Sunday 31 December 2023

Background

The theme for this week is 'Glory to God'. How do mere mortals like ourselves engage with giving glory to God? Do we fully understand what it means to glorify God? Do we need to have a deep theological underpinning of our ideas about God before we can appreciate divine glory? Or perhaps it's enough simply to sense the wondrous glory of 'something other' before we offer due glory in return. Perhaps as beings made in the image of God it is sometimes enough to appreciate the glory of our creator in different aspects of everyday life.

To begin this week’s exploration of 'glory' we have the story of the young Jesus being presented in the Temple. There appears to be nothing unusual about this; the rituals of Jesus being circumcised after eight days are briefly mentioned in verse 21, followed by the confirmation of his name. The parental offering of a sacrifice (in this case a “poor” offering of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons”), would have happened a month later after Mary’s own ritual purification, as written down in the Jewish law found in Leviticus 12:6-8. This offering did not require either Mary or Jesus to have attended the Temple, but Mary appears to have wanted to make a special dedication to God of her boy, named as Saviour.

Was it Mary’s demonstration of awareness, of thankfulness, of pure joy that moved this everyday experience in Jerusalem’s Temple into something quite extraordinary? Mary clearly wanted to give God the glory for all that had happened, for a safe birth, for the words of the angels to have been fulfilled. One imagines Mary to be glowing in early motherhood, radiating love.

Two elderly people then enter the story, a “righteous and devout” man called Simeon (v. 25) and a prophet named Anna (v. 36). Both have been waiting a long time to see the Messiah, the one who would lead not just Israel, but all peoples, into a new era of righteousness. These elders have waited and prayed faithfully for a lifetime, yet have remained expectant that God’s glory will be revealed. Now in the baby Jesus before them they see such divine glory. As Simeon says: “My 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.” (vs 30-32)

For an elderly man and woman, praying faithfully, living hopefully and expecting wonders, an everyday event in ancient Palestine is transformed into a divine experience. Glory to God.

 To Ponder:

• Some readers may have been using the Methodist Church's Out of the Ordinary materials for Advent and Epiphany and a key question is where in our lives do we see glimpses of God’s glory? What do we learn from both older and younger people? And do we glorify God for such encouraging moments?
• The Revd Dr Inderjit Bhogal’s lovely prayer on Day 31 of The Methodist Prayer Handbook speaks of “the shower of blessings in our engagements and interaction.” The last day of the year is an appropriate time to reflect on these thoughts.