The Weight of Ceremonies

Text: Luke 2:22-40

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Ceremonial—it’s a word that we tend to think little of in our society. A ceremonial leader is one who doesn’t really hold any authority, but is more of a figurehead. Ceremonial objects are things used for show rather than for function, think of ceremonial swords or ceremonial scepters. We talk about ceremonial things as if they exist in a different reality, or that they’re simply make believe. But I can assure you that while some ceremonial objects and even people might simply be for show or to symbolize something, other ceremonies and the things attached to them are quite real. A wedding ceremony, with all of its symbols of rings and white dresses and the like, is a very real uniting of a man and wife at the words of the officiant. Opening and closing ceremonies for things like schools, churches, even sporting events, all officially begin and end something very real. Less than two years ago the world witnessed the coronation of King Charles at Westminster Abbey. With all the ceremonies involved, it was beyond a shadow of a doubt that at that moment he really was the King of England. And in our readings today we hear a lot about ceremonies.

            This day in the Church year, the Purification of Mary and Presentation of our Lord has long been observed by the Church on earth on February 2. In fact, in some traditions, it marks the official end of the Christmas season, forty days after the birth of Jesus. It’s the last reading we get in the Church year that’s about Jesus as an infant. But the name of the day itself—the Purification of Mary and Presentation of our Lord—may hold some mystery for us. Why did Mary need purification? What was the point of presenting Jesus at the temple forty days after His birth?

            The reason is God’s Law. The Law given at Mount Sinai stated clearly that there was a period of time after giving birth that women were ceremonially unclean. If you’d like to know more about the details of why, feel free to ask me after the service. For a woman giving birth to a son, the period of time to wait until purification was forty days. So when forty days had passed after Mary gave birth to Jesus, she went to the temple with her husband Joseph to offer the sacrifice required by the Law for cleansing: a lamb, or two turtledoves if a lamb was too expensive for the family to afford. Because Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph went to offer two turtledoves, we know that they were a poorer family in Judea. But in obeying the instruction of the Lord, Mary was purified by the sacrifice offered in the temple—a ceremony that did something real.

            As for Jesus, because He was Mary’s firstborn, there was a special Law concerning Him. If you remember when Israel left Egypt in the Exodus, you’ll recall that the plague that convinced Pharaoh to release Israel was the death of all the firstborn in Egypt, from Pharaoh’s household to the lowliest livestock. But God spared Israel’s firstborn children and animals when the angel of death passed over and saw the blood of the Passover lambs painted over the doorways of their homes—a ritual that did something very real. And so, because the firstborn of Israel were spared, all those who were born first among the Israelites were consecrated—set apart for the Lord. As the Lord declared to His people, “Every firstborn of man you shall redeem. And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’” We see it reflected in another way in our reading from the Old Testament this morning. When the child Samuel, firstborn of his mother Hannah, was born, he was given to the Lord, redeemed with the sacrifice of a bull and set apart for the Lord’s use as a prophet.

            These were all ceremonies done in the tabernacle, and later the temple, but they do something in our readings. They purify, they redeem, they save lives, they set apart. So today we see Jesus, at only forty days old, set apart in the temple. We can be certain, because of what happened there, that Jesus was presented to God the Father for holy purpose. This purpose was testified by the man living there, Simeon, who had been told that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. He spoke in prophecy, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” This child would cause the fall of many—the proud, the arrogant, those who thought themselves high and holy, cast down and shown their great need for salvation; and the rising of many—those who lived in the dust of sin and death, to be cleansed, forgiven, and raised up to be in the presence of God forever. And because the Law of God requires two witnesses, the prophetess Anna was also in the temple, herself set apart to dwell there in prayer and fasting. She also testified and spoke of this infant Messiah now come, the firstborn Son of God to redeem all God’s people.

            Ceremonies have weight, but not because of the ceremonies themselves. They don’t have their significance from their appeal or splendor; not because of they were voted on nor because they’re ancient nor because they seem meaningful. In the temple, in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, in the Church today, all these ceremonies have weight, they do real things in the real world for real people, because of the promise attached to them. They matter, they do what they say, because God has put His Word in them. So whether it’s purification in the temple, or the presentation of the firstborn to set them apart for God’s purpose, or whether it’s what we see and hear in the Church today—they all do what they say because they’re attached to God’s Word. So in Baptism, surrounded by little ceremonies, but consisting of water and God’s Word, we see something real: a sinner is purified and claimed by God to be a member of His own household. In the Lord’s Supper, we do what has been done in the Church since that night Jesus was betrayed, and we receive His real body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins and strengthening of faith. In the entire Divine Service, whether it’s proclamation that your sins are forgiven, or the announcement that the peace of the Lord is with you always, or the prayers, or the remembrances of your Baptism—it all does something, it all delivers what it says because it’s God’s Word doing it, because it brings Jesus to you. These things all present us with Jesus, the Lamb of God offered for our purification, the merciful and faithful high priest offering propitiation for the sins of His people.

            And as for the other things we’ve heard about today from the Law of Sinai? The code of purification, of presentation of the firstborn, the sacrifice of bulls and doves? These were all fulfilled by Jesus. He does them all perfectly, on your behalf, so that they remain completed and perfected. They all leaned forward into what He would do as the firstborn Son of God and Son of Man. He took them and completed them in the way they had been waiting to be fulfilled. So now you, God’s servant, His redeemed child, can depart in peace. His Word has been fulfilled. He’s doing what He promised, even now. In the name of Jesus, the firstborn Son of God, firstborn Son of Mary, and firstborn from the dead. Amen.