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Hespeler, January 7, 2024 © Scott McAndless – Baptism of the Lord
Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Luke 2:22-40, Mark 1:4-11

Last week, on New Years Eve, I decided to preach on the gospel passage from the lectionary for the day – the story of Mary and Joseph and the month-old Jesus in the temple. But, if you were here last week or if you have listened to the sermon since, you will know that I really didn’t get very far into the story at all. In fact, I didn’t even get past the first three verses.

That is okay as far as I am concerned. When God is speaking to you through even just a few words of scripture, I think it is always wise just to stop and stay with those words for a while so that you make sure you don’t miss anything that God might have to say.

The Rest of the Story

But none of that is to suggest that the rest of the story – the part after the first three verses – isn’t important. After they had gone to the priest and made a sacrifice of two turtle doves, Mary and Joseph turned around and went back out into the large open space that was known as the Court of the Gentiles.

I want you to try to imagine the space. On any given day, you would expect to find it just packed with people. Many had come, of course, to carry out the prescribed sacrifices and religious observances. But that was hardly the only reason why they came.

Many were seeking for God in some way and instinctively knew that this was the place where they might find God or hear God’s word. In the porches you could hear poets, prophets and philosophers giving their public speeches to the curious crowds. Scribes would also be teaching about the law and its application. And the people gathered around eagerly hoping to learn and grow. But people also sought to hear from God in a more direct way.

One Man’s Quest

 Take, for example, that man over there. He does not come all the time to the temple like some do, but when he got up this morning he just felt as if he had to be here. He was a man who was deeply troubled by the state of his nation. He felt as if it had lost track of what it was supposed to be. And now, because of its failures, the nation was occupied by foreign invaders.

And so, he had implored God to console the nation and to send God’s anointed one who would lead it into liberty and hope for the future. And after praying for this hope for a very long time, he had become convinced that God had heard his prayer. He would see the Messiah that he longed for before he died.

Such a Long Wait

Oh, but the wait had been so long. And now he was getting very old, and he had begun to fear that he would not live to see it all come to pass. But today, when he rose, he was filled with this overwhelming sense that, if he came to the temple, God would show him something. God would give him hope.

So that man, his name was Simeon, was just entering into the courtyard from the main gate into the temple. He was looking around expectantly but did not yet know exactly what he might see.

Anna the Prophet

There was another revered elder there. Her name was Anna. She was one of the many prophets who were constantly present in the temple, proclaiming the word of God to any who would listen. Anna was a widow. Married young, she had lived with her husband only for seven years until he died. Ever after, she had remained a widow. So long now that no one could remember whether she was eighty-four years old or if she had been a widow for eighty-four years! (Yes, the original Greek text is ambiguous on that point.)

But whichever it was, everyone had great respect for this woman and her wisdom. So much so that they would often bring her gifts of food and drink so that she did not even need to leave the temple precincts. She remained there night and day and was constantly in prayer and often fasting. For Anna was not just there to speak the word of the Lord to the people. She was still searching for answers for herself.

She, like Simeon, was discouraged about the state of her people. She was looking for God’s help and consolation. She had not only come to look for an answer today like the other man. It was as if she lived in constant expectation that at any moment God would act.

One Family Among Many

And somehow they knew – they both knew – that God had answered when they saw the most ordinary of things in the temple court. They saw a young couple carrying their month-old child away from the place of the sacrifice for purification. There must have been dozens of such families in the temple most every day.

What was it that marked this family as different? Traditions of Western Art aside, they couldn’t have had literal halos over their heads. There could have been nothing that would have been evident to everyone else. It must have been something that happened inside both Simeon and Anna simultaneously – what Luke calls the action of the Holy Spirit. They were suddenly just sure.

But what I am particularly interested in today is not how they knew that God was doing something. My particular interest is in what they did with what they were suddenly so sure about. Because these two people had so much in common. They were both old. They were seeking the same thing from God. They both came to the same sudden realization when they saw the small family. But they each reacted so differently.

