Going to the Temple

Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:22-40

The stories of Jesus' infany and youth are very valuable to us, simply because there just aren't too many of them in the scriptures. There are, however, a number of stories about Jesus which are to be found in a number of books which were written at about the same time the gospels were written. Some of these books are the Gospel According to Peter and the Gospel according to Thomas. These books, however, were never canonized, or accepted by the church as scripture, for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, these accounts are often used as a basis for movies about Jesus.

And we can well imagine why the early church never accepted some of these accounts as scriptural truth. There is one account in one of these books, for instance, where the little boy, Jesus was outside his home in Nazareth, playing, when some bad boys came along and started teasing him concerning the stories they had heard that Joseph wasn't his real father. So, Jesus, being the Son of God, and having amazing powers, turned those bad boys into donkeys, very much like in the story of Pinnochio.

So, many of the stories of Jesus' infancy and youth which have been passed down to the present were quite possibly inspired, not out of an interest in conveying accurate historical data, but more out of an interest in conveying spiritual truths concerning who Jesus, himself, actually was.

Our scripture lessons for today, indeed, do give us several strong hints concerning who Jesus was. And this is important. For when we understand who Jesus was, then we are able to develop a better understanding of who we are in relation to God.

First of all, as we read the first few verses of our gospel lesson for today, we discover that Jesus was undeniably a Jew, very much caught up in the traditions and mores of the Jewish faith. This is something that many Christians have tended to forget over the past 2,000 years. And as we have tended to forget this, several regrettable things have occurred.

For one thing, when we have forgotten that Jesus was a Jew, very much involved in the traditions and mores of the Jewish faith, we Christians have also forgotten that our own worship, theology, and ethics are rooted in the worship, theology, and ethics of the Jewish people. And when we have forgotten this some very unfortunate and strange things have happened to our worship, theology, and ethics.

For instance, the order of worship of the early Christian Church was very much based upon the order of worship used by Jesus, himself. And, yet, when Christians have forgotten that it has its roots in the religion of Jesus, many very strange worship services have been put together that, in some cases, have been accepted as normative by many Christian churches. It has only been when Christians have appreciated their roots that many of the important elements of worship have been returned for the use of congregations.

One example of this is the church's renewed interest in a methodical reading of scripture, as opposed to the topical approach long used in many of the Protestant denominations. In the Jewish faith at the time of Jesus, it was common practice for the scriptures to be read a section at a time, each section being assigned a particular worship service of the year. This way, a congregation got to hear all of the scriptures read over a period of time. And this was good. Not only did it help the people be a little more knowlegeable of scripture, but it also prevented a crafty clergyman from using scripture in order to promote his particular vested interest.

It is for this reason that I use the same approach on Sunday morning. With the schedule of scriptures being read, you, as a congregation are exposed to all of the major scriptures of the Bible in a matter of three years. And then, on each Sunday, the worship service will be based upon the scriptures for that day, not on a topic of my biased choosing, but on a topic or topics which may be suggested by scripture.

This was the sort of worship that nurtured Jesus. It was a part of the faith that Jesus was raised in and engaged in. Therefore, it is important for us, as well.

But, not only was Jesus a Jew, born and raised within the Jewish faith, he was also the child of Mary. And because Mary was a good parent, Mary wanted Jesus to have all the best things of the faith that she was raised in. She wanted her son to be, like her, one of the people of God.

Now, in the Jewish faith persons didn't wait until they were at an age of accountability before they were considered to be members of the Jewish faith or of the people of God. In the Jewish faith a baby boy was brought into the faith on his eighth day through the rite of circumcisn and consecrated to the Lord. In later times girls were included in this ritual on their eighth day, with baptism being performed in place of circumcisn.

But the point is this: Children of believers were brought into the faith, they were accepted as God's people when they were too young to know that it was happening to them, too young to remember the experience as they got older.

And in the early Christian church this is what happened with the sacrament of baptism. When an adult became a Christian, even their little children were baptized with them. And recognizing God's grace and God's love of us, even when we are unaware of it, this is what the Christian church has done, with only minor exceptions, for the past 2,000 years.

And, certainly, this is one of the reasons that we continue to baptize our infants and children into the Body of Christ. This is one of the reasons we teach our faith to our children, rather than waiting for them to get to an age when they may make up their own mind. And, yet, unfortunately, there are many parents today who will not bring their children to church, even though they, themselves, benefitted from the church when they were young. The sad part about this is that when parents wait to see if their children will take an interest in Christianity as they get older, what most often happens is that no decision is ever made, at all. And I fear that perhaps one of the reasons that so many young people are involved in drug abuse, sexual problems, problems with the law, problems with self-esteem and lack of motivation, is that they were never given the foundation they needed, a foundation which may only be provided by a loving family firmly rooted within the Body of Christ, otherwise known as the Church.

Indeed, as you look about you, the strong families in this community, the families with young persons going out and making something out of themselves, the families with individuals who seem to make a difference, are more often than not the families which go to church.

So, just as Jesus got started in his faith at an early age, how important it is that we do the same for our young, as well.

But, not only was Jesus a Jew, and not only was Jesus the son of Mary, Jesus was also the Son of God. And our gospel lesson for today gives us some good examples of how various people responded when they suddenly came into the presence of this Child, the Son of God.

First, there was an old man, by the name of Simeon. Our lesson tells us that God's Spirit had told him that he would meet the Messiah before he died. And, so, Simeon waited in the Temple, day by day, for the time when that the Messiah would come. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the Temple, somehow, old Simeon knew that the baby they carried with them was the Messiah. And he thanked the Lord for this promise fulfilled.

And then there was the old woman, by the name of Anna. She had lived, almost like a nun, in the confines of the Temple, as a mark of her piety and determination to worship the Lord. Like Simeon, when she saw the baby, somehow she knew who the baby was and then went out and told everyone she met.

Now, what may go over our heads at reading this particular scripture is this: In Jewish Law it was necessary to have two witnesses in order to prove something in court. The testimony of only one witness was not sufficient. But if a person had two witnesses, then the court was more willing to believe it.

Here, in our gospel lesson for today, we have an instance where two very reliable witnesses gave testimony concerning the baby, Jesus. Both of them, from the very Temple in Jerusalem, agreed upon and even celebrated their special knowledge that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

How important it is for us to continue to hear and accept the witness of those two, and miriads of other countless Christians through the centuries who have witnessed the powerful fulfillment of God's promises in their lives.

Indeed, let us hear it and accept it, so that we may be as confident as they, as bold as they, and as faithful as they to be able to proclaim the good news as witnesses of God's love in our lives, as well. Amen.