Loading...There aren’t many places in the Gospels that give us insight into the early years of Jesus’ life, so when we do get a story, it seems like we should pay attention.
Today we heard about Jesus being presented in the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s a nice story. It comes directly after his circumcision, which happened just eight days after his birth.
It is a story that could really be missed. Or maybe not missed, but perhaps not recognized as important as it is. Not being raised with the customs of Jewish folk, we may need a little more information about why this is important.
The quick reason is that it marks the beginning of the depth of the commitment from Mary and Joseph to raise this child up with deep knowledge of Scripture, the importance of community, and the following of the laws of Moses. They do not skip the important parts, even though they know just who this boy is.
The longer reason requires us to do a little study to provide us with a deeper understanding about the laws of Moses, and how they matter in this community. These laws set all of us up to create a healthy community, filled with social and spiritual infrastructures that help the members live in safety.
Today, some of these laws and rules have less to do with health and wellness, since we have things like refrigeration and different forms of transportation, and more to do with how we maintain our relationships with God and with one another.
In today’s story we hear that Mary and Joseph present Jesus to the religious leaders in the Temple in Jerusalem, setting him apart as a member of this faith community. As Episcopalians, we might consider this a bit like infant baptism, but here, it was more of a dedication to God that they will raise him in the faith. Baptism, at this time, was not a part of religious life, and it certainly was not for infants. Even so, this dedication could be considered a rite, an act that marks the depth of their commitment.
But there’s another thing that happens here. Something we really don’t think much about. During this visit, Mary’s body receives purification, which will allow her to enter the Temple or her place of worship again after giving birth. This is an extremely important rite for Mary. It means she can be the faithful mother God chose her to be.
The rite, the rule, comes from the law of Moses, as found in Leviticus,
chapter 12:
12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean for seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. 5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days.
If you are counting the days, the event we learn about today, likely occurred about 40 days after Jesus was born. Which is why we celebrate this event annually on February 2, forty days since December 25.
The text from Leviticus goes on, and I’m going to read it to you because it explains another part of the story we heard today:
6 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 turtle-dove for a sin-offering. 7 He shall offer it before the Lord, 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. 8 If she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtle-doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt-offering and the other for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf, and she shall be clean.
Again, Mary and Joseph follow the law of Moses and make the risky trip from Bethlehem to Jerusalem and back again at a time when they are supposed to remain in Bethlehem for the census. Ritual is that important. Putting God first is that important.
What is also important is to notice that the law requires a sheep, but if the family cannot afford a sheep, they may bring two easy to purchase, less costly, birds to offer as a burnt offering and as a sin offering.
Mary and Joseph were poor.
Mary and Joseph don’t pretend to be more than they are. They raise this boy up in a marginalized, poor community, never denying him access to the temple in Jerusalem. We know this because we are told they go each year for the Passover and other holy days, and in the next story, we learn how he remained behind at the age of 12 to dig into the scripture with other scholars.
Even though he is raised in a place where the poor learn how to share their lives in community, Jesus learns the history of the Israelites. He learns and studies their scripture. He becomes completely embedded in the world he was sent to save.
Maybe that’s because of people like Simeon and Anna, who, like grandparents, impart their hopes and dreams on this infant when his family brings him to the Temple to dedicate his life to God. Like unofficial god parents, these two see that the world has a future and that the depth of that future lays with the hope of this new life.
Simeon sees in Jesus a light that will transform the world, and because he feels the prophecies are met in the eyes of this baby, Simeon is able to rest in a peace that passes all understanding.
Anna, even though we have no record of the words she said, preaches to the people outside the Temple, telling them that this tiny baby will change the world.
I cannot imagine the weight of these expectations on Mary’s and Joseph’s shoulders. To be affirmed that yes, everything they had been told, all that they had experienced so far, was true, and that they were to bear the responsibility of bringing the child up to adulthood must have been both a gift and incredible burden. Especially when they are told that because of this child, their hearts would be pierced and broken.
Isn’t that, to a small degree, what many of us know? That our children hold some sliver of hope for the world, that who they become will impact at minimum, the people surrounding them, at most, they will change the world. Do we not carry the burden of the responsibility of raising them to know what it means to care for the most vulnerable and love others, even and especially when it is hard? And we may cry tears for all the times their hearts and ours are pierced by the pressures and powers that try to separate us from the immeasurable love of God?
Mary and Joseph, first, are parents. That they are to raise the son of God is an incredible and awesome responsibility, but first, they must raise this child, keep him safe, fed, clean. Ensure he is educated and trained. Be the examples necessary to make him kind, compassionate and merciful. They will go through rites and rituals that are necessary to make him the man he is destined by God to be.
We know where the awesome responsibility Mary and Joseph have accepted leads. They may not have completely understood Simeon’s message that day, but we do. We know that Mary will be there at pivotal moments in Jesus’ life, watching from near or far, but always aware of his purpose in the world. He will honor her, and he will sometimes make it look like she is not important, but at the end, he will ensure that she is always cared for after he is gone.
And when that spear pierces Jesus side to prove that he is dead on that cross, Mary will remember, vividly, this day, where she and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple and she was told that this day was coming. The day that her soul would be pierced, and the world would be made new. Amen.
