Luke 2:22-38
If you go into an Orthodox church, often in front of you, where the sanctuary rail would be, is a large panel on which rows of icons are placed – the iconostasis. One of the rows on the iconostasis is called the festival row and on it are scenes from the life of Mary but mainly of Jesus. And today we are looking at the icon of the presentation or purification.
On the left, we have Joseph and Mary. Behind them is the temple. The red drape in iconography shows that we are looking at what is going on inside the building, even though the main characters are shown standing in front of the building.
Simeon says, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:29)
That is really what this is all about. That is what all this talk of sacrifice is all about. It is about removing the barriers that we have built up, so that we can have an encounter with Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who loves us and who gave himself for us.
If you go into an Orthodox church, often in front of you, where the sanctuary rail would be, is a large panel on which rows of icons are placed – the iconostasis. One of the rows on the iconostasis is called the festival row and on it are scenes from the life of Mary but mainly of Jesus. And today we are looking at the icon of the presentation or purification.
On the left, we have Joseph and Mary. Behind them is the temple. The red drape in iconography shows that we are looking at what is going on inside the building, even though the main characters are shown standing in front of the building.
PURIFICATION
Mary and Joseph have come into the temple. Joseph is holding in his hands two birds, pigeons.
The pigeons are a sacrifice for the purification of Mary, which the law required for a mother after she had given birth.
Why was a woman thought to be ritually unclean after giving birth?
Indeed, why was Mary unclean after the birth of Jesus?
I wonder whether what we have here is a picture simply of the grace of God, and the new mother is a representative of the human race
We are all unclean before God simply by virtue of the fact that we are all children of Adam and Eve. We belong to a rebel people who are alienated from their God.
We were created to look up to God, to live in God, like birds living in the air. But we have become like dodos – so obsessed with looking down and looking in that we have stopped looking to the sky, forgotten how to fly and then grown to be incapable of flight. And like dodos, our destiny is extinction.
The only thing that can be said of us is that we come from dust and we will return to dust. All our achievements and successes and love will turn to dust. There is nothing more.
We are unclean before God, cut off from God.
But for those who like Mary hear the invitation of God, there is the possibility of being put right with God. The new mother is invited on the 40th day after the birth of the child, called to go to the temple. She brings with her a sacrifice. For those with little money it was a token sacrifice, two birds. And they are offered for her purification. It because of that sacrifice, the door of the temple, the door into the presence of God, that had been shut to her, was now open.
And Luke 2.22 is significant. It does not say, ‘When the time came for Mary’s purification’, but when the time came for their purification – which implies to me that Joseph is included in this.
In other words, the new mother in coming for purification, Mary in coming for purification, is a picture for all of us.
We are cut off from God, but if we hear the invitation of God, there is the possibility of being purified, made clean, through sacrifice. Not the sacrifice of two birds, but the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus who gave his own life for us. And because of him we can come into the presence of God.
PRESENTATION
And in the middle of the icon we see Mary presenting Jesus to Simeon. She too holds her hands like Joseph. But what was in her hands was not two doves but something far more precious to her, her first born child.
It is a bit easier to understand what is behind this.
All things have been given to us by God and belong to God.
And as a sign that we recognise this, the Old Testament law called on God's people to give to God the first fruits of everything that they have: their crops and cattle.
That, by the way, is one of the reasons why many Christians tithe. We can’t give the first fruits of our crops and cattle to God, but we can give the first fruits, a tenth, of our income to God. It is a sign that we recognise that everything we have comes from God, and it is an expression of our gratitude to him.
But it was not just our crops. It was also our children. Because our children are a gift from God to us.
So the Old Testament law said that those who trust God should bring their first born to the temple, present them to God, and a sacrifice would be offered in place of the child.
And here Mary does that. She brings Jesus to the temple and presents him to God. She offers him to Simeon.
But what we notice from our reading is that there is mention of the sacrifice for the purification of Mary – the two pigeons - but nothing about the sacrifice that should have been offered for the first born.
It is as if Jesus is given to God and not bought back.
Abraham in the Old Testament goes to sacrifice his son Isaac. It is a dramatic story. He builds an altar; places his son on the altar; but as he raises the knife about to kill his son, God stops his hand – and provides a ram in his place.
