Let Us Begin Our Journey


“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 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” Luke 2:34-45

Throughout Lent and Easter, my blog will be dedicated to reflecting on the readings from the Good Book Club (www.goodbookclub.org – a program sponsored by Forward Movement to encourage the Church to read the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts) from the previous week.  For this week, there are only 3 days of readings since the program started on Sunday and it was the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the season of Lent when the Church is called to repentance,  reflection and fasting.  It is also the beginning of Jesus’ journey toward the cross and ultimately his death, so the juxtaposition of reading about his birth is a bit startling.

No one wants to imagine a baby dying.  It is a terrible thought.  We gaze at a baby and only see potential and possibility.  What might she do with her life?  Could she be a doctor, an Olympian, a CEO?  Will he be funny, smart and happy?  We imagine birthdays, graduations and other celebrations of milestones in life.  No one imagines sickness and certainly not death. That is antithetical to what we want for a child. 

And yet, with Jesus, we already know the end of the story.  It is the greatest story ever told and we know that to get to the awesome and glorious Resurrection, we need to bear witness to his death on the cross.  And to get to the cross, he must be born. To get to the end, there must be a beginning.  To a certain extent, that was what the author of the Gospel of Luke offers – in great detail!  The Gospel of Mark, the first Gospel chronologically, starts with Jesus’ baptism.  There is not “origin story.”  Luke offers us a glimpse into the origins of both John the Baptism and Jesus.  Both of their births are foretold by messengers from God, both are anticipated with great joy, and both will die for their commitment to God.

Just over 50 days ago, we were celebrating Jesus’ birth and reading these chapters with joy and gladness.  As I reread them now, the story takes on a different feel.  We are past the joyous time of Christmas and the darkest part of winter.  Now is a time for fasting as the days grow longer.  This is a time for personal growth and (hopefully) transformation.  Such change is difficult, especially if we do it for the wrong reasons.  We don’t change for change-sake. We do it to develop our relationship with God, making time to be present to God and feel God’s presence in us.

All these thoughts swirl around us as we read of the encounter of the Holy Family with Simeon.  As faithful Jews, Mary and Joseph go to present their firstborn son at the Temple, dedicating him to God’s service (which is a bit ironic, if you think about it!).  Simeon has been promised that he will see the Messiah before he dies, and every day he waits with expectation for the fulfillment of that promise.  When he sees the baby Jesus, he does not hesitate in his joyful proclamation – he knows he has meet the Savior of the world. Talk about high expectations for a baby! 

But what makes this encounter so profound to me, especially today, is the comment he makes to Mary.  “Yes, your child is the Messiah, but it will not be an easy path.  In fact, it will be excruciatingly difficult for him and for you.”  I can’t imagine what Mary thought about Simeon’s prediction that a “sword will pierce your own soul too.”  To be holding your beloved baby and to hear those words must have been shocking, even horrifying.

I wonder if Mary thought about this encounter when she held the body of Jesus when he had been taken down from the cross.  I think she did and her soul was indeed pierced, forever scarred by those terrible actions, by a world that “opposed” Jesus message of hope and love because it required change.

We are given the great opportunity over these next several months to hear Jesus’ message and respond in new ways.  Are we ready for this challenge?  Even if we aren’t, are we willing to take this journey?  Let us together take up Mary’s mantle of motherly love knowing our souls will be pierced, but still willing to walk this path.  We need to do this especially because it is hard, but more importantly, because it is worth it.

A blessed and holy Lent,
Rev. Valerie+

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