“Moments of Presentation”
December 26, 2021
Luke 2:22–33
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ***
Each year I am struck by how quickly life moves on from Christmas. By next week many will have purged their homes of seasonal décor, the tree will be tossed to the curb and the array of colorful lights on houses will go dark. Those with the capacity to flee winter will take off for their snowbird escapes. For all of us, our attention turns to a new year and its plans, hopes and goals. And I wonder what we would learn if we paused to look back, to ponder the 2021 “good news of great joy” born to this world? What does the coming of God in human flesh present to your life at this time, in this conflicted and worried world? Might we be awakened to a reality that could transform in lasting ways?
He said to me, “I feel as if I have dropped into my own life and it fits.” It made me smile as it was an apt description for what had been transpiring in his life. He went on to explain that it was not about his family, work, or even anything he could specify. It was more about what was happening within him than what was happening around him.
There are moments in life when our senses awaken and open to a greater reality, a larger world, something beyond oneself. At such moments our seeing gives way to recognition and acknowledgment of a deeper and more profound existence. I call these moments of presentation, moments of meeting, when human and divine touch, heaven and earth somehow are joined.
This is exactly what transpires in the Gospel this day. Known as the “Presentation of our Lord,” Mary and Joseph fulfill the requirements of the Law of Moses which directed that on the 40th day from Jesus’ birth they go to the Temple with their new baby. In this moment they meet Simeon who was an incredibly old man. According to the biblical account, he had been visited by the Holy Spirit who revealed that he would
not die until he had seen the Christ of God. When Mary presented baby Jesus, Simeon’s heart swelled. His life had come to fulfillment.
Think about a time in your life, a moment of presentation when you said aloud or to yourself, “I never want this moment to end.” This was not about the passing of time. It was about presence. In it there comes an awareness that somehow the pieces of your life fit together, a joining of integrity and authenticity into a reality greater than the circumstances of the moment.
Maybe you have experienced it this way. You look back on a particular time in your life and think, “I don’t know how I got through that. I did not think I would. I didn’t think I could.” You do not know how it happened, but you know you made it. That was a moment of presentation, a moment of meeting with a presence greater than yourself.
As we see in the story of Simeon, such moments are not presented to us. Instead, we are being presented to the moment. It is God’s Spirit which guides and takes us to that place of meeting. We see that moment, but not with our eyes. We hold it, but not with our hands. We hear it but not with our ears. We taste, smell and feel it but not with our senses. In such moments we meet a presence greater than what our physical senses can experience or understand.
In the Presentation of the Lord at the temple, Mary presents the baby Jesus to Simeon. The name Mary in Greek is Theotokos meaning “God-bearer” or “God-birther.” She places her baby in the hands of old Simeon who had waited his entire life for this moment. Simeon’s name in Greek is Theodochos meaning “God-receiver.” Simeon is the God-receiver. And in that moment presented to Simeon, he sings prayerful praises to God:
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’
Simeon saw more than a child. He saw the fulfillment of God’s promise and the Light of God’s glory. He received salvation and the grace to go in peace. The fullness of his own life in this moment fit him perfectly.
Isn’t that our hearts desire? To be a God-receiver. We want to receive God. We want to see our salvation and know the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives. We want to be set free to go in peace. We want to try on our life and discover that it fits.
The story with Simeon is not just a story of old. It is a story for and about us now as God receivers. The light Simeon sees is not just for himself but for the nations, all the peoples, you and me.
There is something you need to know about Simeon, however. Tradition says that when all this happened Simeon was 270 years and blind. He sees the young Jesus but he is blind. It makes no sense. It cannot be.
Like other biblical passages, let’s entertain letting go of trying to resolve factual inconsistencies. Instead, let this paradox be the doorway into the temple of our own life and another way of being, another way of seeing, another way of knowing.
Surely that is what Simeon had to do. Imagine the challenge he lived with in the waiting. God had promised he would not die before he had seen the Christ, the Lord’s Messiah. What did he think when he went blind and could no longer see with his eyes?
The truth of this story and the fulfillment of God’s promise, for Simeon and for us, does not depend on resolving the factual contradiction. Instead, the truth is found in the paradox. We spend so much time and effort trying to make life fit by resolving the facts and controlling the circumstances. We do this even in our faith. Simeon did not do that. He showed up at the temple day after day knowing he was blind and believing he would see. It was enough for Simeon and it was enough for God. Could it be enough for us, too?
Perhaps meeting Simeon, the 270 year old blind man that sees the newborn Christ and sings a prayerful response to God presents something to us as we move out from another celebration of Christmas. Could it be that Simeon sings the starting notes of the canticle of our life? Could it be that Simeon reminds us that we behold God’s salvation in the faces of others and every time we gather to sing prayerful praise as the saints of our lives depart in peace?
So as 2022 begins, sing with Simeon in the presentation of the salvation that is before our eyes every day. Sing each day, until at our last we rejoice with Simeon and all the saints: “Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.”
