Third Presbyterian Sunday Morning Bible Study - December 26, 2021

Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on Luke 2:21-38.

Rituals, customs and habits. There is a thin line that separates these things that we all have. Ritual, at least in the Biblical sense, is a ceremony or routine that is carried out on a regular basis with the idea that it strengthens our faith. When we take part in a ritual, we feel that we are doing it because God wants us to. In this context, what are some of the rituals we take part in? Baptism. Holy Communion. Sunday School. Even during this Christmas season, we have personal rituals like saying the blessing before diving into the turkey and dressing. Some might read the Christmas story we studied last week to our children. Rituals are those religious things we do that make us feel like we are doing it with God’s approval. He is looking down on us and saying, “I like what you are doing.”

Customs are another thing. This is where a group of people do something on a kind of regular basis that isn’t necessarily done to increase our religious faith. These are more secular activities even though they may have a religious basis. We have just gone through a month that is rich in customs. What are some of the customs we follow at Christmas? Decorating the house. Christmas tree. Exchanging gifts. Singing carols. Waiting for Ralphie to get his BB gun in A Christmas Story. These aren’t bad things. In fact, these are very good things because they make us feel part of a larger community. When Jackie and I were first married, her side of the family had a custom of a Christmas party every night. One night it was at Shirley’s house, the next at Florence’s house, but the “you’ve gotta go to” one was at Jackie’s grandmother’s house down at Willoughby. By the time New Year’s Eve came, we were pretty much partied out. But that didn’t stop us. We struggled into our good clothes one last time and went to the New’ Year’s Eve party at the officer’s club at the base.

Finally, there are habits. These are non-religious things that we do all by ourselves. These are the things we do without even thinking about them. It is a specific routine we follow without any regard for how anybody else might perform the same routine. It is ours and ours alone. There was an “All in the Family” episode one time where Meathead was putting on his socks and shoes. He put on a sock and then put on a shoe and then he repeated the process for the other foot. Archie started to ranting and raving that he did it all wrong. Archie always put his socks on both feet first and then put on his shoes. That was Archie’s habit and if you didn’t do it his way, then you were doing it wrong. Personally, I side with Archie on the socks and shoes thing, but that’s my habit.

There are other habits that dominate our lives. If you ever saw the TV show “Monk”, you saw a guy whose life was dominated by his habits. He wouldn’t step on a crack. He had to have everything symmetrical. Candles have to be exactly perpendicular. What habits do you have?

In our society, rituals don’t seem to be in vogue anymore. There are still customs and habits which govern our daily lives more than we would like to admit. There is some comfort and security in customs and habits. They reduce the number of decisions we need to think about every day. We can fall back on a custom or habit and the decision is made.

In the Jewish tradition, rituals played an important part in how people led their lives or how they dealt with normal events like having a baby. In today’s study we see that Mary and Joseph were sensitive to the rituals required by their Jewish religion. They made sure that everything was done in accordance with these rituals.

Last week, a baby was born in Bethlehem and the shepherds came to worship the babe after being told by an angel about the birth of the Christ child. Mary and Joseph listened to them but didn’t realize what all of this would mean to their lives. A week has passed as we pick up the story from Luke’s account.

Luke 2: 21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 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. 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”) 24 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.”

There were three rituals that come into play in these verses. The first takes place in verse 21. What ritual is it? Every male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day after the birth. This was so important that if the eighth day fell on the Sabbath, it was still done, even though circumcision would normally be considered work and in accordance with the Sabbath laws, it wouldn’t be allowed on the Sabbath. But it was so important in establishing the little boy as part of God’s covenant with Abraham, that it was performed even on the Sabbath. In addition to the snipping, it was at the circumcision that the boy was named. Mary and Joseph named their son like the angel had told them - Jesus - which means “God Saves.” In verse 21, Mary and Joseph have taken the baby to the temple in nearby Jerusalem to be circumcised. Even today, this is a major ritual in the Jewish faith.

The second and third rituals are introduced in verse 22. You have to read this verse carefully and understand the tradition to realize all that is going on. It says that when the time came for “their” purification. Who is the “their” Luke is talking about? These rituals concern Mary and Jesus. Also, the mention of “their” allows us to date the event. Here is the tradition. The first-born son or even the first-born male animal was considered to belong to God. Remember in Exodus when scripture tells us that the Lord slew the first-born in the land of Egypt, the first-born of man and the first-born of cattle. But the first-born of the Israelites was spared if they painted their door posts with the blood of the sacrificial lamb. Because of this event, the first-born would always belong to God. So, in a technical sense, Jesus belonged to the priests in the temple. Now from a practical standpoint, God couldn’t have thousands of first-born little boys and animals wandering around the temple. So, a ritual developed where the first-born could be bought back from God. It was a ritual called the “Redemption of the First-born.” A month after a first-born came into this world the parent would buy the child or animal back by paying the priests at the Temple five shekels of silver. Wouldn’t you know the priest would find a way to get money from a birth. That is the Jesus part of the “their” referred to - the Redemption of the First Born.

