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Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary However, since these three themes are intertwined, I thought I would try and be courageous and touch briefly on each of them. Each of them serves as a reminder of some important aspect of the character of Jesus, and each of them brings us some different insight regarding our own faith and how we live it. The first theme, in the order in which it appears in the reading tonight, is that of Purification and it comes from Luke 2:22.- which begins “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.” The reference here is to Mary and Joseph bringing the baby Jesus into the Temple for the first time. The “purification” referred to is the ritual purification of Mary, following childbirth, which was stipulated in the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses stipulated that 8 days after a baby boy’s birth, he was to be circumcised, and then 33 days later the mother was to present herself for ritual purification. So today is sometimes knows as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. – and if we do the sums, it comes 41 days after Christmas. Hence today! The theology, the understanding behind this practice is that wherever blood was spilt or shed or involved, in any process, whether it be natural as in childbirth or through menstruation, or through touching the blood shed through sickness or accident,- then that person involved was deemed to be ceremonially unclean. They were not to come into the temple or touch anything or anyone regarded as sacred or holy, lest it be defiled with that blood. And so, in order to deal with that ritual uncleanness there were specified times of separation from the Holy Places, and then specific sacrifices were to be offered to make atonement for that blood which had been shed. So Mary, along with Joseph and the baby Jesus, travel from Bethlehem – about 6kms away, to Jerusalem, to offer the proscribed sacrifices. Note that this was a ceremonial uncleanness, and had nothing to do with any sense of wrongness or sinfulness of the event which brought about that blood loss. Interestingly, there have been variations of this ceremony adopted and adapted by the Christian church down the centuries. In the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, the ‘first’ edition of our Prayer Book, the service was entitled ‘The Purification of Women after childbirth’, but in later versions, the term ‘Purification’ was dropped, and since then,such as in our 1662 BCP ( though not printed in the Green Prayer Book) it is simply called “The Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth, commonly called the Churching of Women.” This is basically a very short Service, which consists of the recitation of Psalm 116, and some prayers of Thanksgiving. There is not included any hint or idea of purification. One writer on this subject made the following comments, which I find to be both interesting and helpful. She says – “The practice of churching was by far not an imposition of the male church on women, but something sought after by women themselves. It was not only understood as the restoration of a woman to church and society after a time of isolation, but also as a welcome occasion for excessive feasting with her 'gossips'. Cressy – the author - points out that women actually looked forward to churching as a social occasion, a collective female occasion, the conclusion of the month of privilege after childbirth For men it marked the end of a month during which they had to take care of the domestic affairs, commonly referred to as the 'gander month'. And it was, after all, a ceremony which focused on the mother herself, not on her husband or the child, a ceremony which acknowledged her labours and the perils of childbirth.’ These two themes so far might serve to remind us that our life, offered to God, needs to be continually purified. Not in a ceremonial manner, but purified from the sin which so easily creeps into and takes over our lives. The theme is a reminder that Jesus Himself, later through his death on the cross, became the sacrifice for our sin, and the means by which we are purified and made holy. These two themes also remind us that all of life – and especially our families, are but gifts from God to be offered back and dedicated to His Service, and that Jesus Himself – in the words of our Communion prayer, offered himself as that “one perfect sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the world.” The third theme tonight is the one of Candlemass. You will be surprised to know that a lot of young people know all about Candlemas!! – but what they know is that it is a Swedish epic doom, heavy metal rock band specializing in gothic type music. Their song titles such as “Assassin of the light’, Destroyer, Devil Seed, and ‘at the gallows end’ , may give you some indication of their type of music. A lot of young people wont know the other meaning behind the word Candlemass. A lot of adults won’t be very familiar with it either. The popular name Candlemass is derived from the ceremony which began in quite early days in the Christian church, and came about because of the words which Simeon spoke when he met with the baby Jesus in Temple. He referred to Jesus as the one who would be a ‘light to lighten the Gentiles’, or ‘the one to give light or revelation to the Gentiles’. The Church of Rome, and in some places the Church in England also, picked up on this and instituted it as day for the blessing of candles. It is a reminder to us of Jesus, the light of the world – a light for the gentiles, for all people. It’s a reminder that without Him, we all walk in spiritual darkness. It is a reminder to the church of her mission in the world. So, whichever event we remember and celebrate today, - whether the Purification, the Presentation, or Candlemass –– in each of these there is a meaning and a relevance for us. There is something in each of these celebrations which challenge us to a closer walk with God. Let us pray: Lord God, you are the source of everlasting light. Your son, our beloved Lord Jesus was presented in the temple 40 days after his birth. He was recognised by Simeon and Anna, and welcomed as the promised Messiah. May we like them, behold the glory of the Lord Jesus. |
