8/10/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 2. 5-6)

“When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, [Yahweh Elohim].  (They did so as it was written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.’) There they went to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: ‘a pair of doves or two young pigeons.’” (Luke 2.22-24)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I promised yesterday that I would reflect further on the witness of the Old Testament as to the testimony of the New Testament concerning coming “straight to our salvation.” Our redemption is of God revealed to us and sealed as a covenant with us in Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ of God and Messiah. What a conundrum Luke presents us with his presentation of Jesus’ first anointing in the Temple of Jerusalem! It is a conundrum we must pay close attention to because it speaks volumes to the relevance and reality of Jesus as Redeemer, Savior and Friend. Luke is clear when he says “His parents were obedient to the Law of Purification for first-born sons to be presented to the Lord.” The picture is straightforward. We can see it clearly without ever having been to the Temple in Jerusalem ourselves. What we are presented with is a place in which those of the Jewish faith enter into which represents the abiding presence of God. In that presence of God, certain activities and rites are done in order to represent obedience to God’s word and witness to others in an outward fashion their faith in the Lord of All. On this occasion, Jesus was to be presented to the priest for consecration and blessing into the service of God. It was a time-honored tradition which followed the example set by Abraham on Mount Moriah. There, Abraham took his son born of Sarai in their advanced years and prepared to sacrifice him as God commanded. It was a test of faith. It was real. It was straight-forward. Even though Abraham must have been in inner turmoil, he did not vascillate in his obedience. He had seen too many examples of such poor decision-making in his own life and the consequences of such actions to be disobedient this time.

This was not the first time Abraham, perhaps with Isaac in tow, had come to the place of sacrifice on Mount Moriah. There appears to be an altar already established there. The rules of engagement were known even to Isaac, though he began to question the proceedings as they went further uphill based on that knowledge saying, “We have the wood, the fire, the knife, the bindings but where is the sacrifice?” Isaac was not an eight-day old infant. Isaac may have been twelve years of age which would become the age of accountability known in Judaism as the season of Bar-Mitzvah. This would surely be a test of his “manhood.” Why? Because Isaac was to be the sacrifice. When Isaac asked, his father replied, “The Lord will supply!” Isaac may well have known of how he had come into this world. He probably was cognizant of his half-brother, Ishmael, who now lived with his mother and a new family beyond the mountain. Steeped in the story and the traditional practices of his father’s faith, Isaac submits to his father’s will (apparently, or is that why he was tied up?) just as his father submits to his “Father’s” will; that of Yahweh Elohim. In this faithful act of submission, Abraham committed his son to the will of God to be of service for the future generations which would fulfill the promise which God made with Abraham when he was just Abram. That promised declared, “Go where I lead you and I will make you a father of nations as numerous as the stars in the heaven and the grains of sand by the seashore.” Heaven and earth seemed terribly far away. Did Abraham feel as if the heavens were falling down on him and the waves rose over him to cover him in death and darkness? Where was God now? Could he have offered a prayer such as that which we hear from the cross as Jesus was taking His final breaths saying “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?” For us that prayer says “My God, My God (in personal form), why have You forsaken Me?” Imagine the angst Abraham that must have swelled up inside as he drew the knife from its scabbard and held the hair of Isaac’s head so that his neck was fully exposed to the blade. Fear, trembling, confusion, anxiety, bitterness and yet there had to be some sense of peace believing that with each moment he also prayed “The Lord has provided and will again!” And He did.

God staid the hand of Abraham with a word of provision. There in the brambles of the mountainside as if wearing a crown of thorns was a ram. God had indeed provided the sacrifice for the redemption of Isaac and for the joy of his salvation. No doubt, sighs of relief fueled the cries of thanksgiving as father and son, present and future, were united into one sacred moment. Now, in the Temple of Jerusalem set on Mount Moriah fathers brought their firstborn sons to be consecrated and given into the service of God. Their lives would not be required of them. Instead, a sacrifice would be offered in their place so the legacy of the family and their faith in God would live on. By the Law bound in Exodus such a sacrifice was defined: a lamb and a dove or for the poor it would be two doves or two pigeons (some may say two sparrows; plump sparrows, I assume.) And here they were with two doves or two pigeons (Luke 2) or two sparrows (Matthew 10 or Luke 20) as some translations assert. And it is within this vinette of Luke’s gospel that we are presented with a “quiet” getting straight to the point. Following the imagery of God’s Messiah which is present in Luke’s “Birth Narrative,” we are alerted to the transition of power and purpose which Jesus brings into the world. His mission of ministry is to reconcile the people of the world to a saving faith before a loving Father. It is God alone and not the rules, regulations, traditions and practices of “their fathers” which ushers in the redemption, reconciliation and rebirth of “a nation.” Without knowledge of the “the rites required in the Law of Moses,” another transition note would be overlooked. We cannot simply say “an inconsistency in the practice of purification of a newborn, firstborn boy” as Luke presents is acceptable because Luke is not Jewish. He is a Gentile convert. He is a companion of Paul (perhaps as a physician he accompanied Paul in many of his journeys to offer medical assistance for Paul’s affliction with malaria contracted in his missionary work in Asia Minor.) As a companion, he was privy to the oral traditions and expositions of the eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of Jesus. He is speaking with a purpose, however, that dare not be lost on the Gentile community to which Paul ministered as a commissioned priority.

What is this “inconsistency”? And what does it challenge us to consider about our own place in the story of Jesus ministry of saving grace? You see without honoring this “quiet” but straight to the point message which builds and builds until we are full-blown in the Gospel of the Church, The Acts of the Apostles, we would miss the full message of God’s Jubilee declaration. Now that we are brought to the Temple, what is it that we can see through the lens of Luke as he cuts straight to the chase? I invite you to read the Law of Purification in Exodus 13 and compare it to Luke 2.20ff and see if you can figure out what is unique. Let’s reflect on that tomorrow. Until then, shalom, y’all.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed Yourself to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.