Texts: Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40
The first question we might want to ponder this morning is, why on earth did St Luke feel it necessary to include this story in his gospel? None of the other gospel writers did, so why did St Luke? We can see why St Matthew and St Luke decided to include the so-called birth narratives: people naturally started to ask for more background of Jesus of Nazareth. Where did he spring from, at the age of 30? Where was he born; who were his parents; what had he been doing all those years before he became a public figure?
It was very common in those days to attribute extraordinary births to great figures; and many scholars, even those of deep faith, have supposed that the birth stories were created by St Matthew and St Luke (or perhaps created by the early church and recorded by those authors) to fit the pattern, and to meet the expectation that a great prophet like Jesus must have had an extraordinary birth.
But St Luke takes it all a few steps further. First of all, in verse 21, immediately before today's passage, he tells us that Jesus was named and circumcised on the 8th day. And we needed to know that because? And now he goes on to tell us in considerable detail about this rite of purification and consecration. He starts with a curious phrase, "the time of their purification", and in the context "their" seems to refer to Joseph as well as Mary. There is no doubt that the law required the purification of the mother after childbirth, but nothing seems to suggest that this extended to the father as well. Possibly St Luke means "Mary and Jesus", but it's not clear that the law required the child to be purified.
Be all that as it may, the Law prescribed a period of 40 days of purification after childbirth, so the infant Jesus is now (at least) 40 days old. Joseph and Mary (says St Luke) took him to the Temple "to be consecrated to the Lord" – the requirement of the Law in respect of the firstborn male child. The second requirement was to make a thank-offering, and different rates were prescribed according to the wealth of the parents: the "rich rate" was a lamb, the "poor rate" was a pair of doves or two young pigeons. St Luke makes it clear that Mary and Joseph paid the poor rate.
Again we might ask, and we need to know all this because? It may be that there was a dispute going on in the local church about whether or not Jesus had been a proper Jew, and all this detail was given as part of that argument. But that's unlikely. St Luke is the most Gentile-friendly of the gospel writers: if St Matthew, the teacher steeped in Jewish tradition, thought it unnecessary to describe all this it would be odd if St Luke felt the need to satisfy Jewish sensibilities on such minor details.
Much more likely is the idea that St Luke was showing how Jesus was the fulfilment of the first covenant, as well as the instigator of the new one. All this detail reminds us of Abraham's covenant with God; circumcision is the mark of that covenant. Those admitted to the covenant through circumcision are bound to follow the Law. Hence St Luke seems to be saying there is no break with tradition here. God hasn't started a brand new approach in Jesus; Jesus entered into the same covenant as all of us did, but it is he who is fulfilling it ready for the next stage of God's unfolding story.
This idea is picked up particularly in Simeon's speech of welcome. He is an old prophet, and a man of wisdom and understanding, in a culture with a huge respect for advanced age. He is described as "waiting for the consolation of Israel", a phrase taken from Isaiah and referring to the coming of the Messiah. Simeon is well-versed in Scripture, and a man of faith. He has believed in God's promises of redemption, and has been looking forward to the fulfilment of that promise. He believes he has been promised by God that it would happen in his lifetime. What's he doing there on this particular day? Is it mere coincidence? No, of course it isn't. He has been led there by the Holy Spirit, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he recognises in the infant Jesus the fulfilment of God's promises.
Also there is Anna, also of very great age, who had long been a widow and had dedicated herself to fasting and praying in the Temple. She, too, recognises Jesus, gives thanks to God, and speaks "about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem" (there's that phrase again).
If we pause there we can see how brilliantly St Luke has composed this story. He has reminded us of Abraham and the Law, and now he has set alongside all that the Prophets represented here by Simeon and Anna. When else in the Scriptures do we find Jesus in the presence of representatives of the Law and the Prophets? On Mount Tabor, at the time of his Transfiguration. So the story looks ahead to the revelation of God's glory in Christ on that occasion; and that's strengthened by the language in Simeon's song ("a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel").
Then, of course, the welcoming party is gender-balanced, as we would say today, represented by Simeon and Anna. In Genesis we are told that God created humankind, "male and female he created them". St Luke is reminding us that in Christ the new creation is for male and female, too.
Thirdly, and most obviously, the story directs our attention forward to Jesus' saving death on the cross. Simeon announces Jesus' divisive role: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed." Then he adds, ominously, to Mary: "And a sword will pierce your own soul, too", foreshadowing her agony at the foot of the cross – and, possibly, the sword piecing Jesus' body on the cross.
Above all, this story as framed by St Luke is Trinitarian. The Son is consecrated to the Father in the presence of the Spirit. But St Luke finishes with both feet planted firmly on earth. "When Joseph and Mary had done all that was required by the Law of the Lord", they went home and got on with their lives.
We often hear today but the Church must get with it, must get into the 21st century. We must get rid of our fuddy-duddy ways, etc., etc., and there's some truth in all that. But this story this morning tells us of the importance of knowing our history, of keeping our traditions and practices. Last week as I read the baptismal liturgy in Holy Trinity I marvelled again at how much of all that is summarised in that liturgy. In half a page we are reminded of creation, the covenant, the Exodus, and Jesus' baptism, death, resurrection and ascension. St Luke has achieved a similar feat in the telling of this story this morning.
As we look back so we feed our hope for the future; as we look forward so we see God's ancient promises being fulfilled. Yes, the Church must change; yes there is much that we can and must discard along the way. But we must retain our stories, our liturgies, our Scriptures and our history. They feed us and nourish us and build us up. As we hear them over and over again, so, like Joseph and Mary, we marvel at what we are told, and store it up in our hearts, and ponder it.
In that way we, too, become presentable to God and consecrated to his service. Amen.
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