The first part of Luke’s Gospel includes some of the very few pieces of information we have about Jesus’ childhood, including his infancy. In chapter 2, Mary and Joseph bring the baby, Jesus, to the Temple to dedicate him to God. The modern-day equivalent in the Christian tradition would be baptism. It’s common these days for Christians to be baptised as infants, others as older children or teenagers, and, of course, some people choose to be baptised as adults. In the Jewish tradition of the time, though, it was as an infant. The first-born was brought to the Temple to be blessed. So, Mary and Joseph do exactly that.
In the Temple something remarkable happens. Two old people recognise that there is something special about this child. Simeon & Anna are both alert to the presence of God in their midst. Perhaps they see something special about the parents themselves, perhaps it is an expression on the infant’s face, we will never know, but they are both alert – awake is the term I like to use – awake to something special happening in their lives. There was a spiritual director in India, Anthony De Mello (he was an Indian Jesuit priest, but also a psychotherapist), who would often begin his sessions (with the people who would attend the retreats he used to run) by saying, “Wake up!”, meaning, “Wake Up to what God is going in your life!”
The thing about this encounter that Simeon and Anna have in the Temple is that it is unexpected. It is surprising! They have been waiting their whole life for a sign of God’s presence and suddenly it’s here. But the thing is, they could have missed it. They didn’t miss it, though, because they were awake, despite their advanced age – or perhaps because of it.
It is easy to miss signs of God’s presence in our lives. It’s easy to get so caught up in the humdrum of daily existence, wondering what our next task is. And yet… the signs of God are all around us, if we just pay attention.
I could have easily missed a powerful sign of God presence during the recent school holidays, but I didn’t miss all of them and I think the reason is because I was awake, attentive. On those two occasions I was suddenly aware of God’s presence, but in unexpected places.
During the holidays, my family and I had spent a few days in Mildura. The apartment we stayed in was on the third floor and was self-catering. The carpark was out the back of the apartment complex and on the ground floor. We were staying there for a few days and were constantly up and down on each of the days, carrying food and clothes up, empty boxes down, going down to the pool, or going down in order to go out somewhere. On one of those many journeys up and down, we walked past a middle-aged man, who was just sitting on the couch next to the stairwell. He was a quite a big guy, looked a little unkempt, with out-of-control hair, an admittedly fairly impressive beard, and was not well dressed, even by Mildura holiday standards! There was the distinct, unpleasant aroma of cigarette smoke in his general vicinity. My amygdala, the primitive part of the brain that kept us alive as prehistoric humans when there was a potential threat around, the negativity bias that we all instinctively have, was saying, “Danger”! It was a gut-reaction, but, as I am sure you will agree, an inherently judgemental one.
A day later, as I was getting something from the car downstairs, I bumped into him again. This time, though, the more rational part of my brain kicked in and I made the effort to smile and say, “Morning”. Then something remarkable happened: when he replied, very politely, “Morning” his voice was not at all what the primitive part of my brain had been expecting. I was expecting a worn-out voice, ravaged and broken. The voice that greeted me, however, was beautiful. That’s the only word for it. He had a beautiful, baritone voice – full of warmth, with a lovely tone.
Then it hit me, in the same way that it hit Simeon and Anna, “This person is a child of God.” Perhaps even more powerfully for me personally, “I have no right to have these judgemental thoughts. He is a child of God and I have no right to judge him.”
My invitation to you is to be alert to the signs of God’s presence around you; you may be surprised.
The Reverend Dr Theo McCall
School Chaplain