Today we have a bit of an unusual churchly observance – one that many of us may not even know much about – (and I’m not talking about Lutheran Schools Week). It is the feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of our Lord. It’s an occasion that falls, on the church calendar, always, 40 days after Christmas, on February 2nd. Christians have been observing it as far back as the 4th century AD.
Some churches also call it “Candlemas” and bless their candles for the year on this Sunday. And some churches also see it as the traditional time to take down the Christmas decorations (although as you can see we’ve already done that here). And another tradition in some places is to eat pancakes or crepes on this day. Yum.
But what’s the application? But what does this all mean for us, today? Let’s get to the bottom of it this morning.
To understand what sets the stage for this festival, we have to understand some Old Testament background.
In the Old Testament – things existed in various categories – Holy and Common, and Clean and Unclean. This was all part of the sacrificial system that God established for the Israelites at Mt. Sinai.
Something could move from one category to another at various times, for various reasons. And sometimes that re-classification meant a special rite or ceremony was involved.
First, let’s consider the holy versus the common. Most things in life were considered common. Things were made holy (or set apart) when they are dedicated to the service of God, or set aside for a special purpose from God. Sometimes individuals were made this way, like Samuel in our Old Testament reading. The people of Israel were, in a sense, a holy nation (as the church is, today). We are set apart. The Levites, as a tribe, were set apart as the priests. And then you also had various things, like the furnishings of the tabernacle that were holy – set apart – for the service of Yahweh.
We have a sense of the holy, also, today. Though people seem to have less of it. We still speak of holy places, like churches, holy men. We have Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, and Holy Absolution. Some people even still continue to recognize “holy matrimony” is special and set aside. We wish more would see it that way.
When it comes to the presentation of our Lord, this first part of today’s observance, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple because he was the firstborn. And God had declared that every firstborn male in Israel was holy. So what’s that all about?
It began with the last of the 10 plagues in Egypt which brought about the Exodus. That plague was the slaughter of the all the firstborn in Egypt. God sent the destroyer that night, and the firstborn of the Israelites would also have been killed if not for the blood of the paschal lamb on the doorposts. God then declared, that in remembrance of this mercy, all the firstborn males from Israel going forward were holy to him – set apart.
The Lord said to Moses,“Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” (Exodus 13:1-2)
And though set aside, or made holy to the Lord, God also provided a means to redeem the first-borns, much like he did during the Passover – and that would, of course, require a sacrifice….
“When the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and your fathers, and gives it to you, give the LORD every firstborn, also every firstborn of your animals; if they are males, they belong to the LORD. Redeem every firstborn donkey with an animal from the flock, and if you don’t redeem it, break its neck. And redeem every firstborn of your children. In the future when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ tell him, ‘With a mighty arm the LORD took us out of Egypt, where we were slaves. When Pharaoh was too stubborn to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn among men and animals in Egypt. This is why I’m sacrificing to the LORD every firstborn male and redeeming every firstborn of my children.’ Make this a sign on your arm and a mark on your forehead, because the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty arm” (Ex 13:11-16).
This is why Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple that day – to present him as holy to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of redemption according to the Law of Moses.
And so Jesus who is our redeemer, is thus redeemed. And they make a sacrifice for him who is the one true sacrifice. And soon, when he is a grown man, the Holy One of God from eternity, the firstborn of all creation, and also the firstborn of Mary, would redeem all who are under death’s shadow by his sacrifice on the cross, and his blood shed there for us.
We, now, in Christ, are “presented” as holy. We see a picture of this in Revelation 21, as the bride (the church) is presented to the bridegroom (Jesus). Paul describes it in Ephesians 5:
“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25b-27)
And so we see that everything Jesus does, even as a baby, he does for us. And it all points forward to his saving work on the cross, his victory over death, and our final reward with him in perfection of eternity.
And then there is the other half of this observance, the Purification of Mary.
We’ve already talked about the categories of holy and common, but now we need to consider the distinction between clean and unclean. Most things in everyday life were common and clean – but a thing could become unclean in a number of ways – especially by contact with death, disease, or blood. For instance, lepers were unclean, and had to even cry out “Unclean! Unclean!” as people approached them. Touching a dead body made one ritually unclean. And of course, childbirth also made a woman ceremonially unclean – mostly because of the discharge of blood involved.
And so the presentation of Jesus in the temple was also done in conjunction with the ritual for purification for Mary following childbirth—and to give a sacrifice according to what has been said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Leviticus 12 specifies a period of 40 days following the birth of a boy as a time of cleansing for a mother (for girls, it was extended to 80 days). And so here we are, February 2nd, and count 40 days back and you’d be at Christmas.
And so Mary was cleansed, like every Jewish mother, by the blood of a sacrifice. Luke makes a special point that Mary and Joseph used the option that was provided for poor families who couldn’t afford a lamb – they offered two small birds instead. But soon all those sacrifices would stop. They would stop because the temple would be destroyed and the Jewish people scattered. But more importantly they would stop because the Old Covenant is fulfilled in Christ, because the blood of Christ becomes the cleansing for all – and not just the ceremonially unclean, but for all of us who are soiled and stained in sin.
Jesus cleanses us. It’s an easy concept to grasp, even for a child. Children are taught very early on to wash their hands before dinner, to take a bath, and not get too dirty playing outside. It’s just good hygiene. But all the more in spiritual terms, where we are by nature polluted in the filth of sin. Though your sins were as scarlet, they are whiter than snow – in Christ. Though your robes were soiled – they are washed clean in the blood of the lamb.
And so the blood of Christ makes us clean, not of dirt, but of sin. So also Christ, who is holy, makes us holy. He both washes away all sin, and makes us fit to stand in God’s presence, even for eternity. The Christian is therefore not simply forgiven, but made an heir of future glory, and a citizen of heaven. All by the precious blood of Christ – the once and for all sacrifice for sin.
So this seemingly obscure and offbeat church observance really isn’t that out there after all. For it reminds us Christians what we already know – that cleansing and redeeming and holiness all come from Christ alone. Thanks be to God that Jesus does all of this for us.
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