The Presentation
A Worship Service lead by Bishop Audrey Scanlan.
There is a tradition in the world of spiritual disciplines called “Ignatian Spirituality.”
Based on the life and work of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a 16th century Spanish priest and founder of the Jesuit tradition, Ignatian spirituality begins with the premise that “God created the world and it’s good; God is present in all things, including goodness, truth, and beauty; God’s love is revealed through God’s gifts; and the work that we do is a way of loving God.”
Ignatian spirituality includes a daily “check in” or examen that invites our reflection on the day and asks for God’s guidance…it asks us to pay attention to the goodness in the world around us… and to serve the world with grace and respect.
In short, Ignatian spirituality is a way of life that “involves finding God in all things and acting on that discovery.” (https://www.jesuits.org/spirituality/ )
Within this framework there is a method of scripture study that I love.
Ignatian bible study invites us to approach the stories in scripture almost as though they were a movie, playing out the scene in our mind’s eye… and then looking for where we fit within that scene. It invites imagination, creativity, a little playfulness and the divine hand to guide us.
Now, Luke’s story of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is a great story to practice the discipline of Ignatian Bible study. The characters are varied and well defined. There are the new parents, Mary and Joseph, dutifully bringing their son, as is the custom, to the temple, 40 days after his birth, to offer due reverence and to set their child on the right course with God. This was required of all Jewish children who were born outside of the tribe of Levi, the tribe dedicated to priestly work. (Joseph was of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh). The offering of two turtle doves was an offering for sacrifice. This ceremony also included the Rite of Purification for Mary, held 40 days after the birth of a son (80 days if the child were female) and it fulfilled of the Mosaic Law that required cleansing the woman-mother from the ritual impurity incurred at childbirth. So- there’s a lot going on for the parents in this story: faithfulness to tradition and law, a desire to do right by their child, a marking of the first weeks of parenthood and the crossing of a threshold into the next season of their parenthood. Interestingly, little is said about Joseph in this story. We see him present and following along, an interesting commentary-by-omission in a world and a time that is largely patriarchal.
There are also two other people in the story, present in the temple. Simeon, and Anna.
Simeon came to the temple, guided by the Spirit, to fulfill a prophesy that he would not die before he saw the Savior. We imagine him as an old man. He is not only there to fulfill a prophesy, but to offer one, too: He speaks to Jesus’ parents, amazing them at what he says… and he foretells pain and sorrow for both Jesus and Mary as he offers them a blessing.
The last character in the story (besides the infant Jesus), is Anna. She, too, is a prophet- (a prophetess) who lives in the temple. Her role in this story is both to prophesy and praise and share the good news of Jesus’ saving grace with all who came to the temple- she is as much of an evangelist as she is a prophet in this story. In so many depictions of Anna in fine art, she is an aged, stooped figure shrouded in somber widow’s garb, standing in the shadows, waiting for her moment to encounter the Christ. A wise crone, perhaps.
Now- I wonder, where are you? Where are you or who are you in this story? As you stand in the temple, amidst this holy quintet- what do you see, hear, feel? Which character draws you in? What do you think that the Spirit is working to tell you in your encounter with this story?
Here’s something that I noticed when praying with this story this time: The four adult characters all bring an offering.
Mary and Joseph bring the offering of 2 turtledoves, or pigeons- the sacrifice signaling their modest place in life (if they had been of greater means, they would have brought a lamb).. and they bring, of course, with trust and faithfulness, their son. They offer their son to God …
Simeon’s blessing is his offering. His own desire to see the Lord is fulfilled, but he is not simply self-satisfied, he extends a blessing to the Holy Family. He offers a pastoral affirmation for this family, blessing them – perhaps in thanksgiving for the gift that he has received, but also in a kindly way, as a senior member of the temple community, welcoming this family in as they perform the tradition of generations.
And Anna’s offering, through words of sorrow, is a truth-telling that the world’s salvation will come at a cost- Jesus’ own suffering and Mary’s suffering too, is the price of salvation as Anna prophesizes that Mary will watch her son’s own sacrifice- still 33 years away but yet very present in the prophesy of the wise crone, speaking God’s word.
I wonder what you bring today– to God as your offering, and… on a hyper-local scale, to this parish of All Saints as it participates in God’s mission.
Which of the characters in Luke’s story calls out to you as you see it in your mind’s eye? Where is the Spirit guiding you?
Are you Mary- standing in the face of some painful truth that you know but not shrinking away from it, continuing to be faithful?
Are you Joseph- dutiful and present, allowing tradition to lead you?
Are you Simeon- experiencing a fulfillment of some kind, and, in your soul’s satisfaction returning it with a blessing-? Are you a welcoming soul in this congregation?
Or are you Anna- a bearer of truth, who knows the precise moment to come out from the shadows and share a Word with those around you?
You might, of course, find a different nuance in these characters… that is meaningful and profound… so let these be just suggestions,and not lead the witness and get in the way of the Holy Spirit.
Now- think of your parish All Saints, as the temple. What have you brought? What is your role? How does your offering here contribute to the ecology of this place, working to share God’s love and sustaining it for future generations?
We will all experience a blessing today as we welcome Byron into the fellowship of The Episcopal Church. In this rite of Reception, Byron will make the offering of his own gifts for the work and ministry of the Church in this particular branch of the Jesus Movement, and we will affirm his choice and promise to come alongside him in his vows as we reaffirm our own baptismal vows. It is a sort of Presentation all its own, today, at All Saints. Thank you, Byron, for leading us into this holy work.
Finally, there is that baby in the story- the one who has no lines, nothing to say or to prophesy, who almost seems as though he has no agency- if feels like this Presentation is being done to him.
In the Prologue of the Gospel of John which we often hear in the Christmas Season, we learn about a Jesus who is anything but helpless or without agency- even in his infancy . We hear, instead:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it. (John 1:1-4)
Jesus, the Word, comes among us- in the historical world of ancient Galilee…in our present day (this very moment) through the sacrament of the communion that we will soon share…and in the mystical moment of a divine presence that is before all time and that extends into eternity. The Word- Jesus- is a durable, mystical expression of God to whom we can relate as he comes in flesh and blood, but who also sustains us in his saving purpose, for all time. He has nothing to say in this story, I believe, not just because he is an infant… but because he is the very Word of God- his presence says it all.
Today we have an invitation on this extraordinary feast day, to find the source of light and life within scripture.. to allow it to draw us in, and find our own place in the temple of God and God’s enduring story.
Blessings now, and always.
