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The Light House

I know there are a few of you who like to look ahead in the lectionary. So, for those of you who like to do that, as we read the texts this morning you might be thinking, oh, we’re not reading from the lectionary this morning, but we actually are. You see today is the fourth Sunday after Epiphany in the church calendar, so had we followed the lectionary for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany we would have read the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. But there are times in the lectionary where we are given other options and today is one of those days. You see today is also the Sunday in the church year we can celebrate the Presentation of our Lord which is what I chose for today, not because I don’t like the Beatitudes. No, I chose these texts today, because after studying these texts, I felt that these texts about the Presentation of Our Lord Sunday have much to say us here at Salem today.

As our Gospel story begins, we are told the time had come for their purification according to the Law of Moses (Luke 2:22). You see, according to the law, all firstborn children were to be consecrated to God (Exodus 13:2) which meant the parents were to take the child to the temple and present him/her to the Lord. Now this was a ritual that I personally see as something like our baptism today. The child already belonged to God, but this was a public act in which the world would come to know that the child belonged to God and it was an act of obedience. Now, before the parents could bring the child to the temple, they had to wait until the woman could be purified. You see, after a woman gave birth she was considered ritually impure and so, again according to the law, 40 days after a woman had a child, she was required to go to the temple, present an offering, and go through the purification ritual (Leviticus 12). The story we read today is about this visit to the Temple. Mary and Joseph have come because it is about the 40th day since Jesus’ birth and she will go through the purification ritual and then together they presented Jesus, their first born to the Lord.

But something very special happened on this day. Simeon, we are told was a righteous man who lived his life expecting to see the Messiah before he died and as Mary and Joseph came into the Temple for Jesus’ presentation, Simeon, with the help of the Holy Spirit, realized that he was seeing the Messiah, so he took Jesus’ into his hands, and proclaimed to all who could hear that Jesus was the Messiah and praised God for this gift. Now we don’t know how many people were present in the Temple, but it had to be hundreds, if not more. You see, unlike our places of worship today, which are really only busy on Sunday mornings, the in ancient times, the Temple was a place that the people visited regularly. Business was conducted at the Temple, people came regularly to present their offerings, to participate in communal activities and other faith-filled acts of the day. The Temple was not a place one visited just to worship, it was a place that was a part of their every day lives. And so as Mary and Joseph walked into, and through the Temple grounds, hundreds of people, if not more had seen Jesus, and yet, only Simeon recognized him as the Messiah.

This past Friday morning when we got up, Jill was a little worried about the weather, because she had a deposition downtown and so I turned on the news right away to see how things were. Of course they were talking about the snow and ice that was coming and the first thing I heard the reporter say was that the snow was starting. So, I walked over to the window and looked out into our backyard. No w it was still dark, but I could see the trees and there were a few yard lights on and I could see no snow. I remember thinking well I don’t know where you are, but it is not snowing here. A few minutes later I went down to our lower level and opened the drapes, still no snow, but then I turned on the flood light in our back and to my amazement I could see it snowing. Without the light I could not see the snow, but when I turned on the light there small flakes coming down. It was snowing.

On our cruise a couple of weeks ago I experienced a similar thing one morning when I got up earlier. It was still dark and I knew we were supposed to pull into port soon, so I went out on the balcony to see if I could see the port. But, all I could see off in the distance was a small light. It was the beam from the lighthouse. Now, although I could not see the port, that light from the lighthouse told me, and more importantly those steering the ship that a port was there. Oh, I know with today’s modern navigation lighthouses really aren’t necessary, but there was a time that without a lighthouse, mariners could not travel safely into many ports. The lighthouse pointed the way, or called sailors in.

Simeon and Anna was like my floodlight in my backyard or a lighthouse that day when Jesus’ parents brought him to the temple. No one knew who this little baby really was until Simeon and Anna shined their lights on Jesus. That light was not some gigantic beam from heaven, but instead it was just the light of one old man and one old woman.

A good friend of mine spent over 20 years in the navy before he became a pastor and he shared with me recently when I was asking him about lighthouses that the real amazing thing for him about old lighthouses is that in ancient times the actual light in the lighthouse was small, but what made it visible so far our at sea was the magnification system that was used. Through many lens, the small; light was magnified to a might beam that could be seen miles away.

Today, we are all called to be a lighthouse in this world that point out Christ to those who can only see in the dark. Oh, our lights might not be very bright, but the lens of the church, our community, our lights can shine for miles and we can be a light that points to Jesus. Many in this world are like me last Friday morning looking out in the dark and saying there is no snow out there, but instead of snow they look out and say Jesus isn’t here and for them, unit you and I shine our lights to point him out, they cannot see him.

Each of us is called to be a lighthouse in this world, welcoming everyone into Jesus’ church. We are called to be that lighthouse that indicates the safe path into the port for everyone. So, is your light turned on? Are you ready to be a beam of light like Simeon and show Jesus to the world? He is here. He is active in this world and for many, the darkness in their lives prevent them from seeing Christ. Won’t you shine your light on Jesus and show him to the world? Amen.

Tags: Sermons