The Presentation of our Lord

February 2, 2014
The Presentation of our Lord

Jesus Presented in the Temple, Luke 2:22- 40
22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Before the service greeting.

Today is February Second. Many people today are celebrating Groundhog Day. If the groundhog sees its shadow it will be scared and go back into its den and sleep another six week till spring comes, otherwise it will stay outside and spring will come early. In Japan, tomorrow, February Third is Setubun, a mark in the year to think about the coming of spring. Beans are tossed about saying, “Out with bad luck, in with good luck.”

But on the Church Calendar we count forty days from Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. In accordance with the Law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took the 40 day old baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. There were two rituals, the purification of the mother and the presentation the first-born to God. Today we will think about that day when Jesus first visited the House of his Father, the Temple of God in Jerusalem.

Let’s rise and sing our first hymn #165 "Holy, Holy, Holy."

The Sermon.

The Exodus of the People of Israel from slavery in Egypt began with the night of the Passover. That night the angel of death passed over the whole land of Egypt to kill the first born children of both men and cattle. The children of Israel were spared because a lamb had been sacrificed and its blood had been painted over the door of their houses. The angel of death saw the mark of the blood and knew that a family who trusted in God lived there, and so the angel of death “passed by” or “passed over” that house and killed no one there. God had claimed all the firstborn of Egypt, but a lamb died in order to save the child whom God had claimed.

Even after that, God still claimed the firstborn males as his own. The parents were just babysitters until they bought the child from God. The price of the child was set at 5 shekles in silver (Numbers 18:16). At the time of Jesus, the shekel was equal to about a one-day’s wage. [Jan.31, 2014, Israeli New Shekle is $0.28617.] And so Joseph had to buy Jesus from his real, heavenly Father. Furthermore, the word used in the Book of Numbers says that this money was a ransom or a redemption. This is the word used in the Bible to set a slave or a kidnapped person free. In the Bible it is also used to say how Jesus set us free from the slavery of sin. And so we call Jesus our Redeemer. So, in this story today, the Redeemer was redeemed. But he redeemed us not with silver or gold, not for just 5 shekles, but he paid with his life, with his holy blood shed on the cross for us. This is different of course than when parents bring their small children to be baptized. In Baptism God puts his name upon the child and at that time makes the child his. But just like for Mary and Joseph, it is a time to thank God for the birth of the child and to pray for the health and salvation of the child.

Another ritual performed that day at the temple was the purification of the mother. This is in the Law of Moses. When a child is born, the mother is ritually unclean for 40 days if it is a boy and 66 days if it is a girl. (See Lev. 12:2-8.) Then the mother must offer two sacrifices at the temple. One for purification and one for the forgiveness of sin. One sacrifice is a lamb and the other is a dove. If the family is poor, a second dove can be offered in place of the lamb. Mary and Joseph are poor, so she offers two birds. (The Wisemen had not arrived yet.) On the cross, Jesus offered the sacrifice of himself which cleanses us from all ritual uncleanness and all sin.

Also in the Temple that day was a man named Simeon. Somehow the Holy Spirit had told him that he would not die before he saw the Messiah, called “the consolation of Israel” in this passage. And somehow the Holy Spirit moved him to come to the Temple that very day and revealed to him that the Baby Jesus was the Messiah. Then the Holy Spirit gave him the words of the prophecy he spoke to Mary. The Holy Spirit also gave the words of the song or poem he spoke. 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” It is a song of faith. He says his life is complete because he has seen the salvation of God. This song of Simeon is often used as part of the Communion Liturgy, as a song of Thanksgiving after the distribution. It is called the “Nunc Dimittus.” We sing it with Simeon because we too have seen the salvation of God in the sacrament and in the gospel.

And finally there is the old woman, Anna. The Holy Spirit led her also to meet the Christ Child. She is a model for our gospel joy and evangelism. We read, “She gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

So, in summary, it was a busy day at the Temple. Just like our church service, there was forgiveness of sin, there was confession of faith and dedication to God, there was an offering and sacrifice, there was the testimony and witness of the gospel, and there was the confident celebration of salvation. And so in this way we become like Simeon and Anna.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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