“Honouring the ‘old ways’”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Quiet Time – Luke 2:22-40 (Forward, p. 4) CEV p. 1057 (c. 10:25 – 11:15 a.m.)

Every so often, I hear or read disparaging comments about ‘the old ways’, the old Prayer Book or the old liturgy or the old practices and traditions of the church. These comments suppose that we need ‘new wineskins’, new ways of thinking, behaving and worshipping, that somehow we need to make a break with the old and supplant it with something new and improved! There is ‘some’ merit to this, but only a bit. Today’s passage tells us that God, that the Spirit, can still work, and work abundantly, within the ‘old’ way of doing things.

We note, first of all, that Mary and Joseph were fully observant, faithful Jews in terms of the age-old demands of their faith. Eight days after Jesus’ birth, Jesus was circumcised, according to custom, and Mary remained in seclusion of another 33 days, as she was considered ‘unclean’ after the birth. Then she and Joseph took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord, as is required by the Law of Moses. Each first-born son was considered to belong to the Lord and so a sacrifice was offered to God in lieu of actually ‘giving Him over’ physically. Because Mary and Joseph were not relatively well-off, the sacrifice of the poor, two doves or young pigeons sufficed.

They were in the midst of these age-old, customary duties, when the Spirit intervened. The Spirit had previously spoken to Simeon and told him that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah, and now told him to go to the Temple. He immediately complied and was blessed with the sight of the infant Christ child. Furthermore, his praise of God erupted into the words of the now famous Nunc Dimittis and his ominous words of prophecy over the child and its mother.

And that was not all, a rather ancient woman, Anna, who frequently the Temple day and night, fasting and praying continually, also showed up and recognized the child, praised God and told others about Him.

I find this entire story to be extremely instructive--and encouraging to boot. It speaks to me of all the patient, faithful and dedicated servants and worshippers of God over the years, people who are sometimes looked down upon and dismissed by those persons might come across as ‘more enlightened’. Here, I think, for instance, of the clergy who think that they need to come in as ‘new brooms’ to sweep away all the old and replace it with the ‘new’ that they in their ‘enlightenment’ and superior knowledge and training want to bring in. Sometimes it is a new teaching, a new liturgy, new leadership or a new way of doing things. It matters not just what it is, for what it says (in essence), is that the ‘old’ is no longer valued or important, that its lessons are no longer true or no longer apply, and that its practitioners misguided, ignorant or ill-advised.

What today’s account tells me is that God works wherever there are faithful and dedicated people, young or old, who choose to obey God and do as He requires, whether they be the Mary and Josephs, the Anna and Simeons of this world, or us. Let us, you and I, follow in their esteemed examples. Amen.

Forward notes: “When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord” (verse 22).

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

“The number forty sneaks into scripture in all kinds of unexpected places. It’s common knowledge that we observe Lent to remember Jesus’s forty days in the desert. But it’s perhaps less commonly known that we celebrate the Presentation of Jesus (also known as Candlemas or the Purification of Mary) exactly forty days after Christmas.

“The presentation of an infant in the temple was a custom to dedicate the child to God’s service as well as offer thanks to God for carrying the mother safely through the dangers of childbirth. I imagine that Mary and Joseph, toting the not-quite-six-week-old Jesus, were feeling everything that new parents have felt throughout history—thrilled, exhausted, protective, fearful.

At this very vulnerable time, God blessed them in the temple by surrounding them with people who embraced and delighted in their child.

“One of the best things about being part of a church community is that, through the love of God, we can bless one another. How can you offer a blessing today?”

MOVING FORWARD: “Deliver a home-cooked meal to a new mother or father today. Include a note of encouragement.”