But here, Mary as representative of the human race, offers – presents Jesus – who becomes a representative of all the first born, no, of all of us, to God.
In the icon in the background of the presentation is a red cloth covering the table. It is the altar, the place of sacrifice.
33 years later Jesus will offer himself as the supreme, once for all time, final sacrifice for all of us. And there will be no ram, because he himself is the ram.
Purification, presentation and on the right-hand side of the icon we see Simeon, holding the child, and Anna the prophet.
ENCOUNTER
And Simeon takes Jesus into his arms
Simeon is described as righteous and devout, and Anna devoted herself to the worship of the temple. Both of them put their trust in the word of God, the promises of God.
Mary and Joseph have come into the temple. Joseph is holding in his hands two birds, pigeons.
The pigeons are a sacrifice for the purification of Mary, which the law required for a mother after she had given birth.
Why was a woman thought to be ritually unclean after giving birth?
Indeed, why was Mary unclean after the birth of Jesus?
I wonder whether what we have here is a picture simply of the grace of God, and the new mother is a representative of the human race
We are all unclean before God simply by virtue of the fact that we are all children of Adam and Eve. We belong to a rebel people who are alienated from their God.
We were created to look up to God, to live in God, like birds living in the air. But we have become like dodos – so obsessed with looking down and looking in that we have stopped looking to the sky, forgotten how to fly and then grown to be incapable of flight. And like dodos, our destiny is extinction.
The only thing that can be said of us is that we come from dust and we will return to dust. All our achievements and successes and love will turn to dust. There is nothing more.
We are unclean before God, cut off from God.
But for those who like Mary hear the invitation of God, there is the possibility of being put right with God. The new mother is invited on the 40th day after the birth of the child, called to go to the temple. She brings with her a sacrifice. For those with little money it was a token sacrifice, two birds. And they are offered for her purification. It because of that sacrifice, the door of the temple, the door into the presence of God, that had been shut to her, was now open.
And Luke 2.22 is significant. It does not say, ‘When the time came for Mary’s purification’, but when the time came for their purification – which implies to me that Joseph is included in this.
In other words, the new mother in coming for purification, Mary in coming for purification, is a picture for all of us.
We are cut off from God, but if we hear the invitation of God, there is the possibility of being purified, made clean, through sacrifice. Not the sacrifice of two birds, but the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus who gave his own life for us. And because of him we can come into the presence of God.
PRESENTATION
And in the middle of the icon we see Mary presenting Jesus to Simeon. She too holds her hands like Joseph. But what was in her hands was not two doves but something far more precious to her, her first born child.
It is a bit easier to understand what is behind this.
All things have been given to us by God and belong to God.
And as a sign that we recognise this, the Old Testament law called on God's people to give to God the first fruits of everything that they have: their crops and cattle.
That, by the way, is one of the reasons why many Christians tithe. We can’t give the first fruits of our crops and cattle to God, but we can give the first fruits, a tenth, of our income to God. It is a sign that we recognise that everything we have comes from God, and it is an expression of our gratitude to him.
But it was not just our crops. It was also our children. Because our children are a gift from God to us.
So the Old Testament law said that those who trust God should bring their first born to the temple, present them to God, and a sacrifice would be offered in place of the child.
And here Mary does that. She brings Jesus to the temple and presents him to God. She offers him to Simeon.
But what we notice from our reading is that there is mention of the sacrifice for the purification of Mary – the two pigeons - but nothing about the sacrifice that should have been offered for the first born.
It is as if Jesus is given to God and not bought back.
Abraham in the Old Testament goes to sacrifice his son Isaac. It is a dramatic story. He builds an altar; places his son on the altar; but as he raises the knife about to kill his son, God stops his hand – and provides a ram in his place.
But here, Mary as representative of the human race, offers – presents Jesus – who becomes a representative of all the first born, no, of all of us, to God.
In the icon in the background of the presentation is a red cloth covering the table. It is the altar, the place of sacrifice.
33 years later Jesus will offer himself as the supreme, once for all time, final sacrifice for all of us. And there will be no ram, because he himself is the ram.
Purification, presentation and on the right-hand side of the icon we see Simeon, holding the child, and Anna the prophet.
