Hope in Jesus Luke 2: 22-40
Families! Don’t we just love them to bits –
…. and get frustrated by them …. and disappointed in them; and angry with them and sometimes, even, we just simply have too much of them! But we can’t deny that they are important to us. And DNA testing proves that we are connected to one another – at an organic level at the very least.
If we have been fortunate enough to gather with family this Christmas, it won’t have been long before someone remarks, “Bill is the spitting image of Grandad”, or “Joan is starting to run to fat like the aunties on Father’s side”
We can probably all think of a time when such a thought has crossed our minds…….
Some of it is good – and some of it is bad. But we all inherit something from our ancestors.
In Biblical times – pre DNA times – lineage and identity were less understood in terms of shared characteristics and more closely linked with tribe and property. After all those were the things that were visible and tangible – no forensic scientist required; or available for that matter.
In due course, what belonged to the Father was passed down to the sons. They would be the heirs of all that he had – but the rub is - NOT YET.
And St Paul highlights the ignominy of what that means when he writes to the Galatians. “My point is this - heirs – as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves. Though they are the owners of all the property; they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the Father”.
“No better than slaves” – that must surely conjure up a picture of the helplessness and the hopelessness that comes with being a slave or a minor.
A couple of years ago I watched the TV movie, “Queen Victoria. Part of the story included the account of a small orphan African girl who was “gifted” to Queen Victoria. At the same time that Christmas Trees were being installed in the Banquet Hall, carols sung and the royal family gathered for reconciliation in a truly Christmas manner – a homesick child was dying inside for the country and the people that were hers; her place of belonging. The biggest tragedy was her powerlessness in the situation.
Yet, when Queen Victoria was made aware of the circumstances, she acted in the child’s best interest and the situation was put right.
Likewise, it is worth reflecting that when St Paul wrote today’s passage to the Galatians he also had oppression on his mind – the “heirs” who were no better than slaves were the Jewish people – and the guardians and the trustees who they were under were the Jewish authorities and leadership – those Scribes and Pharisees that we hear so much about. But they were not exercising their custodial responsibilities in ways that truly honoured God’s Law.
This was the religious landscape that Jesus was born into; and it dogged the existence of many devout and righteous people.
And so St Paul, as a new Christian, was able to write “So it was with us; while we were yet minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world.” In other words – this is the way things were – this was life’s uncomfortable reality for them at that time.
And Joseph and Mary were part of that reality too. Yet as faithful people they took their first born son to offer sacrifice at the temple as was the custom, flaws and all. And like them; many of us live in that uncomfortable space of compromise between the ideals of our faith, questionable church traditions and our day-to-day lives.
It is an on-going struggle. But we do desire a deeper relationship with God and creation; long for it even. We also recognise that the way we do church and society is a human construct and we don’t always get things right.
In the Bible account, an awareness of this issue is embodied in two people – Simeon and Anna. While they might not qualify for the New Year’s honours list; they are presented as hugely devout and righteous people. They are close to God and know God’s closeness to them. It is almost incidental that they also have religious credentials worthy of being listened too.
As they greet Jesus they both articulate hope for the future, a hope that is clearly located in Jesus.
- Jesus as salvation; deeply personal and individual
- Jesus as a light for revelation to the Gentiles; to non-believers
- Jesus for the glory of God’s people, Israel; challenging their integrity as children of God
- and Jesus for the redemption of Jerusalem; bringing national and political significance to a marginalised minority……
‘No pressure’ Jesus!
One thing that is pivotal here is that both Simeon and Anna point to what he will become and who he will be. With the shepherds and the Magi and an unaccountable number since, some of whom we know ourselves; they give witness to how, through Jesus’ presence, Hope enters into a Stuck World. Change for good is possible. We are no longer helpless.
As Christmas’ dinner leftovers are eaten, decorations taken down, and family and friend form-letter emails put in Efolders for unlikely future reference – we may well wonder, “Well, what was all that about?
What does Christmas actually amount to, when you think about it?”
Possibly not a lot - unless we are among those who grasp, like Anna and Simeon, that there is more to this vulnerable child in a manger than meets the eye.
Certainly we know it through the Easter eye of hindsight and we use churchy words like incarnation, atonement and salvation in an attempt to nail it (excuse the pun….).
But what if ….
What if we were also to gaze at the Christ-child of Christmas, ignoring the distraction of the passage of time and the trimmings of a folk Christmas and say, “This is my brother”?
What if we were to reflect on the generosity of God in including us in the Divine family?
What if we were to pray; resting in the simple trust of knowing that at Christmas time, God kept his promise to Abraham? God is faithful.
What if we were to watch for God’s presence; and be ready to be surprised and astonished? I mean to say – a baby?
What if…. what if……
Behind these prompts is the theological understanding of the Christmas Jesus that informs Paul’s exhortations in his letter to the Galatians.
He uses the language of traditional family connection but there are other metaphors that serve very well. For example, Joy Cowley, the New Zealand author and poet speaks of a “God Spark” in each of us. Consider this in a re-read of the conclusion of today’s short Epistle…
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a child, and if a child, then also an heir, through God.”
We are back to the “heir” word – but in this use, the locus of a guardian or a trustee that makes decisions on our powerless and helpless selves has changed position.
It is no longer an external force of power and control, subjective and arbitrary.
Now it is to be found within, prompting and guiding.
Christmas has meaning in as much as we have the gratitude to unwrap the God’s gift of Jesus and accept the Holy Spirit within.