大象传媒

FR DERMOT:

Good morning and welcome to the west of Scotland. I am delighted that you are able to be with us in worship and prayer at this Jesuit parish here on Garnethill in the heart of Glasgow, where the congregation is joined by the Schola Cantorum of St Aloysius鈥� College.

Today is a special celebration in the Christian calendar 鈥� the 2nd February marks 40 days after the birth of Christ on 25th December. We remember the day when, according to the Gospel of St Luke, the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus travel to Jerusalem and enter into the Temple to fulfil the Law of the Lord. In days of yore the feast was often referred to as Candlemas, occasionally as The Purification of Our Lady, but now it is more accurately called The Presentation of the Child Jesus.

HYMN: 听听PRAISE TO THE HOLIEST IN THE HEIGHT 听(Tune: Billing)

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MARY:
If Candlemas day be dry and fair,
The half o' winter to come and mair.
If Candlemas's day be wet and foul.
The half o' winter gane at Yule.

FR DERMOT:听 That little Scottish rhyme points towards a link with the weather and the changing seasons at this time of year in the northern hemisphere. The Americans call it Groundhog Day and keep it on a more fun level or weather prediction, but in Europe the roots of history and culture are much deeper and more complex.

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To the early Romans the winter season was not even marked by a month, but when it was finally marked out and named (about 500 years before Christ) they gave the first month the name of February (from the Latin 鈥榝ebruum鈥�, cleansing) as it was seen to be the time of purging and purification; from the death of winter, signs of new life began to emerge, the days became longer and the snowdrops emerged from a seemingly lifeless earth.

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For the early Christians, who were beginning to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the depth of winter, the linking of the 40 days鈥� post-natal requirement of the Jewish law for Mary鈥檚 purification, matched perfectly with the secular season.

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The strong earthly theme of emerging light, cleansing and banishing of darkness caught the imagination of the early Christians. For a rural population tied to the land, the lengthening daylight hours were a sign of hope, and across Christendom communities marked the occasion with a special service where people would bring their precious lights 鈥� the everyday candles from their homes 鈥� and they would process around the villages and take them for blessing at the Eucharist. Thus this special Mass soon became known as the Mass of Candles 鈥� Candlemas.

鈥淭he people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen鈥�

ADAM
Prayer: Lord Jesus, dark and arrogant forces can sometimes throw shadows over our world and into our hearts. We pray for those who find themselves cast into a valley of darkness 鈥� give them hope. We pray also for those who act as beacons of your presence 鈥� the peacemakers and healers; the people who live with integrity and courage; and those who give of themselves to protect the poor, the vulnerable and the voiceless.

Lord hear us.
ALL:听听Lord, graciously hear us.

Music: LIFT UP YOUR HEADS (Tune: C H Three, John Bell) 听听听

FR DERMOT
To anyone who believes that Christmas lasts Twelve Days and festivities are over once the Magi have been celebrated, Luke the Evangelist would beg to differ. He would tell us that Christmas should last 40 days and The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is the very climax of that 听Christmas story.

To understand the reason why he would say this we need to pause and look behind us.

The Christmas story is presented to us by two writers 鈥� Matthew and Luke. But because we have seen too many primary school Nativity plays, where shepherds rub-shoulders with Wise Men, we mash-up these two quite different Christmas stories. But mixing Matthew and Luke together is like drinking a mixture of white wine and red wine in the same glass 鈥� you get the alcohol content, but you really ruin the distinctive tastes and flavours of each.

Thus Matthew鈥檚 Christmas story has the annunciation by an angel to Joseph in a dream, the Wise Men, Herod massacring the innocents; and the flight of the family into Egypt.

Luke, on the other hand, has the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary in Nazareth; the Census and the journey to Bethlehem; the birth of Jesus and his lying in a manger; the angels with the shepherds; and then 鈥� today鈥檚 feast 鈥� the Presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple.

Both Matthew and Luke agree about the key theological facts of Jesus鈥� infancy, but they tell their stories in quite different ways speaking to their own very different early Church Christian communities.

So, what themes does Luke outline and why is the Presentation of Jesus important to him? We need now to listen carefully to the text.

MICHAEL:

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听(as it is written in the law of the Lord, 鈥楨very firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord鈥�),听and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, 鈥榓 pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.鈥�

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FR DERMOT

Luke never wastes words, and it is notable that, in that short introduction, he mentions the Law of the Lord three times. Luke is at pains to point out to his readers that Joseph and Mary are faithful to the Jewish Law, they are not ignoring it or destroying it.

