Malachi 3: 1 – 4 / Psalm 84 / Hebrews 2: 14 – 18 / Luke 2: 22 – 40
This is the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, February 2, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker
“REDEMPTION AND
PRESENTATION”
(Homily
text: Luke 2:22 – 40)
This
morning, three threads come together as we observe the Feast of the
Presentation. They are:
Candlemas: This observance has been, historically, the
time when candles that will be used in worship during the year are blessed. The
idea is to celebrate the light of Christ (symbolized by candles) coming into
the world, and especially, that divine light which has come to the Gentiles. This
is a key theme for the season of Epiphany. (The name “Candlemas” is a
contraction of “candles” + “Mass”.)
The
Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary: In the Law of Moses, the regulations for the
purification of a mother after having given birth are laid out in Leviticus
12:1 – 8. There, we read that, if the
new child is a boy, the mother is to present herself to the priest forty days
after having given birth. There, she is to offer two items, one as a burnt
offering, and the other, a sin offering. The stipulations in Leviticus are that
a lamb, one year old, is to be offered as the burnt offering, and a pigeon or a
turtledove is to be offered as a sin offering. If the mother is poor, the Law
permits the mother to offer two turtledoves or two pigeons. (This seems to have
been the case with Mary and Joseph, indicating that they were not people who
had the means to offer the more expensive offering.) The timing that Leviticus
spells out governs the timing of our liturgical observance of this feast,
coming forty days after Christmas.
The
Presentation: In
Exodus 13:11 – 16, we read that all first-born males, including animals, are to
be dedicated to the Lord. In the case of male children, they are to be
presented to the Lord as holy to the Lord. But then, Exodus states that these
boys are to be “redeemed”, that is, they are to be “ransomed” by the sacrifice
of a lamb. The Exodus text makes clear that this observance is to be a reminder
of the events of the original Passover.
(Luke
seems to indicate that Mary’s purification and Jesus’ presentation in the
Temple both occurred at the same time.)
This
homily will deal with the last of these three threads, the Lord’s presentation.
We
would do well, I think, to follow these themes as we consider our Lord’s
presentation: 1. Holiness to God; 2.
Giving God the first fruits (of the land, and of life); 3. The Passover event (and our Lord’s death and
resurrection) and 4. Redemption.
The
provisions of the Law of Moses made clear that God’s people were to be mindful
of God’s presence, God’s holiness, and God’s ability to create and to preserve
in almost every aspect of life. Daily living, and the tasks associated with
that living, were infused with reminders. So, for example, the Law had a lot to
say about what was “clean” and what was “unclean”. (One of the concerns about
ritual uncleanness – being able to enter God’s presence in the tabernacle or in
the Temple - had to do with contact with blood. This was the essential
reasoning behind the requirement for a mother to be cleansed after having given
birth.) The point seems to be that, just as God is holy, so are God’s chosen
people to be holy, abstaining from everything that is unclean.
Next,
we should be reminded that God’s people were to make available not only the
first fruits of the land (the harvest), but also themselves. So, for example,
only the best, most perfect animals were to be accepted as sacrifices to the
Lord. Various offerings under the Law of Moses stipulated that the first fruits
were to be offered to the Lord. The point here seems to be that it is the
Lord’s doing that the land produces the things that are needful in life.
Similarly, the gift of children is also the Lord’s doing. It is God who
creates, and who brings forth life.
God’s
action to redeem His people in the Passover event in Exodus was the culmination
of a series of ten plagues that God visited on the ancient Egyptians, in order
to convince Pharoah to let God’s people leave and return to the Promised Land.
The last plague had to do with the deaths of the first-born of Egypt, both
animal and human. God’s people had been instructed to slaughter a lamb and to
spread some of its blood on the doorposts and the lintel of the door. That way,
by their obedience to this instruction, the first-born among God’s people were
spared. The presentation of the first-born son (in Exodus 13, a specific
connection is made to the presentation of first-born sons to this event.
Presenting first-born sons was to be an ongoing reminder of God’s saving act at
the time of Passover.)
By
presenting their first-born sons, mothers and fathers redeemed their sons. Put
another way, they were willing to give up their son to the Lord’s purposes and
calling, but then to receive those sons back again by way of paying the price
of the ransom (the sacrifice of a lamb).
We
now live under a new covenant, one which Simeon refers to in his comments as he
beheld the baby Jesus. Simeon, through the guidance and the wisdom of the Holy
Spirit, foresaw a new way of relating to God.
But
just as this new covenant has ushered in a new way of worshipping, doing away
with the ritual requirements of the Law of Moses, so does this new covenant
also preserve the essential elements of the relationship between God and God’s
people.
We
are called to be God’s holy people. We are called to be reminded that all that
we have, all that we require for the living of life, ultimately comes from God.
We are called to present ourselves as a holy people, a people who are dedicated
to God’s calling and God’s purposes. And finally, we are called to be reminded
that each of us, as we pass through the waters of Holy Baptism, have been
redeemed, ransomed from the power of sin and death, by the death and the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which took place at the time of the
Passover.
AMEN.
