Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 - The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas
[1 John 2:3-11 and Luke 2:22-83]Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted.....
During this month of December I have celebrated the baptisms of Allie and Aiden Hamilton (girl/boy twins), Leon Stockwell, and Adelle Williams. I'm sure their parents and family may have wondered what each of these children is going to be like as they grow to maturity. At one time in history, when birth order and social class were equivalent to destiny, the future of the child would have been determined even before conception! (Shades of Jeremiah, the prophet!) In our culture, in these times, we are left to speculate. These baptismal events have added a certain richness for me to the event that we call the "Presentation in the Temple." The "mini-gospel" infancy narratives of Luke and Matthew both end in the temple! Jesus' own life would be put on the line later on when he challenges the powers-that-be in Jerusalem by going into the temple and driving out all those who were part of the "temple system!" His destiny is foretold in the words of Simeon whom we are told was led by the Spirit to be in the temple when Joseph and Mary bring Jesus there to fulfill their duty as Jewish parents. Ultimately that temple building, the physical center of Jewish faith, would be completely destroyed by the Romans not long after Jesus' death. Jesus considered himself to be the replacement of that temple! As we move through the "octave" of Christmas, we can still look at the figures in the crib set (or have you put it away already before the Magi can get there?) and ponder that event in the perspective of all of Jesus' life and ministry. This is a living story, not a past event. AMEN
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