A young man was very excited because he just won a ticket to the Super Bowl. His excitement lessened as he realized his seat was in the back of the stadium. As he searched the rows ahead of him for a better seat, he found an empty one right next to the field.
He approached the man sitting next to the empty seat and asked if it was taken.
The man replied, “No.” Amazed the young man asked, “How could someone pass up a seat like this?”
The older gentleman responded, “That’s my wife’s seat. We’ve been to every Super Bowl together since the day we were married but she has passed away.”
“Oh, how sad,” the man said. “I’m sorry to hear that, but couldn’t you find a friend or relative to come with you?”
“No,” the man said, “They’re all at the funeral.”
Some people can get a little obsessive about the Super Bowl!
Here we are on 3 February and we are having a little bit of Christmas. The baby Jesus is only 40 days old—actually, he’s 41 days old now, but we have transferred the feast from 2 February to today. The Holy Family has travelled to Jerusalem in obedience to Mosaic law. In those days, if you wanted to be close to God in the closest possible way, you had to go to Jerusalem—not just anywhere in Jerusalem, but to the Temple. The Temple was built on the rock where Abraham would have sacrificed Isaac, and the Temple was the place where the glory of God dwelt.
The Mosaic law required every firstborn male to be dedicated to God, in remembrance of how the angel of death passed over all of the firstborn of Israel in the exodus from Egypt. Likewise, the law also required that a woman, after giving birth to a son, should mark the end of her 40 day purification by making a sacrifice at the Temple.
It was what happened at the Temple that names the Feast in the Greek Orthodox Church: Hypapante, which means “meeting.” St. Luke tells us that living in Jerusalem was a man by the name of Simeon. And it had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” So, at the time when Mary, Joseph, and Jesus arrived at the Temple, the Holy Spirit moved Simeon to go there also, and when Simeon saw Jesus he knew that God’s promise had been fulfilled. He took Jesus up in his arms and said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel.”
In Simeon’s inspired words we hear echoes of Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would be a light to lighten the Gentiles. These words also call to mind St. John’s words about Jesus: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men… The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.” From the words of Simeon arise the other designation for this feast: Candlemas. All of these themes—the Presentation of Christ, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Hypapante, and Candlemas—are depicted in our stained glass window of the nativity in the bottom panel. That’s why we processed to that point today and blessed the window with incense.
Saint Luke tells us that Simeon was told he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. He must have been an amazing man, for he lived his whole life in a hopeful way. Think about the political situation of Israel at that time. They were an occupied country. They could do no business without being taxed by Rome. There was a 1% income tax, import taxes, export taxes, property, grain, wine, olive oil, emergency taxes, and on and on. The polytheism and all of the immorality that went along with it had been introduced into Israel, which was an abomination to every Jew. The Scriptures were full of God’s promises that he would make Israel a great nation, and here they were groveling at the feet of the Romans. You can be assured that there was not a little groaning and moaning about their situation.
Simeon had seen it all. And yet he went to the temple day after day, year after year, relying on the promise he had received from the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before he saw the Lord’s Christ. That was a choice he made, a choice not to live in pessimistic despair, but to live trusting in the Lord’s promise.
Simeon wasn’t looking at the world through rose colored glasses, either. He picked up the baby Jesus and uttered a sobering Oracle: “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. And a sword will pierce your own soul, also.”
We, on the other side of the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord, know what Simeon was talking about. We know how the story ends. Oh yes, there are daily battles between good and evil, both in our own lives and in the larger society of which we are a part, but we know already that God has won the war through our Lord Jesus Christ. Simeon should be the patron saint of all Christians because of his hopefulness. A pessimistic Christian is a contradiction in terms. I’m not saying we should wear rose-colored glasses, and I’m certainly not saying we should tolerate evil in any of its myriad forms, but when it comes down to the final analysis, as Saint Paul said, “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.“ Therefore, how can we do anything ultimately but rejoice? Do you see yourself as basically a joyful person? Do others with whom you live and work and play see you as a joyful person? If so, that’s the proper attitude of the Christian. If not, I recommend a change. As St. Paul said, “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Even if the Eagles win!
Sermon preached by the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
The Presentation of our Lord (Candlemas, transferred.)
3 February 2019