Simeon’s Response

Look at Simeon. He got to the family first. And the first thing he did was snatch the boy right out of his mother’s arms. I hope that he asked first, but it doesn’t say that he did. But then, once he had the child in his arms, what did he do? He prayed to God: “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 I know it is all very pretty and poetic, but I hope you don’t let the fancy words make you miss what he is saying here. He’s saying, “Look, I have done my part. I have prayed. I have waited. I have been looking for the consolation of Israel for all these many years. And now, finally, God is stepping up and starting to do something great. So now, I am checking out. I am donezo. Let me die now.

Checking Out

Now, I don’t believe that Simeon is literally asking God to strike him dead. He may be old, but I don’t think he is expecting that he is going to go home and breathe his last. If he were that frail, would Mary have allowed him to hold her baby? No, what he is saying is that he feels as if he has done his part. He has kept the faith. He has prayed for the consolation he has hoped for. But now it seems that he is tired, and he is done.

In fact, he explicitly says that it is up to others to take over where he is leaving off. He says to 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.” So it apparently falls now to the child to do all the hard work and face the opposition. And Mary herself will have her share of suffering too.

Simeons Among Us

So, Simeon has clearly decided that he has finished contributing. And I can totally appreciate how he feels. In all my work in the church, I have known so many saints who have given so much for the work of the church over the years. And then they look up and, like Simeon in this passage, see that there is big change coming on the horizon. They appreciate the change, maybe even welcome it, but they also aren’t ready to deal with it directly. They step down and they look to others to carry on.

And clearly this is sometimes the right decision. I will always honour anyone who has given long and faithful service. I also recognize that sometimes people cannot deal with certain changes well. It just sucks all of the energy out of them and, because their vision is limited to what they have seen before, they can’t implement the changes needed. And of course, sometimes their decision to step down can empower someone else to step up. Sometimes that is how we find the new leadership that we need.

Anna’s Response

But at the same time, Simeon’s response is not the only response. Remember Anna? She has just had the same insight that Simeon has. She recognizes with clarity that this little child is the fulfillment of all her hopes and dreams. She is also pretty much as old as Simeon. Maybe, if you read it as saying that she has been a widow for 87 after being married for 7, she is even more than 100 years old!

But Anna, despite having all the same reasons as Simeon to check out, give up and retire, doesn’t react like that at all. Instead of prompting her to quit, the sight of Jesus spurs her to action. She “began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Simeon was overwhelmed by the change that the coming of the Messiah had brought – overwhelmed in a good way, but it still caused him to withdraw. But look at what it did for Anna. It energized her. Why, you could barely contain her as she ran about telling everyone in the crowded temple courtyard about the amazing thing that God was now doing.

Thankful for Simeons

You know, I am thankful for the Simeons that God has given us in the life of the church. I am thankful for the men and the women who have served long and faithfully – who have held onto their faith in times of trial and testing.

It has not always been easy for them in the life of the church. There have been times of worry and anxiety. There have been times when people got angry and tempers were frayed. But they continued on, not because it was easy or always fun, but because it mattered. They continued because they believed that God would come and would redeem his people.

We are all thankful for such faithful service and when people come to the point when they feel the need to step down because they can’t manage the next step in change, let us celebrate them with joy.

Thankful for Annas

But thank God for the many Annas – both men and women – that God has sent us. They are energized by the new thing that God is doing among us. They can’t wait to tell everyone about it either. And sure, they might have been hanging around the temple for many years and they are so very used to the way that things have always been done. But they aren’t afraid of the new thing that God is doing among us.

We may all come to the point in our lives when we have to choose between being Simeon or Anna. But just remember that it is your choice. And anyone can be an Anna.

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Hespeler, December 31, 2023 © Scott McAndless – Seventh Day of Christmas
Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Psalm 148, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:22-40

The young couple joined the crowds climbing the broad staircase that led to the entrance of the temple. The woman carried in her arms a child just barely over a month old. She had carried him all 11 km from the small town of Bethlehem the day before with frequent stops for nursing and changing the swaddling clothes.

This little family had spent the night in a bare room in the city, the only shelter they could afford. As is the common experience of parents with newborns, they had had little sleep. But they had risen early, thinking perhaps that they might beat the crowds, conclude their business and escape the city before the heat of the day came on.

