Hebrews 11: 8, 11-12, 17-19
Luke 2:22-40
Today we celebrate the Holy Family
of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, which comes on the Sunday after Christmas. This year, this Feast and Christmas are only
a few days apart. How many of us are
still recovering from the Christmas celebrations; the preparations, the clean
up; the stresses and the joys of that day. And how many of us are just hoping
for a quiet weekend. Can we suppose that
Mary and Joseph may have felt the same way, after what had happened on the
evening of the birth of their son? First
there was the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, then finding
shelter in a manger, a barn! Then that
appearance of a group of scruffy shepherds, who have this story of angels
flying in the night sky, proclaiming that this child, their child, is the long
for Messiah. I am sure that what Mary
and Joseph longed for was some normalcy, to just perform the rituals required
by Law of Moses and then get back to Nazareth
and their lives as quickly as possible.
So they go up to Jerusalem,
to the Temple
to make the required sacrifices. Now
keep in mind that they were not the only ones going to the Temple that day. There would have been hundreds, if not
thousands of worshipers going to the there.
If you have ever seen a picture of the crowds assembled in front of St.
Peter’s in Rome, you would have some idea of the
crowds going in and out of the Temple
courtyards. And yet, and yet; out of
that massive crowd of humanity, Simeon, is able to find Jesus, Mary and
Joseph. How? He was guided by the Holy Spirit, for God was
fulfilling His promise, that Simeon would not see death, before seeing the
Messiah. Simeon had such faith in that
promise, that for so many years he kept going to the Temple.
And despite so many disappointing encounters, he still had faith. Then comes the day his path crosses with
Mary, Joseph and their infant son. He
praises God that his faith has been rewarded, he has seen the Messiah. Then he tells Mary and Joseph what the
destiny of their child would be, and what it would cost them. Now, after hearing this, who could blame Mary
and Joseph, if they were to flee south to Egypt;
or north to Syria, or east
to Babylon? This was not what they signed up for. But they do not flee, they returned to Nazareth,
Despite their fears of what the future may hold, they raised the child Jesus up into a strong young man, who was
“filled with wisdom” and with the favor of God.
They were able to do so because they had faith, faith that whatever trials
and tribulations may come their way, God would not abandon them, that God would
be there for them. It is that same faith
that their ancestor Abraham had when he first listened to God, to a Presence he
did not know, yet he believed, and left the safety of the Ur, for an unknown land. He had faith that, despite his old age, he
believed that God would keep His promise of making from him a mighty nation.
And it is faith in God’s promise
that through His Son, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, “God is with us.,” we believe
that we will never be alone, that indeed, God will be with us always, He will be
with us in times of trial, and times of challenge:. He will be with us in the joyful times, and
the sad times. It is faith in Him, that
draws us here today, as a community of believers, that through Word and
Sacrament, that faith will be continually renewed and strengthened. It is by faith in God’s love, which causes us
to reach out to others, to share that love.
And it is by faith that we look forward to the fulfillment of the
promise that Jesus Christ will come again, and a new heaven and a new earth
will be born.
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