Looking Ahead to January 30, 2022 -- Marking the Feast of the Presentation

 The Scripture Readings for this week are:

• Leviticus 12:1-8
• Luke 2:22-38

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The Sermon title is Renewed, Restored, Purified

Early Thoughts: When have you felt like you needed a time of purification? What has made you feel cleansed and renewed?

Jewish Law has many discussions of clean vs unclean or pure vs impure. There are a variety of things after which one would need a period of time and often a ritual of some sort to be purified or cleansed. This is not about sinfulness, not about having done something wrong. Anything  involving blood would require a time and ritual of purification and so child birth is one of those things.

This has often led to some interesting (or downright misogynistic and damaging) discussion regarding women's health and 'cleanliness'.

Traditionally the Feast of the Presentation is held on February 2nd (aka Candlemas, aka Groundhog Day). When you look at the Leviticus passage and do the math, assuming Jesus is born on December 25th, February 2nd is indeed the day when Mary's time of purification is done. (Birth on December 25, Circumcision on the 8th day -- January 1, then February 2nd is the 33rd day after that) How did these timelines get developed? Was it a sense that this gave time for the mother to recover from childbirth and the child to grow stronger? Was it a need to give time for the unclean-ness to dissipate? Maybe both? At any rate here we are. Mary and Joseph appear in the Temple for the ritual of Presentation and to mark Mary's time of purification.

It is an interesting story. At the time of his presentation Jesus is recognized for who he is by two righteous elderly members of the Jewish community in Jerusalem. There is a great sermon there. But for this moment let us stay with those questions about clean/unclean or pure/impure.

Why do we call some things, people, ideas clean or unclean? Why do we fixate on what we consider pure or impure?  Certainly there are hygiene and sanitation reasons for these things, at least some times. But are there other considerations? Are there times that our definitions of unclean or impure have been used to set others aside or keep others out?  (I am pretty sure the answer to that one is yes).

And perhaps most importantly, how do we restore those who have been cleansed? How do we return them to the community as a whole? The point of the rituals in Jewish law is that restoration, that recognition that cleansing has happened. Jewish Law recognizes that life is sometimes messy but that this does not cause irreparable unclean-ness -- nor is it about sinfulness or guilt. It allows a way to be returned to the life of the community.

Sometimes I think we have forgotten that restoration, renewal and purification are possible. Sometimes I wonder of we even see it as a goal? Maybe we get too focused on guilt and shame and sinfulness to see that sometimes life is just messy and we need time to recover from the messiness.
--Gord