The Feast of the Presentation

A Sermon by the Ven. Richard I. Cluett

Luke 2:22-40

Mary and Joseph, now with the newborn baby named Jesus, travelled once again to Jerusalem, this time to perform the ritual purification required by the Law for a new mother. Although that could be done anywhere, the decision to make the long journey on foot to Jerusalem was made so that they could present this first-born son to God at the Temple in Jerusalem. It was the depth of their faith and their desire to honor both God and their child that strengthened them to make that rigorous journey.

As they arrive in the temple they see an old man on the steps of the temple, as if he was waiting for them, and the old man sees them – this young woman, her husband and the child. Simeon had been waiting most of his life to know that God would redeem Israel, that God would bring salvation to all people, and that God’s peace would reign in this world.

As he saw the family approach to present their child to God, God’s spirit moved in him and he moved forward to hold the child in his arms and to recite the words God’s Spirit had written on his heart.

 Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.

This child you present, this child is the One for whom we have waited so long. He will bring salvation, and reconciliation, and consolation, and the Peace of God into the life of the world and into the lives of all God’s people. And it will bring sorrow to his mother.

There is also an old woman, a prophet named Anna, praying day and night in the Temple who also saw and knew that this child being presented before God was the one who would bring redemption, the possibility of new life for God’s people, the child would bring it into the world.

And when all had been done according to the Law, Mary and Joseph took Jesus home. They walked the 60 miles from Jerusalem to their home in Nazareth in Galilee. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation, the presenting of Jesus before God, the dedication of Jesus to a life in God and to the Mission of God.

I ask each of you to take some time today and in the week ahead to think of the times when you have been presented to God or when you have presented yourself before God. At your birth did your parents quietly place you in the hands of God for protection and God’s Grace? At your baptism, you were presented before God and declared to be God’s beloved child – forever. At your confirmation, you stood before God on your own to declare yourself a disciple of God’s Son, Jesus the Christ – the one who had been presented to God in the Temple so long ago. At your marriage, if you were given that blessing, you presented yourself before God with your betrothed, seeking God’s blessing. And so many other times.

I call upon you, O Lord, in the morning, and in the evening I give you thanks for the day that is past. We present ourselves before God upon rising in the morning as God’s beloved child, and we seek God in the night watches when doubts and cares and fear assault us. We present ourselves before God when our hearts are overflowing with joy and thanksgiving.

Psalm 63: O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you…

We present ourselves before God today, Sunday, and many other days to receive God’s absolution for our sin, feeding and strengthening at God’s table, and the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the days ahead. And we also present one another and ourselves to God to mark important events on our life’s journey.

Today is such a Presentation day. Today two young people, Anna Wescoe and Julian Savage, (will) present themselves before God and God’s people. Surrounded by their parents and peers and priest and teachers and the assembled people of God, they come before God seeking for themselves God’s blessing as they mark their journey from childhood to adulthood. They will commit themselves to living according God’s way as shown to us in Jesus, and they ask for God’s presence in their lives all their days.

In their weekly prayer together with their Journey to Adulthood classmates, Julian and Anna pray seeking “to follow the example of Jesus, using their creative powers to shape the world according to God’s purpose, and they seek to be AWESOME”, as they live out their prayer. And their prayer is already answered, because they are indeed awesome in the sight and love of God and of those who know and love them.

It is also important to note that their priest, our dear dean Tony Pompa, on this Feast of the Presentation, 23 years ago, presented himself before God and the Church to be ordained a priest in Christ’s holy, catholic church. And God blessed him, ordained him, and empowered him to serve as priest. And the Church has been blessed with that ministry, for low these 23 years. So today we present him, too, to God with love, gratitude and thanksgiving.

So know this: presenting ourselves to God, standing before God, praying to God, living in God’s way as shown to us in Jesus – that is the fabric of our lives. God is woven in and under, and through and around all that we are and all that we do. We are ever and always before God. Never forgotten by God. Never rejected by God. Always sought by God. And in our living and in our doing, we are named as God’s child, we live as God’s beloved, we claim our heritage and our service as God’s people.

So in presenting ourselves before God, whether it be for service, or petition, or intercession, or for a sign, or for strength, or for wisdom, or for direction, or for pardon, we are already God’s beloved. There is no need to fear or tremble before Almighty God. The child presented so long ago in the Temple has prepared the way for us. God is waiting with a welcome. Indeed God is waiting with a welcome that one day will involve angels and archangels and all the host of heaven. We are not ready for that yet, but rest assured that when we do present ourselves before God that final time, it is Jesus who will stand with us, as His Spirit does now.