A Poem a Sunday

Christmas – I – B

December 31, 2017

St. Luke 2:22-4 - NRSV

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

22 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 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;[a] this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.[b] 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon[c] came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon[d] took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant[e] in peace,
    according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon[f] blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

36 There was also a prophet, Anna[g] the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child[h] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Footnotes:

[a] Luke 2:25 Gk Symeon

[b] Luke 2:26 Or the Lord’s Christ

[c] Luke 2:27 Gk In the Spirit, he

[d] Luke 2:28 Gk he

[e] Luke 2:29 Gk slave

[f]  Luke 2:34 Gk Symeon

[g] Luke 2:36 Gk Hanna

[h] Luke 2:38 Gk him

The Sign to be Opposed

God of the margins

we keep reading the paragraphs

while you, since the beginning,

identify with the outcasts.

Born in the raw straw of a stable

on a fateful starlit night

you come to be the downfall

of those who claim the might.

Dangerous love and compassion

confront Caesar’s Empire troops.

A force no power can conqueror

because you expose the truth.

Your life a sign to be opposed,

a prophet disdaining all kings.

You lift the lowly, fell the rich,

give the wounded ones new wings.

Yet, do we really know you

for we are rich, not poor,

as we keep reading paragraphs

and close every open door?

Oh, God of the margins,

we pray for open eyes

to meet you at the fringes

of our daily lives.

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