But, as they passed through the porch and entered into the Court of the Gentiles, they realized that they were not the only ones to have had such a thought. The place was packed. It was filled with pilgrims, gawkers and worshippers. They glanced at each other anxiously. It seemed that this was going to take a while.

The child, thankfully, didn’t seem to be bothered by the noise of the crowd and the cries of the sacrificial animals. He slept contentedly in his mother’s arms for now, but they shuddered to think of what might happen when he awoke.

The Sellers

After a few enquiries, they made their way to the court of the women, where they needed to go today. As they approached, they saw the large pen filled with young lambs and the smaller cages that contained pigeons and turtle doves. Wealthy women were standing by and bartering with the sellers while their nurses held their children at a distance.

When the young man heard the prices that were being demanded for the sheep, he winced. He was sure that he could have gotten one for much cheaper from those shepherds who had dropped by shortly after the child was born. But, of course, the sellers here knew that their customers had little other choice.

He was glad that he didn’t have to ask the price of a bird. He knew that that would be ridiculous as well. He had been extremely fortunate the day before and been able to trap two turtledoves as they travelled. They cooed softly in the makeshift cage he carried in his left hand as he guided the mother and her child through the entrance.

Living on the Margins

The last month had been difficult. They had been unable to find anything like secure lodging. In fact, things had been so unsettled when the child was born that they had had no place else to lay him but in a feeding trough.

Things had not gotten much better since as they moved around from place to place, taking hospitality from strangers for the most part. On the eighth day after the boy was born, they had been very fortunate to find a skilled elder who was willing to perform the boy’s circumcision and he had been admitted into the covenant of the people of Israel under the name of Yeshua.

Of course, it would have been preferable for them to return to their home in Nazareth where at least the boy’s mother had family connections and support, but they had remained in the area so that they could perform the ritual for her here on the first day possible. There was some urgency to completing it, after all. Until such time as this had been done, she was effectively set apart from ordinary society. She could not eat with others, nor could she have proper relations with her husband.

This was not, to be clear, because there was anything wrong with her. It was a matter of ritual impurity, which had nothing to do with moral sin or error. It was more like she was being given a special honour. She had, after all, just done something amazing. She had brought a new life into the world. Men in particular were somewhat wary of this special power that only women had to create life. They didn’t quite know what to do with it. And so, they felt a need to segregate that power for a time out of respect for it. But, even if it was an honour, it was an inconvenient one. The couple were more than ready for it to be over.

The Clerk

They stood in line for quite some time, surrounded by the sound of bleating sheep and cooing pigeons and doves. There were many women who were here waiting to perform the required sacrifice. Finally, the line began to move, and they came to stand in front of a Levitical clerk who sat behind a wooden table.

“And for what purpose do you come here today,” he asked them in a bored tone as if the answer wasn’t made completely obvious by the presence of a month-old boy in his mother’s arms. The man was very proud to hear his wife respond in a clear and unwavering voice: “I am here to perform the purification ritual following the birth of my son.”

In the tones of a bureaucrat who spends all day every day reciting the same piece of legislation, the man responded. “When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtledove for a purification offering. He shall offer it before Adonai and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, male or female.” (Leviticus 12:6-8)

He looked up at them, taking in their poor clothing and dishevelled appearance at a glance, “So, you see, you’re supposed to bring a lamb. I don’t see a lamb. Where’s your lamb then? They are on sale out in the outer court.”

Pushing Back

The man had been expecting this. And fortunately, he was well-versed in the traditions of his people. He knew that the law had been written in such a way as to make allowances for the poor and disadvantaged, and he felt no embarrassment in invoking these traditions now.

“Come on, you know very well that the law made provisions for those who could not afford a lamb for the purification. Maybe you don’t care if we have little, but God does! We are perfectly allowed to offer up these two turtle doves instead,” he said holding up his little cage.

The Levite smirked. “You call those doves? They’re filthy! You’re sure that they’re not flying rats? You didn’t buy those here!”

“Doesn’t matter, does it?” the man replied sharply. “The law never says you have to buy them. I caught them myself!”

“Yes, added his wife with a smile, “I’m rather of proud of my man’s hunting skills.”

The clerk finally let out a great sigh as he reluctantly let them pass.

