated by the resting of the Holy Spirit on us to enable us then to seek the kingdom of God. We need to be prepared, vigilant to the presence of God in our midst, not necessarily where we expect this to be. Mangers and infants in maternal arms after fulfilling tasks are not immediate settings that come to mind, nor of course is a cross outside a city wall, or a stranger’s tomb, or a road out of town.
St Luke in his two books, his Gospel and Acts will show how the one whom Simeon holds and Anna proclaims will indeed be “a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of the people Israel.” That all are called to respond positively to this one, namely Jesus and in doing so will find salvation given in plain sight. This gives hope, even when there are opposing forces, even when hearts are pierced, even when the wait has been long and sorrowful and like Anna we need to tell all who will hear.