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••••••• Hebrews 2:14-18
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This brief Epistle reading for this Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple contains the central theme of the whole of the Epistle to the Hebrews. On this Fortieth Day of the celebration of the Incarnation, we remember that Jesus Christ, Son of God, God among us, has broken into our midst to be like us and walk among us as one one us, identical to us in every aspect, save that as he is God, he is perfect, free from sin.
And why is it so important that Jesus is like us in every way save sin? Remember the wisdom of the sayings of so many throughout history in which it has been said that one cannot truly or fully understand the experience of others without first walking in their shoes. Tonight's feast shows Jesus as one who steps into our shoes. We could easily miss this because we do not mark birth the same way that our Jewish spiritual ancestors marked the gift of new life. The final step of the celebration of new life was that on the fortieth day of the life of a firstborn son, that son was presented in the Temple and consecrated to God. On that same day, the mother was also brought to the Temple for her ritual purification. Prior to this day, on the eighth day of new life, the child was named, and in the case of a male child, also circumcised. These rites served as initiation into the spiritual ancestory of the people of God. Tonight's feast shows us that Jesus has entered into all of this. Jesus has become a member of the People of God, the People of the Covenant made by God with the People.
For us, as Christians, as Gentiles, this doesn't mean much, for we don't mark new life in the same way. For us, we look to the life of Jesus in search of examples to drive home the truth that Jesus has come among us and shares our experiences of life. We are even now in a time of preparation to enter into the Lenten fast. In a few weeks, the Gospel for First Sunday in Lent will show us Jesus in the midst of temptation. The Enemy hits Jesus with such temptation that any mere mortal would surely have fallen. But Jesus, free from sin, aware of the intent of the Tempter, resists and avoids not only the temptation but sin itself. And Jesus did this not for himself but for us. Jesus endured temptation in order to show us that he knows what we face when we are tempted. His whole life is a commitment to sharing our experiences and being found available to us and with us in every experience of life. Jesus, the eternal God among us, even comes among us to experience death.
He not only experienced this first-hand. We think of Jesus and his cross when we think of Jesus and death. But remember that the Gospels also show us moments where Jesus experiences living among the grieving who are faced with the death of loved ones, most notably Lazarus. So profound is that experience that we are told that Jesus even mourned for Lazarus mere moments before calling his friend from the tomb not as a dead man but as one who lives once more.
As we draw near to Lent, a time that is intended to be a time of spiritual growth, there is something of great comfort in knowing that Jesus has experienced fully all that we face, and has done so in order that he would know us fully to such a degree that we are aware that we are known by God intimately. There is nothing that we can face that is foreign to Jesus. He knows and understands everything, for he has experienced all these things.
Why is this so important? Remember that we live among so many who think that God is irrelevant and out of touch with us and our lives. Even among some persons who confess faith there is a sense that the relevance and desirability of God makes sense only in a place like this but nowhere else. And it should not surprise us, then, that when the relevance of God is so compartmentalized in our living and when the relevance of God is so marginalized that in a very quick time frame we drift away from God and have neither faith nor passion for faith. There is little attraction to a distant God far removed from us.
But here is the wonder of our faith. Our God has come among us, and Jesus knows us fully. He is relevant to us and for us as he has walked this way before us and is always present with us to be our strength when we are weak and to supply us with all that we need to be faithful especially in those moments where life and faith become challenging.
Tonight, as we celebrate this Feast of Light, Candlemas, remember Jesus who is always at our side and who has walked in our shoes. Cling to that light that never fades away, and trust that Jesus who knows all and understands everything will get us through all that this life can throw at us.
We know that it is said often that "God never gives us more than we can handle." Tonight, forget that you ever heard that expression. Remember instead in the celebration of God among us, God with us, God in our shoes walking alongside of us, that God never gives us more than God can handle in our lives, for us and our salvation. And if we remember that, then we will know always that there in every place in which we are found, God is there as the Holy One who is not only deeply relevant but also our greatest treasure and strength that shall never fail us.
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•••••••••••••••••••• Father Timothy Alleman
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