St Clement Church
The Presentation of Christ Community Service
Good morning to you all
Today is the ‘end of the beginning’ – after today, all aspects of the ‘Christmas’ story are finished and the baby Jesus and his parents can go home to Nazareth.
In today’s Gospel reading we meet Simeon – who is he? What significance does he hold for us? Have you ever wondered about him?
Perhaps you should.
My love to you all
Liz
Father God, we gather here today under your care and protection. Thank you for your loving kindness that never fails us.
We thank you for those sharing this time with us, that you will guide our thoughts and our actions to bring you glory.
Strengthen us and fill us with your peace.
May we love and serve each other as Jesus has shown us.
Fill us with the Holy Spirit to do your good work on earth.
Amen
We say together:
Heavenly Father, we gather before you with grateful hearts, ready to offer our praise and worship.
As we set aside this time to focus on you, open our hearts and minds to receive your presence, and fill us with the joy of knowing you.
May our worship be pleasing to you, as we lift our voices in thanksgiving for all you have done and continue to do in our lives.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Hymn: 55 Hail to the Lord’s anointed
We say together our Prayer of Penitence:
Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed.
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God.
Amen
The Collect for the Presentation of Christ
Almighty and ever-living God, clothed in majesty, whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple, in substance of our flesh: grant that we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts, by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Readings:
Malachi 3. 1 - 5
Hebrews 2. 14 - 18
Hymn: 334 All people that on earth do dwell
Gospel: Luke 2. 22 - 40
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
(as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah
Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus in the presence of all, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for mine eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
There was also a prophet, Anna 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, 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 child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favour of God was upon him.
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
Every year we read today’s Gospel on the first Sunday in February. In it we hear about someone called Simeon who immediately recognises who this baby is.
Who is Simeon and why is he important?
Tradition says that Simeon was one of seventy translators of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek, what we call the Septuagint. That translation is supposed to have begun around the third century before Christ and was completed in the year 132 before Christ. Are you doing the maths here? That would mean that Simeon is about 270 years old when Jesus is presented in the temple. He’s a very old man! Another tradition says that Simeon is in fact 360 years old!
Simeon’s exact age is not really of great significance. He’s an old man.
There is another tradition that says that Simeon, in his translating, came to a verse in Isaiah that says, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” This made no sense to Simeon and he was going to substitute “a young woman” for “a virgin” when an angel appeared and stopped him and declared the verse to be true, and promised that before he died Simeon would see the child of this virgin.
Think about what this means. Simeon has been promised that he will see the Messiah, the Christ, the one whose name means salvation, and that promise was made nearly two hundred years before it was fulfilled. Simeon must have lived those days, years, decades and centuries with hope, trust, expectation, and anticipation.
Every day for weeks, months, years, decades, centuries Simeon is left waiting and wondering. “Is this the day? Is this the day I will see salvation or is this the day I will give up hope? Is this the day I will experience the fulfilment of the promise or is this the day I despair of it ever being fulfilled?”
Simeon’s life is one of expectation, anticipation, and waiting.
Who amongst us has not had his or her life characterized by expectation, anticipation, and waiting? We’ve all stood in that place waiting for and needing something to happen, living in expectation and hope, anticipating the future, and wondering if today is the day.
We get up each morning and have to decide whether we still believe in God’s future or whether we’ll give up.
We all know what it’s like to wait – waiting for life to change, for the grief to go away, for a prayer to be answered, for joy to return, for forgiveness and reconciliation, for clarity about a decision, for meaning and purpose, for healing and a new life.
We wait and hope for all sorts of things.
We have all sorts of hopes and expectations for what God is doing in our lives and our world.
I think we all come here this morning with some hope, some need, some expectation. We come here this morning trusting and anticipating the promise that God is present and working in our lives even if we can’t see or clearly understand what it might be. So, we show up and we wait for the miracle. That’s what Simeon does.
So, what’s the miracle for Simeon? For us? I don’t think it’s that Simeon lives to such a great age. It’s not that Simeon held the baby Jesus. It’s not that Simeon’s eyes see salvation or that Simeon has been set free to go in peace. Those things are happening all the time. The presentation of Jesus is all around us.
So, what is the miracle of Simeon? I think it’s that Simeon continues to show up. He continues to be vigilant and attentive. He continues to trust the promise. He continues to wait with hope and expectation. He never despairs. He never walks away from the promise. The miracle for Simeon and for us is in the showing up.
Sometimes showing up is the most difficult work that we do and it takes all we have, to show up. But, it’s always the question before us. Will we continue to show up? Will we be awake and vigilant? Will we hope and trust? Showing up is the means through which God fulfils the promise to us and Simeon.