ENCOUNTER
And Simeon takes Jesus into his arms
Simeon is described as righteous and devout, and Anna devoted herself to the worship of the temple. Both of them put their trust in the word of God, the promises of God.
No, more than that. They staked their lives, they shaped their lives on the word of God. Although they lived at a time when God seemed distant, they never gave up on the hope that God had given them, that one day he would comfort his people and set them free. And Simeon and Anna both realise that – and now, guided by the Holy Spirit, they realise that it is all about Jesus.
It is all about Jesus
Sometimes Anna is shown pointing to the sky, directing people to God. But here she is pointing to Jesus. Just to make sure we don’t miss the point.
He is the one brings hope to people who are cut off from God. He is the sacrifice who invites us – rebels though we are - to come into the presence of God. And through him we are purified, forgiven, put right with God.
He is the one who presents himself to God his father as the perfect offering.
He is the one who is the fulfilment of all the longings and desires of the Old Testament. He will bring comfort to Israel, to the people of God.
He is the judge of all creation. Many will reject him. Some will receive him. Those who know their own need, their own sinfulness, their own need for a saviour will call out to him. Those who stand high in their own eyes, who say they have no need for God, will reject him.
Simeon declares that how we react to Jesus will reveal the state of our soul, the deep longings of our heart. ‘He will be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed' (v34f)
He is the one who has come to set us free: free from self obsession, futility, sin, from death – free to be holy and righteous. Free to live and love as we were created to live and love.
It is all about Jesus.
The altar in our icon has a canopy over it. That is because it is not just a place for sacrifice. It is also a throne. He is the Lord’s Messiah. He is the King, the King who God has anointed to rule over his people.
This is called the feast of the purification or the presentation.
But in church Slavonic, in Ukrainian and Russian, the name for this Sunday is сретение, the meeting, the encounter.
That is what is at the heart of this icon. Simeon looks at Jesus, and Jesus looks at Simeon. Simeon sees Jesus face to face. I would go further. If you enlarge this, you will see that Simeon gazes at Jesus and Jesus gazes at Simeon.
It is all about Jesus
Sometimes Anna is shown pointing to the sky, directing people to God. But here she is pointing to Jesus. Just to make sure we don’t miss the point.
He is the one brings hope to people who are cut off from God. He is the sacrifice who invites us – rebels though we are - to come into the presence of God. And through him we are purified, forgiven, put right with God.
He is the one who presents himself to God his father as the perfect offering.
He is the one who is the fulfilment of all the longings and desires of the Old Testament. He will bring comfort to Israel, to the people of God.
He is the judge of all creation. Many will reject him. Some will receive him. Those who know their own need, their own sinfulness, their own need for a saviour will call out to him. Those who stand high in their own eyes, who say they have no need for God, will reject him.
Simeon declares that how we react to Jesus will reveal the state of our soul, the deep longings of our heart. ‘He will be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed' (v34f)
He is the one who has come to set us free: free from self obsession, futility, sin, from death – free to be holy and righteous. Free to live and love as we were created to live and love.
It is all about Jesus.
The altar in our icon has a canopy over it. That is because it is not just a place for sacrifice. It is also a throne. He is the Lord’s Messiah. He is the King, the King who God has anointed to rule over his people.
This is called the feast of the purification or the presentation.
But in church Slavonic, in Ukrainian and Russian, the name for this Sunday is сретение, the meeting, the encounter.
That is what is at the heart of this icon. Simeon looks at Jesus, and Jesus looks at Simeon. Simeon sees Jesus face to face. I would go further. If you enlarge this, you will see that Simeon gazes at Jesus and Jesus gazes at Simeon.
Simeon says, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:29)
That is really what this is all about. That is what all this talk of sacrifice is all about. It is about removing the barriers that we have built up, so that we can have an encounter with Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who loves us and who gave himself for us.
It means that now we can encounter him, see him - if only dimly. But then we will see him face to face: in the same way that Simeon gazes on Jesus, the Son of God.
There is the old story of the man who used to go into the church and sit there, sometimes for hours. A vicar asked him what he was doing. ‘I’m praying’, said the man. ‘You must have a lot on your mind to spend so much time in prayer’. ‘Oh no’, said the man. ‘I come and I sit. I don’t think much. I simply look at Him, and He looks at me’.
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