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St. Mark’s
What happens when God is merciful?
By Rev Gav
I am amazed that after studying and preaching God’s word for well over twenty years, someone can come along and tell me a truth about scripture that I had completely missed! A couple of weeks ago, a good friend pointed out to me that, whereas our modern way of writing usually has the conclusion or summary at the end, writings from the first century communicate the important thrust of the message in the middle. Once I realised this, reading stories found in the Bible became a whole lot easier!
The technical term Bible scholars use for a distinct, self-contained story or section found in the Bible is a ‘pericope’, and today’s Bible reading is a pericope about the presentation of Jesus in the temple.
The story marks the completion of forty days since the birth of Jesus and begins with Mary and Joseph taking him to the Temple in Jerusalem. Under Levitical law (that’s the law found in the book of Leviticus) Mary had to go through a purification ritual to be ‘cleansed’ and made ‘holy’ again following the birth of a male child. Until that day, she could touch no holy thing nor enter the sanctuary.
This introduction to the story is not just about setting the scene and giving a nice snippet of historical context, but is an important key to unlocking the rest of the story. Remember, Luke, the writer is writing to a non-Jewish audience, and this introduction is a reminder that the Jewish people were under the law of Moses and were dependent on following the law to make them holy before God. Keep that in mind as we explore the rest of the story.
Luke is careful to remind us that the Holy Spirit has been and is at work in the world, inspiring and leading individuals, and in this story the Spirit tells a man called Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. We do not know how the Spirit spoke to Simeon or what sign he was given, but he was waiting, and on that very day Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were to enter the temple, he too was led there. We also do not know how Simeon recognised Jesus as God’s anointed one or Messiah, but he did! Simeon experienced three Spirit-led moments which take us to the climax of the story, which, typically for writings of the time, is found in the middle.
Simeon says, “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 his declaration has been used in Christian worship ever since it was recorded in Luke’s gospel. You may come across it being called the ‘Nunc Dimittis’ which is the Latin for the first words he spoke.
What Simeon was doing here was making a radical declaration, for not only would the Messiah or Christ be the salvation for Israel but for the whole world — and this had massive implications. Simeon hadn’t finished, and went on to say to Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed — and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” What did Simeon mean that Jesus was destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and that there would be opposition and that people’s inner thoughts would be exposed?
Well, it comes back to our introduction. You see, what was going to happen was that Jesus, through the cross, was going to go through a purification ritual that would make the whole world ‘clean’ and ‘holy’. It would mean that no longer would people have to go through purification rituals like the one that Mary herself had to go through. Surely, this would be great news and accepted by all, but sadly, this was not to be the case.
I would like you to stop and imagine for a moment. Imagine that a world government comes in, and freezes everyone’s bank accounts including yours. Every penny for which you have worked hard and saved now belongs to the government, and the government has decided that it will redistribute the wealth to everyone in the world equally. The question is, how would this make you feel? Now, I can tell you that those in debt and with financial struggles will be cheering and whooping and there will be great rejoicing and a sense of relief. Yet, others, myself included, will be squirming and feeling a little sick to the stomach, with a sense that this does not sound very fair!
It is exactly the same with God’s generosity and this narrative is played out over and over again in the gospel accounts. Those who rejoice are the broken, marginalised, oppressed, and poor, and those who are indignant and resistant are the loud, proud, wealthy, and pious. “Have we not kept all your laws and statutes?” they cried. “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command…” (Luke 15.29) complained the Prodigal Son’s older brother to their father. Think about the parable of the labourers in the vineyard who all receive the same pay even though some only worked an hour, and the vineyard’s owner’s response when he asked, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money, or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15)
Yes, the hearts of people are most definitely revealed through God’s superabundant grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. The question, I suppose, is of course, how are our hearts? Do we wade in our pride and sense of self-entitlement or recognise our brokenness and need for salvation? And in the same way that we have received God’s grace and mercy, do we extend that same grace and mercy to others? As Jesus said, “…be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5.45) God shows no partiality and neither should we.
The pericope or story of Jesus’ presentation at the temple, was the equivalent of pushing the button at a pedestrian crossing. Simeon and Anna heralded the countdown that would stop the traffic, for they now had to wait for Jesus to grow up and begin his salvific ministry to Israel and to the world.
Amen.