The other part of the “their” concerned Mary. The third ritual dealt with women who had given birth. These women were considered unclean for forty days after the birth of a son. I hate to tell you ladies this, but the time for a woman to be unclean after having a girl was eighty days. The whole reason for considering a new mom unclean was because of the blood that was involved during birthing. Blood represented life which belonged to God. Bleeding meant that you were losing something that belonged to God. During these forty or eighty days, the new mom could take care of the house, buy groceries and do laundry, but they were not allowed to enter the temple or take part in any religious ceremonies. At the end of the forty days in the case of boys, women could go to the temple for purification. This involved offering a sacrifice of a year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove as a sin offering.

Now, not everybody could afford to buy a year-old lamb, remember the business of sacrificial lambs was a money-making enterprise run by the temple priests so you couldn’t go to a Dollar Store and buy a cheap lamb or even a used lamb from the CHKD store. For those unable to pay the price for a lamb, a pigeon or turtledove could be substituted for the lamb. Scripture tells us that Mary sacrifices either two pigeons or two turtle doves. This kind of sacrifice was called “The Offering of the Poor.” Mary and Joseph were a poor couple, but they found the necessary money for Mary to go through the purification ritual. From these two rituals we can be sure that at least forty days have gone by since the birth.

Luke 2: 25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do to him what was customary under the law. 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God saying, 29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word, 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed–and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

All Jews believed that they were God’s chosen people - that’s the basis of their existence. Being the chosen people, that they were bound someday to rule the world. They understood that their small poor nation could never be the world power that they thought they should be on its own. To be a world power would require God to pull it off by raising up another king as great as David. So, the new king would be descended from David. Then all the glory that existed during David’s heyday would come around again. So, in some supernatural way God would use this David like king to push the Jews to the top of the heap. They knew that to get there would require a war which would be bloody and violent. This is what most Jews were waiting for and looking forward to. The heavenly king riding up on a white horse with an army of angels behind him to run the Romans out of town.

There were other Jews who didn’t buy into the violent overthrow of the Romans. They believed that constant prayer and righteous living would be the avenue through which God will enter this world and put Israel in its proper place. These people were called the “Quiet in the Land.” Simeon was one of these people. What do we know about Simeon? He was a righteous and devote man. Was he an old man or young man? We get the idea that he was probably an old man. Everyday Simeon would come to the temple and pray to God to send the people’s savior, the long awaited for Messiah. It wasn’t something that he dreaded doing every day. On the contrary, Simeon went everyday expecting that on that day God would show him the savior. He was sure that this would happen someday. Why? because he had been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn’t die until he saw God’s own anointed King.

This was a day like all the others before them. He had gotten up, eaten, taken care of the business at home and trudged down the dusty streets of Jerusalem toward the temple. It was a good day for a walk. The sun was shining. Children were playing kick the can in the streets. Would this be the day that God had promised? If it isn’t, then maybe it will tomorrow. This would give him something to look forward to.

He finally comes to the temple and starts the walk up the steps. The steps seem to get higher and higher each year. After so many days stretching into so many years, Simeon had developed his own habit about which side of the steps to use - his habit was the right side. That is the side where beggars gathered. It always gave him a warm feeling knowing that the coins he will drop in the beggar’ hands fired the hope they sought.

He reaches the top step and walks into the Court of the People. People were scouring about pausing only momentarily to speak to him and then off to the temple stands to buy lambs, pigeons or turtle doves for sacrifice. He is a familiar sight in the temple. Some men have grown up seeing Simeon sitting on the bench by the north wall watching intently as the people rushed by him. Like he was always looking for someone he was supposed to meet there.

He has about given up hope for anything happening today. He was picking up his things when a couple carrying a small baby moved slowly by his bench trying to get in line for the stall selling pigeons. “Poor girl. She can’t afford a proper sacrifice of a lamb. Well, good for her that she is at least following the Law and isn’t letting a lack of money stand in her way.” thought Simeon as he studied the couple. As he watched them, he noticed that there was something different about this couple. There was a purpose in the way they moved through the crowd always protecting the child. Simeon rises to help them get to the stall. Joseph and Mary looked up at him thankful for his friendship. Then he looked into the face of the babe. Without any words from any angel, no heralding from an angelic chorus or a booming voice directing his attention to the baby, he knew right then and there that he was staring at God’s chosen King the Messiah. After so many years of disappointment, maybe he was at last staring at the face of God. The Holy Spirit spoke softly to him confirming in his heart that his long wait was over.