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This perhaps gives us an insight into the times when Luke himself was writing. By the time of Luke, 50 years after Jesus had been crucified, what had begun as a sect of Judaism had gone its own separate way, and there was a mistrust between the Christian and Jewish communities. Were Christians hostile to the faith of the One True God? Not so, says Luke emphatically: Mary, Joseph and Jesus respected the Jewish law. And indeed (as Luke will unfold in his Gospel) the early Church believed that Jesus鈥檚 life and ministry did not contradict the revelation of God to his people, but was the source of its fulfilment. The early tensions between these two sincerely-held faith traditions should be carefully noted: when left unchecked, unresolved and unredeemed, the spirits of the Prince of Darkness wove themselves subtly into the fabric of Christianity and prepared the road to Auschwitz.

ALICE:

Lord Jesus we ask for hearts able to tolerate differences. We pray that, in our desire to be faithful, we might not be blind to changes that you inspire in our cultures and beliefs and understanding. We ask that your Spirit might protect us from easy prejudices, and lead us to constantly seek for Truth with humility.

Lord hear us.
ALL:听听Lord, graciously hear us.

Psalm 34 听The Cry of the Poor (John Foley SJ)听听听听听听听听

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MARY:

The Gospel of Luke Chapter 2 from verse 25.

鈥淣ow there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon;听this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.听It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord鈥檚 Messiah.听Guided by the Spirit, Simeon听came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,听Simeon took him in his arms and praised God.

FR DERMOT
If 鈥淭he Law鈥� was the pulsing phrase that emerges from Luke鈥檚 first paragraph, the Holy Spirit is the one that is now repeated three times in this present section. Simeon, who is law-abiding and devout, looks forward to God鈥檚 arrival 鈥� and as Luke points out, the Holy Spirit rests on him, reveals to him and guides him.

But Simeon is not the only person who notices the unimportant family in the corner of the bustling Temple courtyard鈥�

MARY:
From Verse 36:
There was also a prophet, Annathe daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the childto all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

FR DERMOT:

If there were any doubts about the Old Testament resonances that Luke is stimulating, Anna鈥檚 appearance clinically dispels them. The figure Anna cuts is richly suggestive 鈥� on one level, she brings to mind Judith the prophetess from the Hebrew scriptures: a widow from the tribe of Simeon, who initially spent her days in prayer and fasting and observing the Law; but then she leads the People of God against the marauding Assyrians.

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On another level, Anna鈥檚 appearance alongside Simeon in the Temple reminds us of the birth of the Old Testament prophet Samuel; his mother, Hannah, went to the Temple in Shiloh presenting her precious child for the service of God.

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Weaving the texture of the braiding even more tightly, Luke positions Anna and Simeon together as a pair to mirror the opening of the Gospel when Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, were also longing for a child to be given to them.

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For Luke his Infancy Narrative is a place of transition, an airlock between the Old and the New Testaments, where both can co-exist and the connections are made manifest.

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At the Presentation, Luke sees the Christ Child being carried into the Temple to be surrounded by characters who might have stepped out of Jewish history. The Old Testament faithful of Simeon & Anna encounter the New Testament faithful in Mary & Joseph, with the Child held between the four of them. The Law, Prophets, the Holy Spirit, swirl around them in the Temple Courtyard. God is in his Temple, back with his people.

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Behold the Holy Lamb of God (Tune: Holy Lamb, John Bell)

FR DERMOT:
Although Anna is not quoted, Simeon bursts forth with one of the great Canticles of the Christian Scriptures, the Nunc Dimittis.

MICHAEL:
鈥楳aster, now you are dismissing your servantin peace,
听听听听according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
听听听听and for glory to your people Israel.鈥�

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FR DERMOT

This is the fourth such hymn that Luke has embedded into his infancy narrative. The others 鈥� the Benedictus of Zechariah, the Magnificat of Mary and the Gloria of the Angels serenading the Shepherds 鈥� are placed in the story of the birth of Jesus when the characters pause and sing a song of wonder.

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For the canticle of Simeon, in words which distil the insights of Isaiah in the Old Testament, the Nunc Dimittis sings of the promises that he, Simeon, has heard and trusted in. It is a hymn of hope 鈥� a hymn of someone who knows that God鈥檚 Spirit is abroad, a Spirit that is forever probing the seeming impregnability of oppression and sin, a Spirit that is slowly but surely turning darkness into light.

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It is important to realise that this yearning of the soul is not something that is isolated to rare events; we see the sparks of it on an almost daily basis. Despite our limitations and our prejudices, almost every human soul naturally perceives when things are not right and intuits how things could be better. But in some souls there is a deeper realisation of a power at work which has the ability to untie the most formidable knots & bindings.

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Sometimes this yearning pulses through an entire nation.