The Real Money

A lot of people thought that the temple made its money from the tithes and donations that people brought. But the priests and the Levites knew very well that the real money came from the sacrifices. Once most of the sacrifices were performed, some of the meat would be returned to the worshippers. Only a certain portion would be burned up – mostly the parts that were inedible or prohibited from Jewish consumption. The worshippers would take it and have a feast.

The priest wasn’t paid money. Instead, he would also claim a portion of the meat for his services – indeed, some of the best cuts of beef or mutton went to him. In a day’s service, a priest would receive much more meat than he could possibly eat with his family before it spoiled, and so it could be sold off to the elite of the city at premium prices.

That was why it was very much in the interest of all who worked in the temple to pressure people into sacrificing fine animals. What’s more, they had deals with the sellers in the temple that gave them kickbacks for every animal sold to the captive audience there. So of course, they would pressure everybody who came along to sacrifice the best animal that they could.

Temple Economics

This was something that was not only true of the temple in Jerusalem, of course. This was how it worked at most every temple of every god in the Mediterranean world. But not every ritual law made exceptions for the poor. But thanks to the strength of the Judean tradition or, some might say, thanks to the compassion and care of the God of Israel, they could not deny access to this impoverished young couple.

 And so, I will say that it was with some pride for having stood up for their rights, not to mention some relief for having completed all that was fitting for a young child of the people of Israel, that the parents walked away after the completion of the sacrifice of their birds. They knew their place within a tradition that was deeply meaningful for them and that would be, they knew, meaningful for their son as well. They felt as if they had begun something very important.

They returned to the Court of the Gentiles and were very surprised, among all those who were present in the ever-swelling crowds, to be approached by a venerable old man and then a saintly widow.

More than a Mise-en-Scène

I always assumed that the first few lines of the story of the infant Jesus in the temple were just the mise-en-scène, you know, just a setting of the stage upon which the really important events will take place. The storyteller just needs to get Jesus and his parents into the temple where they can encounter the prophets, Simeon and Anna, who will tell us these very important things that we need to know about Jesus. But, as I looked closely at the opening verses of the story, I realized that it would be foolish to just skip over them.

The gospel writer is trying to teach us something important about the traditions of the people of Israel and the place of Jesus within those traditions. He is reminding us that Jesus was a part of the ancient covenant of Abraham, which would have been marked into his flesh on the eighth day after his birth.

He is also reminding us of the rituals of purity. And I think he would like us to be mindful that these were not about treating women in Mary’s situation as if they were dirty or shameful. That’s not what these rituals were actually about. They were symbolic of the incredibly powerful thing that Mary had done in bringing new life into the world, especially when, in the case of Jesus, it was new life that would come as a gift to the whole world.

Mary and Joseph’s Poverty

But the thing that particularly strikes me about this short preface to the story is what it says about those in poverty. Luke has already gone out of his way to underline to his readers the situation of abject poverty into which Jesus was born. Laid in a manger because there was no proper place to stay for him, visited by shepherds whose status was about as low as you could get, Luke has already made it quite clear that Jesus was anything but financially well off at his birth.

But in this story, a new dimension is added to that impoverished situation. The law was clear. A woman in Mary’s situation was expected to bring a lamb for sacrifice. Yes, there was a provision in the law that she could bring two birds instead, a concession given for those who were faced with utter destitution. But many would have died before admitting such poverty before the priests.

No Apologies

But notice how Luke portrays what Mary and Joseph did. He simply says, “and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.’” He doesn’t even mention that the expectation was that they should have sacrificed more. He suggests no sense of shame or embarrassment on their part or his. They, according to their means and who they were, were able to do what was pleasing to God.

And I find that all rather refreshing. We live in a world today where more and more people are falling through the economic cracks. And when people can no longer find affordable housing or their wages – and often enough it is full-time wages these days – are no longer enough to pay the bills, they are just written off. They no longer count.

They are a problem to be solved, a crisis for various levels of governments to fight over. If they resort to living in encampments, they might be evicted without a second thought. If their desperate situation leads to their demise because of addiction or other problems, we react with little more than a shrug.

But when we so callously dismiss a whole class of people, we not only push them deeper and deeper into crisis, we rob the entire society of all that they have to offer – and they have so much to offer us all!

