The Presentation (Candlemas), February 7, 2010
Trinity, Newark
Kathryn P. Clausen
The Song of Simeon
Today is the great Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. It is a day rich in history and theology, because so much is celebrated on this day. First of all, it had great significance to the Jewish people. It falls, by tradition, 40 days after the birth of a child when observant Jews brought their firstborn sons to the temple to dedicate them to God. Forty is an almost mystical number for the Jews of that time. It remembers the forty years in the wilderness. It would be the forty days Jesus spent in the desert after his baptism. And we recall it in the forty days of Lent. In the astrological calendar, it is the halfway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Pagan religions celebrated this as the harbinger of spring. We do too, only we call it groundhog day. And we also bless the candles to be used for the rest of the year. In the Christian calendar, it is the last day connected back to the date of Christmas. From now on, all feasts and celebrations will be counted down to or after Easter. We are ending the small cycle of the Incarnation, and entering into the great cycle of the Resurrection. It is a turning point. We now begin to look forward to spring.
The Presentation is a profound moment, not only for Jesus himself, but equally for Mary, his mother, Anna the Prophetess, and Simeon, who was waiting all his life for this moment. But I think the most poignant aspect of this visit to the temple is the response of Simeon to the child. God had promised him that he would live to see this moment, and he was not disappointed. I can only imagine what it was like when he held the baby Jesus in his arms and said the words that we now call the nunc dimmitis. “Lord, you have now set your servant free…” For Simeon, this was a release. He was very old and preparing for death. But he prayed that he would live long enough to see the Messiah, and he was not disappointed. The Magi had recognized Jesus as a king. But it was Simeon who first recognized him as the Messiah.
There was so much in the Song of Simeon that prophesied what would come about in the lives of Jesus and his mother. He foretold that Jesus would be revealed to the Gentiles as well as to the people of Israel. He knew that Jesus would be opposed and resisted in order to reveal the hearts of the people. But, sadly, he also told the blessed Mother that a sword would pierce her heart also. She probably didn’t understand at the time what was being predicted, but she would, soon enough. Simeon predicted it all in a few short words- Jesus’ revelation to all peoples, his life and death, and his final triumph. Simeon was very old. He had seen all of this before and knew what was coming. It remained for the others to find out in time.
How many of us have said to ourselves that “I never thought I would live to see this day.” After living a full life with the end of our days in sight, each extra day or moment seems like a gift from God, which it is. And sometimes we are rewarded by living long enough to see the birth of a grandchild, or a special wedding, or a graduation long deferred. Each is a miracle in itself. But being there to witness it is the completion of a life’s desire. My father was born in San Francisco at the time of horses and buggies. He lived through the San Francisco earthquake and remembered it. He was five at the time. And he watched with amazement the launching of our first rocket to the moon. He said he was very grateful to have lived long enough to see that day. It was a gift. At the medical center, one of my friends and colleagues was Dr. Arthur James. His life’s dream was to have a cancer hospital at Ohio State. He tried and failed many times to get legislative funding or private sponsorship. It took almost thirty years of effort for this to finally become a reality, and he was so humble that he was absolutely stunned when it was named in his honor. He said he was just grateful to have seen it completed before he died. He was satisfied. Many of us have been the beneficiaries of that commitment which has and will continue well beyond Dr. James’ lifetime.
I often use the Song of Simeon at funerals, because I think that, for Simeon, it was a funeral oration. He had completed his days and was prepared to die. His life was over, almost. But there was one last thing he wanted to see, and when he was drawn to the temple that day, the miracle happened. We don’t know what happened to Simeon after that. He disappears from history. But we get the impression that he closed his eyes and passed away quietly and with contentment. For him, it was a time to die, just as described in Ecclesiastes.
As Christians, we don’t have to wait until we are on our deathbed to proclaim that our eyes have seen the salvation. We experience it every day, every time we enter the church, hear the Word of God, or take Holy Communion. For any of us, each day might be our last. So we must be prepared because we never know when the time will come and the Saviour will arrive. But it shouldn’t matter. Observant Christians have already seen the Messiah. We should already be prepared for death without fear or regret. Our lives were complete at the moment of our baptism. Every day after that is a bonus, a gift from God to be enjoyed and not wasted.
Like Simeon, we should not fear death, but rather rejoice that our eyes have seen the saviour and nothing else can matter. That is Jesus’ message of salvation for all. Amen
