Candlemas 2011

Presentation of Christ

The Feast of Candlemas, which we are observing today, has a lot of images associate with it.

There is the story of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. That time when Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to Jerusalem and offer him, as their firstborn, to God. Their visit would have been accompanied by the prescribed sacrifices.

There is the story of waiting and fulfilment – Simeon and Anna waiting patiently in the Temple for God's revelation and both of them speaking of the fulfilment of God's promises to God's people and to God's saving of the whole world.

There is a theme of light for both into the gloom of Temple religion comes the Light of the World and also this season is the traditional season for blessing the candles which are to be used in the following year. Candlemas is the time when local people would have brought their supply of candles to the Parish Church to have them blessed by their parish priest.

The idea of having those things which will break the darkness in our houses blessed is one which has gone out of fashion. Whilst some Churches will still bless candles, they are no longer necessary – we would have to be blessing energy efficient light bulbs to keep to the same spirit.

But then would we even think about Jesus as the Light of the World when we flick on a lamp to finish a book in the evening. Probably not. For most of us the hallowedness of every day is something which we might be aiming for but not something which just is.

Simeon in the Temple says some words which have been handed down to us as the Nunc Dimittis

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace
According to thy word
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles,
And to be the glory of thy people, Israel.

In these words there is certainly a proclamation of who Jesus is, there is certainly fulfilment of both Simeon's own promise from God and that larger promise given to Israel but in Simeon and Anna we find something else – they are both figures of adoration.

When I was taught about prayer I was taught the acrostic ACTS – adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Adoration comes first in this list and it is a great place to start. As I discovered after many years of trying to find suitably adoring words adoration is not all about talking – much of it is about being. Simeon and Anna might say some words which indicate adoration but their true adoration is in their demeanour – in their patient waiting.

Adoration can be something we do then, but it is also something we are and it is a vital ingredient in our spirituality and one which seems to have gone astray a little in modern times. Adoration, perhaps simply, is being who we are in relation to God in a mindful way. Adoration is acknowledging that God is God and that we are who God made us to be. Adoration does not need to be complicated or verbose, in fact noisy adoration runs the risk of turning into something else all together – adoration is as simple as breath God's name and allowing that to be true.

Adoration is important because it is where we start – it is not about making ourselves small, it is not about what we have, it is not about asking for anything – it is simply about acknowledging that we are God's and that God is......well God is. It is a hard concept to explain because there are no words which will ever fully express what God is and who we are to God – there is no neat sentence with which we can begin our prayers which will say enough. In our public worship we simply try to frame where we are and who we are with God – In the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – we do this in God's name and in God – the Lord is here, his Spirit is with us – we do this with God – that unassuming acknowledgement is adoration.

And these quiet and unassumng people in the Temple are adoring the Christ – the living word of God. We can imagine their faces when they knew that Jesus was the one – we are not sure how or about the mechanics – but imagine that moment of pure joy when they see this child who they know , without a doubt, has come from God. That moment of unadorned adoration.

To re-learn adoration in our churches we have to be willing to allow God, just to sit with God as God is without any reason or understanding. Everything around us is relative to this absolute realization and experience of God. We confess and give thanks and pray because God is God. We are because God is God. God is God – that is adoration.

When we allow ourselves to adore we might find that other things fall into different sorts of places. If everything is relative to who we are made to be by God, who we are in Christ then some of the thing which we allow to control us might seem a lot smaller and letting go and giving might seem a lot easier. What might have been an intellectual for us becomes deeply rooted in who we are.

Simeon and Anna are icons of adoration. The idea of blessing every day things might remind us that we are made to adore as we are pulled back again and more often to the reality of God. We are invited to breath God in, soak in God, big life giving gulps and gentle sighs of God. In whatever way we are invited to adore, to allow God to be, to allow God to be with us and for us and in us. Perhaps the words to the hymn version of St. Patrick's breastplate say this well

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

God really is that big.