Sermon: Pondering Jesus

Pondering Jesus
Luke 2:15-40

Introduction to Chancel Drama (written by Rev. Bryn Smallwood-Garcia)

How many of you have ever been on a long hike or camping trip?  And what’s the first thing you want to do when you get home?  That’s right…bathe.  Even if you don’t like baths you would probably be good and ready to have one if you had to wait for it for almost two months!  Well, that’s what today’s play is about.  It’s about what happened in the Temple in Jerusalem the day Mary had her first bath after hiking some 100 miles from Nazareth , giving birth to Jesus, and then being cooped up inside somewhere (maybe a stable, maybe a house) without running water for more than a month.  Before our play starts, let me tell you a little bit more about what she had gone through.

For people living in Nazareth at the time of Jesus, a trip to Jerusalem was not just an easy day hike.  At least there wouldn’t be any snow, like we have here.  But few roads were paved, and there were no Dunkin’ Donuts or modern motels or even rest stops with indoor bathrooms along the way.  And the trip would take closer to four days…and that is if you could hike 25 miles a day.  And since there is no donkey mentioned in the Bible story, we can imagine that traveling like that for 8 or 10 hours a day would have been awfully hard on a pregnant woman.

And then Mary had to deliver her baby, probably outside where they had camped – since you could find mangers as often in a field as in a stable, and there is no shelter mentioned anywhere in Luke’s nativity story.  But then they must have looked for a place to stay indoors as soon as possible – because who would want to camp outside with a newborn?  Besides that, according to Jewish purity law, Mary was supposed to stay inside, away from all public contact, during what was known as her “confinement,” for 40 days after childbirth.  Then, after 8 days, usually a family would host a big party at their home for their son’s circumcision.  This was his “naming day,” and it was a lot like one of our infant baptisms, where a family gathers with its religious community to celebrate the safe arrival of a new baby.  After his naming, the next big event for Jesus was supposed to be about a month later.  According to Jewish custom, his father was to bring him for the first time to the Temple for the service of dedication that was traditional for a first-born son – dedicating him and his life to God’s work.

The thing is, since the Bible says “when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,” we might assume that they combined the baby’s dedication with his mother’s rite of purification on his 40^th day of life.  There's no mention of two trips anyway.  After waiting that long to bathe or go outside, the new mother was ready to be made ritually clean for worship – in other words she was really ready to take a bath.  So Mary and Joseph must have really been looking forward to this day at the Temple .  And that is where we meet Mary, Joseph, and the 40-day-old Jesus today…

Chancel Drama – “Simeon & Anna”

Homily Reflection – “Pondering Jesus” 
Rev. Jennifer Whipple

You have to wonder what Mary and Joseph were thinking in the Temple that day.  Two strange people all over them, talking about their baby – a baby who had already brought about some different circumstances.  After all, angels had come to them – one to Joseph who told him that the baby would save people from their sins, and another who had come to Mary saying that this baby would lead a great kingdom and reign over the house of Jacob forever.  And yet here they are 40 days later with a BABY – a baby who eats, sleeps or maybe keeps them awake at night, cries, needs changing and washing, and so on.  Here they are with a baby that was both human and divine clashing.

I can imagine them going back and forth in their minds – “I bring you good news of great joy for all people – a savior.”  Yet they look down and they see a little body wrapped in bands of cloth.  “And a sword will pierce your heart too,” Simeon said to Mary.  “What will happen to my baby?”  You can almost see the wheels in Mary’s head spinning.

Well this year the Christmas story has become new for me as Brayden has come into our lives.  No angels came to us, but a few things did happen as we prepared for his arrival and then brought him into the world. 

First, when I was about 38 weeks pregnant I was in my midwife’s office waiting for my appointment, and I picked up a magazine.  Inside there was an interview with Kelly Ripa of “Good Morning With Regis and Kelly” fame.  She told the story of buying a television with her husband shortly before their first child arrived.  And when they got it home they took it out of the box and along with it came about a 1000 page instruction book – how to turn it on and off, how to adjust the color, how to troubleshoot any problem that might come their way.  Then they went into the hospital a few weeks later and came out with a baby…NO instruction book.  So as if I was not already worried enough about this whole situation, I sat there and read that and realized that it was definitely too late to turn back now!  Because sure enough three weeks later (as Brayden decided to stick around inside for a little extra time), Ryan and I went into the hospital a two person family and came out a three person family.  And let me tell you, Brayden received some small toys for Christmas that came with more instructions then he did!

And in a moment of quiet after the visitors had gone, and while Ryan had stepped out of the room, I laid there with Brayden in my arms and I pondered some things myself.  Will I be a good mom?  Will he grow to be big and strong?  Will he live a long and blessed life?  What will he become?  And would it matter what I thought?  After all I know in my own life my plans for myself have changed – first wanting to be a ballerina, then an auto mechanic like my dad, and going away to college to become a sportscaster and broadcast the Super Bowl.  I wouldn’t have imagined then that I would end up here (broadcasting of a different kind for certain!).

So when I think about the Christmas story this year I think about what it meant for Mary to ponder all of those same things in her heart – what it meant for her to ponder Jesus.  First I think it meant that she had to figure out how she and Joseph would raise him and his brothers and sisters.  Thinking that might be easy at times like that moment in the Temple when he was peacefully sleeping, but also realizing that there would come a day when he would do things like break the water pitcher, or when they would start fights with one another.  Second Mary had to try to figure out what God had in store for this little child of hers.  Because Anna and Simeon would have seen loads of babies in the Temple , but they made a B-line straight for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.  They saw something special and knew God had fulfilled a promise.  In him they could see the dream of Salvation for all God’s people. 

The key message of this passage is that God has hopes and dreams for us beyond anything we can imagine.  We often think about God’s plans for children, but we see in the example of Simeon & Anna who were both at the end of their lives, that God has things for us to accomplish.  Anna & Simeon passed the word on about God’s hopes and dreams for Jesus to Mary and Joseph who must have done a pretty good job raising him with God’s help (even without an instruction book) because he went on to do all that had been prophesied.

So perhaps the challenge in the Christmas story this year is not only to look at IT with new and fresh eyes but to look at OURSELVES and those around us with new and fresh eyes.  Perhaps the challenge is to look beyond the outer appearance or some of the things that drive us crazy and to see ourselves and others with eyes like those of Simeon & Anna – the eyes of a vision – that seek out what it is that God has in store no matter what our age.  To open our minds and hearts to hear God’s plans for us.

Perhaps this Christmas we seek out the hope and promise not only in the babe in the manger but in each and every one of us.  The question for us to ponder as we head into this New Year is, “What will we become for God?”  Amen.

Sources:
UCC Intergenerational Liturgy Plans for 12/28/08
www.sermons4kids.com