Simeon thought he was waiting for the child to show up but what if it was really Jesus waiting for Simeon to show up? Simeon thought he was presenting the child to God but what if it was really the child presenting the old man to God? Every day that Simeon showed up the child Jesus was seeing and upholding Simeon. That’s what the feast is about. The presentation of Jesus doesn’t happen in the Jerusalem temple but in the temple of our lives, every moment of every day, day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade. It happens in the midst of waiting. It happens every time we show up to the reality of our lives.
Let’s show up and claim what is already ours.
Amen
Let us declare our faith in God.
Do you believe and trust in God the Father, source of all being and life, the one for whom we exist?
We believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in God the Son, who took our human nature, died for us and rose again?
We believe and trust in him.
Do you believe and trust in God the Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God and makes Christ known in the world?
We believe and trust in him.
This is the faith of the Church.
This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
Hymn: 339 Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Our Intercessions
Let us pray
Lord, with the Feast of Candlemas we reach the end of the beginning of Your great story that has no ending, and now begin to turn our faces towards Lent, and the time of reflection that follows from it.
Help us with the passing of time to grow in wisdom and simplicity, like Simeon and Anna through listening attentively to Your Word.
As we seek to be faithful followers of the essence of Your message, may the whole Church submit to the fire that refines and purifies as it turns back to the single truth that You were made man in Palestine, and live today by the breath of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, on this feast of meeting may we receive You afresh into our lives in all Your glory.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, You have sent us a light to enlighten the nations, and yet still there are people who dwell in darkness.
We pray for all the darkness in this world, and for those places where conflict makes it almost impossible to live in love with neighbour, even though without such love, there seems no peaceful end in sight.
As we think of all the places in conflict at this time … deliver your people from every evil, we pray.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
On Monday, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the world was reminded of the inhumanity that men can inflict on their own kind. To hear and see the stories told by the survivors still living and those no longer with us, is a challenge to all mankind … may we never forget, and may we ensure that such inhumanity never happens again.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, as we reflect on the characters in this morning’s Gospel, help us to play our part in reaching out across the generation gap that can so easily divide us. Teach the old to learn from the enthusiasm of the young, and the ability to see new flowers in the garden of life. Teach the young that the old, too, have something to teach them, the ability to see things from a less rushed perspective, when the fever of doing gives way to the peace of simply being.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, look with compassion on all who are suffering in any way … those who are lonely or afraid, those who feel inadequate, those who are homeless, those who feel they have nowhere to turn.
Touch with your healing power all who are sick in body, mind, or spirit. May all in need stretch out a hand for help and may they know that You are with them always, desiring their wholeness and health. Grant them peace amidst pain, confidence in Your wisdom, and the ability to draw strength from the knowledge that underneath are Your everlasting arms.
We especially remember: Ken and Reverend Diane, May, Susan, Lauren, Lynda, Terry and Dot, Margaret, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Daphne and Dave, Rob and Alison, Stella, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Felicity, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Dave and Jeanette, Carrie and John Paul, and those who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
In a week when we have remembered the millions who died in the gas chambers in the Second World War, we recall those who have died in the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Israel and other conflicts across the world.
When Simeon had seen the baby Jesus, he knew that the work of his life was done… Let us remember those who have passed from this life … Barrie Anthony whose funeral was held here on Friday.
With Simeon we pray: Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace.
We also remember all those who carry the burden of grief – be with them as they learn to live without the ones they loved.
We also remember those whose year’s mind occurs this week.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, for the coming week, we ask that in all we do, may we walk more closely with You at our side in the knowledge that Your love and care knows no bounds.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Andrew, and St Allen
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
We say together:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom
come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
Candlemas by Malcolm Guite
They came, as called, according to the Law.
Though they were poor and had to keep things sinple,
They moved in grace, in quietness, in awe,
For God was coming with them to His temple.
Amidst the outer court’s commercial bustle
They’d waited hours, enduring shouts and shoves,
Buyers and sellers, sensing one more hustle,
Had made a killing on the two young doves.
They come at last with us to Candlemas
And keep the day the prophecies came true.
We glimpse with them, amidst our busyness,
The peace that Simeon and Anna knew.
For Candlemas still keeps His kindled light,
Against the dark our Saviour’s face is bright.
The Peace
God has called us to live in peace.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Hymn: 408 Love Divine, all loves excelling
The Blessing
The Lord bless us and keep us;
The Lord make His face shine upon us,
And be gracious to us;
The Lord turn His face towards us and give us peace;
And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit,
Be amongst us and remain with us always.
Amen