Simeon lifts the child from the arms of his mother and holds him to his chest and what does he do? He begins to praise God. He tells them and everybody around them all the things that the Holy Spirit had let Simeon know about this child. Looking at Mary, Simeon begins to speak about what this child will mean to the world. Jesus will cause many people to - what? Fall. How will this happen? It isn’t so much that God will judge a man as unworthy - a man will judge himself; and this judgement will be his reaction to Jesus Christ. The mighty, the arrogant, will find no salvation of their soul in all that they accomplish here on earth if elevating themself is their only goal. So, man will fall from God’s grace when he rejects God’s offer of his Son, Christ.

Just as Jesus will be the means by which many fall, so he will be the means where many will - what? Rise. A wise man once said that when a man is down on his luck, all he needs is a hand to lift him up. It is the hand of Jesus that lifts us all out of our old life of sin and selfishness into a new life of righteousness. That hand lifts us from shame into glory. All we need to do is grab hold of that hand and hold fast to it.

Jesus will be a new kind of king. He will face a lot of opposition. When you meet up with Jesus, you can’t sit on the fence. You have to take a stand on one side or another. You are either for him or against him. There is no middle ground. No Christian is average or should he want to be. To be average is to be the worse of the best and the best of the worse. All Christians should strive to be is the best that humanity can offer. The irony here is that to win we have to first surrender. It is only the pride of a man that doesn’t let that surrender take place and blocks the victory offered by Christ.

What does Simeon see for Mary? A sword will pierce her soul too. With Christ on the cross, a sword will penetrate his side. Mary standing at the base of that cross will feel the pain of that penetration as she watches her son suffer. Every mother suffers when her child suffers whether that child is the Son of God or the son of man.

Jesus was going to be the savior of all people, both the chosen people as well as the Gentiles who were so hated by the chosen people. Jesus wasn’t the exclusive property of the Jews but was here for the whole world and that included the Gentiles. Simeon was seeing past the customs of his people to the truth of Christ’s life. Only the Holy Spirit could have let such a devout righteous Jew like Simeon know the full extent of Christ’s ministry. Simeon’s faith and trust in God allowed him to accept the inclusion of the Gentiles in the mission of the Messiah.

Mary and Joseph had listened to Simeon and were amazed at what they had heard. I know the angel had told them that this babe was the Son of God, but these are simple people. They could accept that fact without ever realizing what it entailed. Now, here was a total stranger telling them about their own baby - some of it good stuff and some of it troubling.

Simeon felt good that day. God had kept his promise. The long walks to the temple would end. The bench on the north wall will be empty from now on. He would have the peace that comes from waiting patiently and being rewarded for that patience. He blessed Mary and with happiness leaping in his heart, he left the temple and headed home. But, this day, the aches in the joints were gone and he had a confidence in his walk back home.

Luke 2: 36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, She was of great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a wiidow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 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. 39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

While Simeon was speaking about Jesus, a small old lady walked up to hear better. This woman was named Anna. What does Luke tell us about Anna? People in the temple knew her as a prophetess. She was another one of those “Quiet in the Land” Jews. She was a widow. She had known the sorrow of losing a young husband. If she had been about thirteen when she got married and he died only seven years later, that would make her twenty when her husband died. Now she is eighty-four years old, which means that she had been a widow for 64 lonely years.

Anna is old but she has never stopped hoping. You know sometimes getting older we lose the hope that we had when we were younger. Maybe it is that when we were younger, there were so many years left to straighten out the problems in our lives. Like Scarlet in “Gone with the Wind”, there is always tomorrow. As we get older, there aren’t many tomorrows left to get things right. That is when we might become resigned to how things are and stop trying. Ever know somebody who had given up hope? There is a bleakness and sadness that is reflected in their attitude and even the way they look and act.

Anna in her old age was now called upon to perform an act that would make her known for the ages. It will be her honor to confirm what Simeon had just finished saying about Jesus. Just like the men prophets, a prophetess told people what God wanted them to hear. By confirming what Simeon had said met a Jewish legal requirement for establishing the truth. Legally, if two people attest to the same thing, then it is considered the truth. Anna’s confirmation meant that Simeon wasn’t saying these things about Jesus because he was loony or spoken without thinking. Anna raised her hand and said, “What he said was true.”

We live in a world full of rituals, customs and habits. Habits are like records. They are meant to be broken. Next Saturday, we are going to make up lists to finally end some of our bad habits. Habits are like opening the refrigerator door and not closing it until all of the shelves are empty. We will put away those Christmas customs that have allowed us for a short month, to think about better times. The rituals are another matter. We can’t change them or pack them away for next year. They are those things that join us all together. The mortar that holds us tight to one another. Just as Simeon and Anna did in our lesson today, wouldn’t it be grand if was had a ritual where we blessed everyone. Now there is a worthy New Year’s resolution - blessing everybody this year.

Prayer: Father, give us the patience to change our bad habits. Give us the strength to make our customs more loving. And give us the will to bless those we meet every day. Amen.