Preached as sermon at Croydon Minster on the transferred feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
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The feast of the Presentation of Christ in
the Temple, the scene described in today’s gospel, ends the great liturgical
cycle of the Incarnation - from Christmas to Candlemas - 40 days of intensive
focus on the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Son of Mary.
At the heart of today’s gospel is presentation and reception. Christ is presented
by Mary and Joseph; received by
Simeon and Anna.
That action repeats in the liturgy of the
Eucharist: Christ is present in word
and sacrament and presents himself to
be received by us who present
ourselves in the temple to receive him.
But being present in the temple these last
10 months is not open to everyone. For very good reason some are present but in
a virtual way.
The ideal is always to be physically present
in church receiving the Body of
Christ, being the Body of Christ,
just as Jesus Christ was present in the flesh as Emmanuel, God with us.
But being present is not only about physical
presence.
In the world of work and in schools a
well-known problem is the opposite of being present and that is absenteeism. If you’re absent you cannot
produce, you cannot engage.
There is another problem at work, at school,
and in church, which is rather different but has the same effect. That is known
as presenteeism. That’s when you’re
present but not attentive, not engaging, or as they might say, ‘the lights are
on but no one’s at home’.
In a pandemic being present, physically,
emotionally, spiritually is hard.
This is desperately hard for us all at the
moment. I know it myself some days, and I know others do too. As a spiritual
condition it’s known as akedia of
which some features are: listlessness; the inability to get motivated or
engaged; putting off what could be done today to an indeterminate tomorrow; a
vague questioning of God’s presence with us; lack of confidence about what the
day will bring and what its point is.
There’s so much more to this than ‘Keep calm
and carry on’. This is a spiritual issue demanding a spiritual response. It is
about looking for moments fulfilled, not just ticking off the days on the
calendar or clock watching; it is about seeing each new day as a gift to us and
living it as far as we can to the full: you could use the opening words of
Morning Prayer each day:
As
we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O
God, set our hearts on fire with love for you, now and forever. Amen.
There is so much more to say on this theme,
but for today let’s turn back to the Gospel reading to see what is going on. Simeon
and Anna - tired, blurry eyed and feeling time was running out on them - are
both patient yet eager eyed for God. Their hearts desire. Their hope and
expectation is fulfilled. And they are ready to ‘move on’ fully trusting that
God is present with them, in living and in dying.
May this Candlemas be a time when our
spirits and sight are renewed and, knowing Christ to be present in our lives, may
we present ourselves to him in faith and hope and love.
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