Recently the 大象传媒鈥檚 Fergal Keane announced that he would step back from reports from war-torn places, bearing the scars of that service.听

On a happier occasion, in 1994, he reported from Soweto on an approach-run to the first multi-racial election in South Africa:

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SOUTH AFRICA ELECTIONS 1994 鈥� INSERT
Montage of report/vox pops from 1994 SA election

[Congregational singing]

FERGAL KEANE听 Now the mood is one of celebration and not protest.听
Within 24 hours the parishioners of Holy Cross will enjoy full political rights 鈥� something many can hardly have expected to see in their lifetime.
Canon Peter Lenco spoke of his own feelings.

CANON PETER LENCO听 Everybody is elated.听 I think this is the one moment that everybody has been waiting for in this country.听
[Cape Town Choir singing 鈥楿kuthula鈥橾
The one moment that the Church has prayed, struggled through for many, many years, and I think that the April 27th can best be summed up in one word, and that is 鈥� God is wonderful.听 He has led his people to freedom.

Vox Pop Man: This is the most wonderful experience 鈥� it has been 65 years of slavery, all my life, but I am looking forward to this.听 First time I will be standing at the polls to elect.

Vox Pop Woman:听 It鈥檚 great!听 I鈥檒l be voting for the first time, and that will be wonderful and exciting.听

Vox Pop Woman:听 I feel wonderful.听 I鈥檝e been looking forward to it, and I鈥檓 hoping and praying to God that it should go on smoothly because he鈥檚 the one who has conquered for us.

Vox Pop Woman:听 The whole nation is here, we鈥檙e in peace, laughing, it鈥檚 a big day.
Even听 if I die today, I鈥檓 so happy.听

[Cape Town Choir singing 鈥楿kuthula鈥橾

MARY:

Prayer: Father, the words of the people of South Africa mirror those of Simeon 鈥� they are words of waiting & thanksgiving鈥� of salvation & peace鈥� of promise & fulfilment鈥� Allow your hope to embed itself into our hearts that we might be lights in our world.听听

Lord hear us.
ALL:听听Lord, graciously hear us.

Nunc Dimittis (Burgon)

FR DERMOT:

But Simeon had not finished. The bright day darkens鈥�

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MARY:

鈥淎nd the child鈥檚 father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon听blessed them and said to his mother Mary, 鈥楾his child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed,听so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed鈥攁nd a sword will pierce your own soul too.鈥欌��

FR DERMOT:
Luke is not a writer who wallows in false optimism. Like Matthew he will not finish his overture on an artificially high note. As one Bible scholar noted: 鈥楾he Christmas crib lies under the shadow of the Cross.鈥�

The Gospel of Jesus is for all nations, and that word will spread across the face of the earth 鈥� but both Luke and Matthew know from their own lived experience of the early Church that although the message will be accepted by some, it will be ignored by many, and hostile forces will align themselves to try to destroy the Word, as they attempted to silence Jesus through his Crucifixion.

Thus the tones of their Infancy overtures change from major to minor:听 Matthew does this by injecting the terror of Herod in the wake of the departing Magi, while Luke makes the same warning through the second prophecy of Simeon to the Holy Family.

A shadow will pass over Mary, he says, and the mood in the Temple scene chills because of the image of the sword. It is another Old Testament image, this time from the prophet Ezekiel 鈥� who sees such a sword not as a weapon of war, but perhaps more as a surgical scalpel, cutting and dividing. Jesus鈥檚 very life and ministry will have such a challenging effect and no human being who truly encounters him will be immune from the fine-ness of the cut or the pain it brings. Not even his Mother.

DUET: O Quam Tristis et Afflicta (From Pergolesi鈥檚 Stabat Mater)听

FR DERMOT:
And so now Mary is marked by Luke as the exemplar of this challenge. She will emerge in the Gospel as one who, by choice, 鈥榙oes the will of my Father and puts it into practice鈥�. She will witness the death of Jesus, but her faith & hope will carry her through 鈥� not just to the Resurrection, but to the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles where Luke carefully places her front-&-centre in the Upper Room on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit explodes into creation.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, Lord of Creation, in the noisiness of our lives give us hearts of discerning love that we might hear you calling to us and have the courage and faith to put it into practice.

Lord hear us.
ALL:听听Lord, graciously hear us.

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FATHER DERMOT

Let us pray together in the words that Jesus gave to his own disciples...

ALL:听 LORD鈥橲 PRAYER

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Hymn: Longing for Light / Christ be our Light (Bernadette Farrell)

Blessing

Fr Dermot: The Lord be with you

All: And with your Spirit

Fr Dermot:听May Almighty God bless us: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

All:听Amen

Fr Dermot: Our Service is ended 鈥� Let us go in the Peace of Christ

All:听Thanks be to God.

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听ORGAN VOLUNTARY: Herbert Howells: 听Psalm Prelude Set 2 No 3