Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.  When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.  But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’  All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:  ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’  When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Today is the feast of St. Joseph.  So, our detour from the regularly prescribed readings continues and we have the opportunity today to reflect on the birth narrative from the Gospel according to Matthew.  The phrase that stands out to me is “God is with us.”

The text introduces us to Joseph who is betrothed to Mary.  He is in turmoil about what to do about Mary because she is pregnant and he does not want to expose her to public disgrace.  God appears to him in a dream and assures him that all shall be well.  God tells Joseph to go as planned, that Mary will have a son and to name him Jesus.  Joseph and Mary abstained from marital relations until after she delivered.

The call that I hear today is to be “receptive” to what God may be doing in the most difficult of situations.  We can all be vessels through which God works, but God never promised it would be easy.  Faced with a difficult and humiliating decision, Joseph decided to remain true to himself and listen to God’s direction.  Joseph received instructions that made him a participant in bringing forth the salvation of the world because he was receptive to what God might be doing.       

John 11:1-16 (NRSV)

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.  So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill."  But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight?  Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world.  But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them."  After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him."  The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right."  Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.  Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."  Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."

Glorified.  God will be glorified through Jesus in the most unexpected of situations.  Lazarus becomes a vehicle for that glorification, and the opportunity for the disciples to fall into a deeper belief.

Lazarus is the brother of Mary & Martha, and he is sick.  Jesus and his disciples don’t seem to be in a hurry to get to them after they received the message, and stayed back for 2 days.  All of a sudden, Jesus is ready to go to Judea again.  The disciples are quick to remind him that the Jews were ready to stone him the last time he was there (see yesterday’s passage).  Jesus tells his disciples that Lazarus has died, and implies that he will use this death to help them believe.

Thomas still doesn’t understand, but appears to be thinking about Jews that are ready to stone Jesus.  He tells the other disciples, “let’s go and die with him.”  Thomas is ready to go, regardless of the consequences.

Jesus has spent the past few days of readings narrowly escaping the ones that want to kill him.  Today, Jesus is ready to go back into the danger zone for the chance to use the death of his friend to glorify God.  Jesus is ready to take the risk to help his followers believe.

I feel the call today is trust.  Be trusting, like Thomas.  Thomas acts like he would follow Jesus to the ends of the earth regardless of what they ran into.  This implies a deep trust of Jesus, and a belief that he is who he has proven himself to be.  If we were to trust like this, then we may see the Christ glorified in the world.

Luke 2:22-40 (NRSV)

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’

Now 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. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided 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, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

 ‘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 the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then 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 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

There 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 for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At 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.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

Simeon’s proclamation after seeing the infant Jesus for the first time screams to a place of prominence for me in the reading today.  One can feel the energy and joy that is expressed in Simeon’s “song.” 

In the content of the song, Mary receives good but challenging news about her new baby - that he is destined for greatness, and will bring about truth and redemption for Israel.  This proclamation was also witnessed by the prophet, Anna (yes, women can be prophets too!) who spread the good news to those looking for redemption.  

This is the reading for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord (Feb 2).  In the church calendar, today marks 40 days since Christmas day (the birth of Jesus), and in Mosac law marked the time when Mary was to go to the temple to be purified after giving birth to a male child [Leviticus 12:2-8].  It also marks the time when Jesus is dedicated to the Lord by being presented at the temple where a ritual sacrifice is made [Numbers 18:15].  On this day the church celebrates Jesus, who is the light of the world, coming into the Temple of Jerusalem (or house of God).  To commemorate this event, the church has a solemn procession of Candles and singing the Song of Simeon or “Nunc dimittis” and several other tunes of joy and acclamation.  The day is called Candlemas. 

Yesterday, I wrote a bit about participation.  The ritual purification was the way that Mary participated in what was required of her becasue she lived under the Law of the Lord.  By following the Law, she received so much more than a blessing of purification.  Mary received affirmation that she was the mother of the Holy One of God who will redeem Israel.  Little did she know of the great sacrifice that he would make no only for Israel, but for the whole world.  By marking and following the life of Christ through scripture, the Christian calendar is one way that we participate and learn what significant the holy stories have to say to us today. 

A way to participate and bring the story of the presentation forward is by participating in a solemn procession of lit candles into the church.  It becomes the engagement of scripture on a physical level through the liturgical rite.  This can be a lifting experience and have much meaning for us as we witness the light being shared and processed by us who are now bearers of the light.