Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
The devout young couple, attentive to the Word of God and eager to comply to its prescriptions, remembered the drama of Abraham and Isaac as they presented their firstborn son to the Lord. The patriarch had marched his gullible son to the mountain’s peak where the two of them fashioned a pile of stones into an altar, prepared a funeral pyre, and came within a hair’s breadth of sacrificing the child. Only at the last moment did the Lord relent. God was satisfied with Abraham’s sacrifice of his only son, whom he loved more than life itself.
The young couple felt Abraham’s intensity as they presented the child. Perhaps they felt even a touch of anxiety, remembering that Hannah had brought her son to Eli at Shiloh more than a thousand years before, and left him there! Would the priests want to keep this child? Had they heard – perhaps by angelic revelation – that he was born of a virgin?
They also remembered the punishment of the Egyptian overlords who would not allow their Hebrew ancestors a few days rest from their labors. God had punished the Egyptians with the death of thousands of children in a single night. And the same God demanded of the freed Hebrews that every firstborn male of cows, ewes, and women be surrendered to the Lord. It was a sign of his mercy that they could ransom their human offspring with a sacrifice of a heifer or lamb; or, if they were very poor, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons.
Entering the temple, they remembered the magnificent structure of Solomon, built when Jerusalem was the capital of an independent nation. This new temple, “Herod’s temple” bore the unfortunate name of a merciless tyrant. The politically savvy Joseph might have thought of that irony; Mary surely had other thoughts as they entered.
As Saint Luke tells the story, he wants us to understand that Jesus was born and raised squarely within the ancient Jewish religion. The child's earliest memories were formed a thousand years before he was born, and they would guide him throughout his life.
If our children today suppose that their histories began with the computer, or the automobile, or the Declaration of Independence, they are sorely deprived of their right to their religious heritage. If Christmas is about Santa Claus and Easter about eggs and rabbits, they have been cheated of their birthright.
Sadly, some will say they are Christian without the foggiest idea of what the word means, much less what it costs.
We owe it to our children, ourselves, and our elders to lead the children into the temples of our parish churches where the old people, today's Simeons and Annas, will praise God for the vision of a future opening before them.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.