University Presbyterian Church - Chapel Hill, NC

"It is Enough"

A Sermon Preached for University Presbyterian Church, Chapel Hill

February 3, 2008

Anna Pinckney Straight

Luke 2:22-40

22When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), 24and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

25Now 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. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27Guided 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, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 33And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too." 36There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

In the church year, there are some celebrations that are set according to the lunar calendar, like Easter, some celebrations that are attached to specific days, like Christmas, and some celebrations that are set in relationship to other celebrations.

Easter falls on the first Sunday subsequent to the first full moon after the vernal equinox, and Lent is the forty days before Easter, excluding Sundays.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.  And on the Sunday before Lent begins, we honor the Transfiguration of the Lord, the event when Jesus journeyed to the mountaintop with some of his disciples and had a mystical event in which the spirits of Elijah and Moses became present to him and joined him in conversation.

That Sunday is This Sunday.

You may have noticed, however, that the Transfiguration was not in the reading you just heard.

Instead, you heard the story of Simeon and Anna and Jesus at the temple.   In year B of the three year cycle of the lectionary, it is the reading for the Sunday after Christmas.  Or, it is the reading on February 2, the day set aside and called Candlemas.  February 2nd, Forty days after the birth of Christ, when Mary properly went to the temple to complete her purification and dedicate her son.

It was not a randomly chosen day, it was a day set forth in the laws of the Torah.

Forty days before a woman could return to the temple to be purified after the birth of a son.  Eighty days if it was a daughter.  Offering a lamb as sacrifice, or birds if a lamb was beyond the parent's means, as was the case for Mary and Joseph. As the instructions are written in Leviticus.  The stipulations for first-born-sons come from Exodus and Numbers.   First born sons were to be dedicated to God, in honor of the Exodus.  Dedicated to God, and then as a way to return them to their families, for five shekels they could be redeemed.

Why are all of these details important?  Because they were important to Mary and Joseph, a part of their faith.  Luke wants us to know that for Mary and Joseph,  for Jesus, for all of the radical things to come, these were not people who dismissed what God had done up to that point.  Jesus was raised in accordance with the law.  Not as an accident, but as a way to learn and grow, as the text says, with wisdom and the favor of God.

It is the first major point of this text, a message clearly communicated in word and in deed.

It is not, of course, the only message of this text, for something significant happens while they are there.

Simeon and Anna.

Simeon, a man of faith who has been told by the Holy Spirit that he will not die before he has seen the Messiah.   He trusted the Holy Spirit.  And he waited.

Then Jesus, the baby, appeared with his parents.

Simeon knew, the moment they arrived.  He sings a song of joy, the song that is the Anthem 11:00 today, the Nunc Dimittis, Now, Simeon proclaims, he can be dismissed. His work, his life is complete.

And there is Anna.  Anna who, for decades, has been the model of a righteous widow.   Praying, fasting, worshipping was not a pastime, it was her sustenance.  She, too, recognizes Jesus when she sees him, and speaks of the wonders that are to come for Jerusalem.

All of the things to come are not good, however, for Jesus and his earthly family.  Simeon, in practically the same breath which utters praise for Jesus' arrival, admits that all will not go smoothly.  He tells them that Jesus will not be good news for everyone, he will cause much rising and falling, and that a sword will also pierce Mary's soul.  The words aren't there, but as hearers of the story, we know what happens.  We know the also of which Simeon speaks, that a sword will pierce the side of Mary’s son.

It is yet another striking point of this text.  We know the story, but Simeon does not.  Anna does not.  They know nothing more than the babe who is right in front of them.  The infant who has a road in front of him that will include fishing, bleeding, and the rolling away of a stone.

And yet, it is okay.  They show no anxiety over not being able to see how the story ends.  And that is what has transfixed me about this text.  It is enough.  They are at peace, another watch word for Luke and for this text.

How striking this peace of Simeon and Anna is, and how much we want it.

How much more of this story do we know, and yet, are we at peace?

As much as we want to answer that question in the affirmative, the evidence says no, for we are not a culture of enough, we are a culture of more.  We want more, we feel like we need more, faster, better, stronger.  We want to be in it to win it, always looking for the extra mile, the next raise or promotion the one we tell ourselves will bring security. 

I purchased an MP3 player recently.  2 GB.  It will hold more than 500 songs. It fits into the palm of my hand.  The challenge I had in making my selection among the budget MP3 players was not finding one that had enough storage, it was in finding one that offered a replaceable battery.  MP3 manufacturers have us figured out.  They know that by the time we need to replace the rechargeable battery, a year or two from now, there will be so many advances in technology that our current player will be obsolete.  We’ll need, we’ll buy the better one.  We are a culture of more.

What is it?  What enables Simeon and Anna to be comfortable with what they know?  To not clamor for more?   Is it Simeon's reliance on the Holy Spirit?  Anna's steadfast dedication to prayer, not as a birthright owned but a spiritual discipline to be cultivated?  Is it something connected to the power of ritual, the glory found in following things we can't fully explain?[1]

And yet, we also know that we are not supposed to be complacent.  As people of faith, how do we learn to recognize God in the here and now, be and peace with enough, without becoming complacent and neglecting the difficult change God is calling us to embody?

How do we balance the here and the not yet here?

Paul Tillich says that the: "here and not yet here… is the character of salvation….  salvation, however visible it may be, remains always also invisible. He who wants a salvation which is only visible cannot see the divine child in the Manger as he cannot see the divinity of the Man on the Cross and the paradoxical way of all divine acting. Salvation is a child and when it grows up it is crucified. Only he who can see power under weakness, the whole under the fragment, victory under defeat, glory under suffering, innocence under guilt, sanctity under sin, life under death can say, [as Simeon did] Mine eyes have seen thy salvation."[2]

In their waiting in the temple.  In their adhering to the rituals of their faith.  In our presence in this place this morning, we are united, we are united with Simeon and Anna and Mary and Joseph in a common goal, we are all hoping to encounter God.  Desiring a glimpse of Salvation.  Praying, "Come Holy Spirit."  We are all hoping to encounter God, knowing that God is not a diamond hidden in the middle of mountain, a message sent in a complex code which must be deciphered, God is the wind which blows away the leaves of winter and the birdsong which greets the morning. 

Our task is not to launch a search party, go on a quest, but to be ready, so that when God is with us, our eyes can be opened, and we will recognize God.

No matter what we call it, “more” or “not yet” or “quest” they are all petals on the same flower, placing God out there and as other, exonerating ourselves from what God needs us to be and do right now.

The Good News is that as we prepare ourselves to receive God, God is ready to be received.  Knocking at the Door.  Waiting to be invited in.   Ready to walk with us through all the wildernesses, mountaintops, valleys, and everything in-between we encounter as we learn to receive the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God.  Not an arrival point, but what happens along the way.  As I will say in a few minutes in the Invitation to the Table, It was as Jesus blessed bread, broke it and gave it to them that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.

Are we willing to celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ without demanding to know where the path will take us?

Are we willing to allow what we have from God to be enough for the lives we are called lead?

On this Sunday that is 41 days after we celebrated the birth of Christ, some 50 days before we will celebrate his resurrection, on this Sunday, let us declare that it is enough, we are enough, we are ready to receive God, we are ready to recognize God.

Amen.