God made room for an impoverished couple to fully participate in the rituals of his people, to be counted like any other Israelites before God. The benefits that came to all of us as a result are incalculable. What new strength couldn’t we find for our society today, if we could let the poor have a full place and voice in our society?

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Hespeler, 24 December 2023 © Scott McAndless – Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Luke 2:1-6

Twenty-four years ago, I preached a sermon on Christmas Eve and it was the last time that I would read the familiar Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke and see it in the same old way. You see, my life changed irrevocably two weeks after that Christmas Eve when my first child was born two weeks early. I became a father.

I couldn’t even begin to describe all of the ways that things changed for me but one of the big ones is that I learned so much. One of the very first lessons I learned was how to swaddle my child. I’m pretty sure that the nurses in the hospital taught me how to do that first. I guess it is one of those few things in those first days, that a father can do. So, I like to think that I became quite good at it – an expert in infant origami if you like.

The reason why new parents in North America are encouraged to swaddle their newborns is apparently because it is very comforting. After all, your child has just spent months confined in a very small space and she has now emerged into this strange place where nothing restrains her when she spreads out her arms and her legs. It is alien and strange. It is symbolic of this poor helpless being now thrust into this cold dark world full of dangers and evils. And so, if you can simulate the warmth and the confinement of the womb, at least some of the time, it can be a great comfort and so you learn to wrap her up tight in a blanket.

It is a bit of parental wisdom that has been passed down since times of great antiquity. How old is it? It is so old that it was already well-known when Mary had her child. New Testament Greek did not have a word for swaddling like English does. What the text literally says is that when Mary’s child was born, she wrapped him in strips of cloth. But the meaning of that is clear enough. So, the old King James Version was quite correct when it translated that as “she wrapped him in swaddling clothes.”

 But, since she did not have a nice, perfectly sized baby blanket that she had ordered from amazon.ca while preparing for the arrival, Mary had to resort to using several strips of cloth instead. Instead of one, let’s say that she used three.

But I was thinking. Mary’s child was no ordinary infant, was he? He was, we are told the Son of God. And how, exactly, do you comfort the Master of the universe who suddenly finds himself thrown into this dark and often disturbing world? With what, then, did Mary swaddle her extraordinary child?

 I believe that one of the strips of cloth she used was the devoted love of a mother. Her own body had protected him throughout his gestation, even through some very difficult episodes and probably the most harrowing journey that Mary had ever taken she when traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem. As she had shielded him with her own body, she would continue to do so with all her love. She wrapped him tight in her love.

The second strip of cloth that Mary took to swaddle her child, was the deep and rich tradition of her people. Jesus would know who he was by learning all the stories of the people of Israel. And the final piece of cloth was the law of those people. These time-tested rules for living would provide for the growing child the boundaries and the limits of his behaviour.

These three swaddling cloths are things that we all need. If we are fortunate, if we are blessed, we all received these things as children, and they helped to make us the people we are today. Because we knew that we were loved, because our traditions and practices told us who we were and because we had wise and reasonable rules to guide us, we were given that strong foundation that allowed us to go out into the world and make our way. These things are invaluable.

But there is one thought I would add to that. Swaddling is good and comforting for a newborn, but it is hardly healthy to keep a child confined that way. As they grow, they need to stretch out their limbs and start to define themselves. This too is an essential part of life.

And wow, did Jesus stretch out his limbs! He took that love that he had received from his mother and turned it into a love that was able to encompass the whole world. In the ultimate display of such love, he stretched his arms and his legs wide on the wood of a cross.

And Jesus took the noble teachings of his people, and he stretched them to extend to many others. He took that special relationship and covenant blessing that his people enjoyed and showed the whole world how they could experience that as well. He taught us all of a loving heavenly father who pours out blessing on all the people of the world.

And as for the law of his people, he never lost his reverence for that, but he taught that it was never meant to be cruel or vindictive like some people applied it. He certainly taught that it was never meant to exclude people who didn’t fit in but rather designed to draw people in close. He also showed in word and deed how the grace and mercy of God can overcome even our worst transgressions against the law.

But it all started with a newborn babe, swaddled in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. It is such a fitting beginning of the hope of the world.

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