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Weekly Bible Notes, 2nd February 2003

(Candlemas and Presentation of Christ)

Year B. Colour: Gold Or White

First Reading:	Malachi Chapter 3:1-5
Second Reading:	Luke 2:22-40
Commentary:	Law
Meditation:	Prejudice
Prayers:	for Sunday and the week ahead

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Opening Verse of Scripture桰saiah 49:6

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. 

Collect Prayer for the Day桞efore we read we pray

Almighty and ever-living God, clothed in majesty, whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple, in substance of our flesh: grant that we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts, by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

First Bible Reading  Malachi Chapter 3:1-5

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. 

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. 

Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. 

"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. (This is the word of the Lord?b>Thanks be to God)

Second Bible Reading  Luke Chapter 2:22-40

When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons." 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 

Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 

The child's father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." 

There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. 

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. (This is the word of the Lord?b>Thanks be to God)

Post Communion Prayer

Lord, you fulfilled the hope of Simeon and Anna, who lived to welcome the Messiah: may we, who have received these gifts beyond words. prepare to meet Christ Jesus when he comes to bring us to eternal life. Amen

Commentary: Law

The background to the passage from Luke today is seen in the Book of Leviticus Chapter 12:1. This taught that on the eight day after the birth of a boy, he was to be circumcised. Then the woman was to wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. That is why seven days after Christmas, January 1, is the feast of our Lord's circumcision, and 33 days after that, February 2nd of his being offered in the Temple. This is the feast of Candlemas which we celebrate today which can be traced to at least 543. The Feast of Lighted candles is mentioned by Bede and St. Eligius, who was bishop of Noyon from 640 to 648.

When the days of her purification for a son or daughter were over the woman was to bring to the priest a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. If she was unable to afford a lamb, she was to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. From the offering of a pair of birds by Mary we may suppose that Joseph and Mary were not very wealthy. Nevertheless as faithful Jews they did their religious duty and observed the Law of Moses when it came to such things as childbirth, circumcision, and other rituals. 

Today we might ask what it is inside human nature which makes us think that God finds the human children which he has created so abhorrent that he would take comfort from the killing of two little birds? Well things have not been helped by years of teaching which have drawn upon passages such as this from one of the most appalling books of the Old Testament-Leviticus. Leviticus tells us that almost everything a woman experiences in the natural process simply of being a woman renders her unclean. Leviticus is full of teaching which tells us that various people are either temporarily or permanently horrible to God for different reasons. And here is the great irony of the law which exposes Leviticus as placing us under a curse, the birth of this holy Child made his virgin mother become ritually unclean under the Law. 

Thankfully, whilst Jesus is brought up a Jew, he is the Messiah and he brings in a new age. This is where Christianity and Judaism are different. The Jews still live under the curse of the law, but for Christians a new age has come. Christianity sees itself as the fulfillment of all that had been promised in the old law. The Messiah had come. 

Luke is careful to point out that Jesus had his roots in the Old Testament. But clearly in this passage we see that Jesus is not going to let things go unchallenged Jesus' parents are amazed by Simeon's predictions for the child. Their son, it turns out, will not just observe the law; he will be its fulfillment. That is why in passages such as Mark 7:1-23 we see Jesus attack the Levitical food and dietary laws and washing rituals.

Luke shows that the story of Jesus was confirmed by two prophets, Simeon and Anna, who spoke of Jesus under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Simeon finishes with some disturbing words. This marvellous salvation through Jesus had a dark side. Not everyone will take kindly to Jesus, there will be a falling as well as a arising of many in Israel. Jesus will be a sign that will be spoken against, he will cause a crisis in Israel. Decisions will have to be made for him or against him. The sword of Jesus will divide, discriminate, and judge the thoughts, attitudes, and relationships of all people. Mary the mother of Jesus will go through the same crisis, everyone must decide what to do with Jesus. Charles Royden

Meditation: Prejudice

Aristotle was born in 384 BCE. at Stagirus, a Greek colony and seaport on the coast of Thrace. He studied under Plato, attending his lectures for a period of twenty years. He became the tutor of the 13 year old Alexander (later world conqueror) and set up his own school at a place called the Lyceum. When teaching at the Lyceum, Aristotle had a habit of walking about as he discoursed. It was in connection with this that his followers became known in later years as the peripatetics, meaning "to walk about. 

For centuries people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object was, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong! Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle's death. 

Galileo Galilei was born near Pisa in 1564 -- the same year in which Shakespeare was born and the year in which Michelangelo and Calvin died. Legend has it that in 1589 Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right.

Hymns (Hymns and Psalms)

1. The Lord is king lift up thy voice 58 (Tune: Church Triumphant) 
2. There is a redeemer 673 (Mission Praise)
3. Christ whose glory fills the skies 457 (Tune: Heathlands) 
4. Christ be beside me - (On service sheet. Tune: Bunessan) 
5. Christ is the world true light 456 HP (Tune: Nun danket)

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead.

O God our heavenly father, whose love sets no boundaries and whose strength is in service; grant to the leaders of the nations wisdom, courage and insight at this time of darkness and fear. Give to all who exercise authority, a determination to defend the principles of freedom, love and tolerance. Give strength to protect and safeguard the innocent and clarity of vision to guide the world into the paths of justice and peace. This we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen

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First Reading:	Malachi Chapter 3:1-5
Second Reading:	Luke 2:22-40
Commentary:	Law
Pause for Thought:	Prejudice
Prayers:	for Sunday and the week ahead
	Intercessions
Sermon:	Candlemas / Groundhog Day

 

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