The Supernatural Agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible
Preacher: Revd Giles Dove
Readings: Hebrews 2: 14-18; St Luke 2: 22-40
In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
‘A light for revelation to the Gentiles.’
OK, so today we’re looking at light and thinking about light. Now, I’m sorry about this, but I can’t help myself – here’s just a small selection of lightbulb jokes.
- How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb?
- Only one, but the bulb has got to really want to change.
- How many Union board meetings does it take to get a lightbulb changed?
- This topic was resumed from last week’s discussion but is incomplete pending resolution of some action items. It will be continued next week. Meanwhile…
- How many computer programmers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
- None. That’s a hardware problem.
- How many Einsteins does it take to change a lightbulb?
- That depends on the speed of the change and the mass of the bulb. Or vice versa, of course. It just might be easier to leave the bulb and change the room. It’s all relative.
- How many postgraduate research students does it take to change a lightbulb?
- Only one, but it takes nine years.
- How many jazz musicians does it take to replace a lightbulb?
- A-one, a-two, a one-two-three-four!
- How many Baptists does it take to change a lightbulb?
- At least 15. One to change the lightbulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad.
- And finally … How many Anglicans does it take to change a lightbulb?
- None. We always use candles.
Candlemas is what is called a ‘Principal Feast.’ Forty days after His birth on Christmas Day, the baby Jesus, like every other firstborn son in a Jewish family, was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem. There, He was given to God, in thanksgiving that Jewish babies were not killed during the plagues in Egypt. Then He could be “bought back again” by His parents, at the cost of two turtle-doves.
Jewish mothers were confined to the house for 40 days after they gave birth, to protect them from infection. So, at the same time, Mary was released from this restriction. Therefore this Feast is called the Presentation of Christ in the Temple or the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This was referenced in William Byrd’s Hodie Beata Virgo sung by the Choir as our Introit this morning:
Today the blessed Virgin Mary presented the child Jesus in the temple, and Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit, received him into his arms, and began to bless God, whom he blesseth unto all eternity.
The Holy Family were greeted in the Temple by two very elderly people: Anna the Prophetess, who was 84, and an old priest called Simeon. He sang a song, which we call the Nunc Dimittis, thanking God for the birth of the Messiah, whom he called ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles.’ We will hear Charles Villiers Stanford’s setting of the Nunc Dimittis in G as our Anthem this morning.
So today is also the Christian festival of light, called Candlemas. And what, exactly, is light? Well, a typical dictionary definition of light is: The Supernatural Agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. The Supernatural Agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.
St Luke tells us that Simeon had for many years been looking forward to the consolation of Israel. One of the more modern translations of the Bible translates it more simply like this: “He was a good, devout man, and was waiting for Israel to be saved.” The word ‘consolation’ in the original Greek is the same word used of the Holy Spirit, the ‘Paraclete’ or Comforter. Israel was occupied territory, and Simeon dreamed that the Messiah would come, filled with the Spirit, to set them free. And this tiny baby, which he held in his arms, was to do the job when He grew up. Some people may think of the Nunc Dimittis as a sad funeral farewell when dying. But in Simeon’s mouth it was more of a cry of triumph, thanking God that Israel’s captivity was ended. Perhaps he realised that it was not so much an end to their oppression by the Romans which the Messiah would bring, as an end to the captivity of the whole human race to sin and death. His was a burning hope that, through Christ, our earthly bodies would one day be transfigured, and we shall find our fulfilment in eternal life.
So Simeon called Jesus ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles’ – the Jewish word for the nations of the world. In other words, illumination was coming to the whole human race, by the birth of the Child Jesus. For Simeon, the light of God was now shining brightly in the smile of this tiny baby.
But the new age will not be achieved without suffering. Simeon foresaw, however dimly, that this Child would not walk a road of continuous triumph, but would have to suffer before He came to glory. So Simeon warned His mother Mary, ‘A sword will pierce your own soul, too.’ At the foot of the cross will stand the Blessed Mother, whose heart bleeds for the death of her child. For us, too, who welcome the Light of the World today, the path which stretches ahead of us will not be without pain. Yet just as the death of Jesus on the cross was followed by His rising to new life, so we shall have the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to walk beside us and strengthen us through the dark times.
As today marks the end of the extended season of Christmas, please listen to the following short poem by African-American Howard Thurman:
When the song of the angels is silent, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and the princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
Thus, in a sense, Candlemas is a watershed, dividing Christmas, the season of light, from the more sombre days leading up to Good Friday. For today, we welcome the light of Christ; we welcome The Supernatural Agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. And we rejoice that the Holy Spirit will be with us, as He was with Simeon, supporting and strengthening us until our journey’s end, when we can sing triumphantly, ‘Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace … for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.’
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.