Candlemas

By: The Rev. Brenda Sol

Today is called “Candlemas”, which is the day when we remember the presentation of Baby Jesus at the temple. That, alone, is a beautiful story, but it’s not the only story in this morning’s readings. Throughout our readings, is an overarching theme of purification. And, if we’re not careful, we could be left with some confusing messages about what it means to be purified, or to be in need of purification.

The passage from Malachi asks: “who can endure the day of [the Lord’s] his coming, and who can stand when [the Lord] he appears?” At first glance, that reads a lot like what some people refer to as “Divine judgement”. And we typically think of Divine judgement as something that leads to our punishment. God judges our actions, and we are punished.

So, let’s start there to clear up any doubts we might have about the need for purification. In fact, the definition of judgement mostly describes the ability to make a good decision. Other definitions of judgement include:

-        The act of assessing a person, situation, or event;

-        or the cognitive process of reaching a decision or drawing conclusions;

-        the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations

-        or the capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw sound conclusions.

Based on those definitions, many theologians suggest that Divine judgement is actually about God noticing what needs healing in our lives, then giving us the tools, or situations, to help bring that about. So, rather than God seeking us out for punishment, Divine judgement, and purification, are grounded in God’s unconditional love for us.

Those lacking parts of our souls are being refined and polished, so that we might be more fully present to God’s love. The refiner in Malachi, is working to bring our body, mind, and soul into wholeness. To paraphrase St. Teresa of Avila:

We need, therefore, from time to time, to cast aside our daily concerns. We need to reflect upon the state of our soul…We, occasionally, need to withdraw from all unnecessary cares and business.

“Withdrawing from cares and business” is what we do when we come to worship. It's what we do when we answer the bid to confession. It's what happens when we are purified by God's grace. And, today's Scriptures also remind us that we do this withdrawal—this presenting ourselves for purification—in community.

And, while the passage from Luke is focused on Baby Jesus being presented at the temple, there’s an important line in that first verse, which reads: “When the time came for their purification.” You see, the laws of Moses, referenced here, also required Mary to seek purification after having given birth. So, they went as a family, to join others—in community—at the temple to come closer to God.

 These ancient rituals of presentation and purification can seem archaic, but we might think of them as rites of passage, marking both Jesus’s and Mary’s entrance into a new phase of life. Instead of thinking of this as archaic, we now understand, through sociological studies, that rites of passage are healthy for the community, as well as the individual.

We have our own such rituals that make public the acknowledgement that someone has begun a new chapter of their lives. We did this in Gigi’s ordination last weekend. We’ll do so, in early April, when Bishop Susan comes to confirm some of our youth. It’s what we do during baptisms, funerals and weddings. 

Of course, there are secular rites of passage, as well, such as a Quinceañera, or an Eagle Scout Court of Honor. What I’ve noticed is that these rituals, not only involve the community, they often include some words of wisdom offered by a respected elder. I’ve also seen this done in other cultures as part of a marriage ceremony. In a Vietnamese wedding I once attended, the couple slipped off to a corner of the room, where they served tea to the bride’s grandparents, sitting with them to hear their advice on marriage.

In our Gospel reading, Simeon and Anna are the elders who are present to acknowledge Jesus’s and Mary’s rites of passage, as well as to offer words of wisdom about what that might mean, and what that might bring to their futures. They do this both to affirm the uniqueness of Jesus, and to reassure Mary that, though she will experience great grief, God will be with her.

We mark these life passages together in community so that we can be a light to each other, so that when one of us doesn't feel so strong in our light, somebody else can shine God’s light in our direction. This morning’s Psalm describes that idea with these words: “Happy are they who dwell in [God’s] your house! They will always be praising [God] you. Happy are the people whose strength is in [God] you, whose hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.”

Even though we’re not going through any formal rite of passage this morning, our Eucharistic Prayer is essentially a remembering of the many rites of passage God’s people have undergone across millennia. At the same time, as I mentioned earlier, the entire liturgy is designed to help present ourselves to God, so that we might be purified. That thinking is wrapped up in this morning’s Collect of the Day, which says: “so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

As we come to the table to be nourished, and, then, as we go out to live our faith in the world, my prayer is that we are continually reminded we don’t need to be purified because God can’t stand to have us in God’s presence otherwise. Rather that, in our purification, our misguided thinking, our limiting beliefs, and our worry that there’s not enough is cleared away, so that we are more fully present to God’s generosity and compassion.

-AMEN