In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
At the culmination of the Plagues in Egypt, God commanded
the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and use its blood to paint the doorposts
and lintels as a sign that the Angel of Death should pass them over. This Angel
was sent by God to collect the lives of all the firstborn in Egypt—the
firstborn of both man and beast. The firstborn of the Sons of Israel were
spared this fate. They were spared by the blood of the lamb. However, once God
had delivered the Israelites from Egypt and met with Moses on Mount Sinai, He
made a new covenant with them. This covenant declared that all the firstborn of
the Israelites belonged to the Lord.[1]
The firstborn beasts were given to the priests to be sacrificed. The firstborn
sons would be given to serve the priests.
In the case of some beasts, the firstborn could be redeemed
with the sacrifice of a lamb in its place. In the case of the firstborn child,
God commanded they should always be redeemed. The redemption price of a son or
daughter was a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering and either a pigeon
or turtledove for a sin offering.[2]
If a lamb was too expensive, two pigeons or two turtledoves would suffice.
First, what does it mean to be redeemed? It is quite simple.
To be redeemed means to be substituted. It means to give one thing in place of
another so that you might receive back the first possession. Redemption is not
quite the same as making a purchase. Giving the checker money in exchange for
groceries isn’t the same as redemption because the groceries did not belong to
you in the first place. Rather, if you’ve ever been to a wedding reception or
banquet with a coat check, you have experienced redemption. You gave the clerk
your coat in exchange for a ticket. At the end of the night, you redeemed your
coat by giving the clerk your ticket. The coat is your property, and you
willfully gave it to the clerk. You then “bought back” your coat at the price
of the ticket. This is redemption.
Second, it is important to note who is commanded by God to
perform this redemption for the firstborn child. It is always the mother. The
redemption of the child is tied up with the purification of the mother after
giving birth. In this, we see the beauty of the office given to women. The
curse of pain in childbearing is balanced with the joy of a new life brought
into the world.[3]
Under the Law of Moses, a woman must then spend 40 days alone if she bore a
son. If she bore a daughter, the time was doubled.[4]
She must spend this time alone because everything she touches becomes unclean.
It is tainted by the uncleanness of her giving birth.
But on the final day of her solitude, the mother brings her
firstborn to the temple and make the offering both for her purification and the
redemption of her child. Such an arduous task is born by the woman and
testifies to her fortitude and willingness to love and protect the child God
has given to her.
Returning to the Gospel at hand, we must note that the laws
I’ve described in no way apply either to Mary or Jesus. The Holy Spirit spoke
clearly through Moses, that purification was required of all who had given
birth on account of conception by a man. Mary did not know a man. The child she
held so dear was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And, according to the pious
opinions of some, was born in such a miraculous way as to spare Mary of the
unclean flow of blood.
So too, the redemption of the child was required on behalf
of sin, just as the blood of the lamb at the Passover was on account of the
sinfulness of man. Certainly, Mary received the inheritance of original sin,
but the Christ Child did not. And yet, Mary submitted herself and her child to
both tenants of the law. Why?
It is first an act of love. Mary would be free to ignore
this Law of Moses but she submits herself to it out of love for her neighbor
and to give glory to God alone. The events of the Book of Exodus are initiated
when a Pharaoh, who had forgotten Joseph, was afraid of the prosperous Hebrews.
The Israelites were great in number and posed a legitimate military threat. With
the right leadership and foresight, the Israelites could’ve mounted a coup
against the Pharaoh and stolen the land of Egypt.
If they had, it would’ve been to their own glory. The
cunning of generals and the might of valiant soldiers would’ve won the day. As
history would have it, God acted to deliver the Israelites. They were His
people to redeem, and their deliverance brought glory to the name of the Lord.
In the same way, Mary and Jesus submit to the Law of Moses
that all glory would be given to God alone, lest anyone think that Mary herself
was without sin or without need for purification.
The more difficult question is why did Jesus submit to
redemption? He is, after all, the one to redeem all mankind. He is our Redeemer.
Why then, does He submit to redemption by two pigeons? In one sense, the
redemption of Jesus is like His baptism. Where our Baptism washes our sins
away, Jesus’ baptism draws our sins upon Himself. His baptism institutes our
own. In like manner, Jesus’ redemption institutes our own. Rather than the
pigeons dying for Jesus’ sins, they are a foretaste of His own death.
In another sense, Jesus submits to redemption because He is
truly the Firstborn of all creation.[5]
Submitting to this law in love and without compulsion is the sign that He is
the Firstborn among many brethren. He is indicating that we shall all follow in
His likeness, that is, when His blood is shed, we shall be redeemed. We shall
be purchased from the mouth of hell and returned to the holy habitation of the
house of God.
What then of this idea that it is the mother who redeems the
child? Where else do we receive the redemption of the blood of Christ than in
Holy Mother Church? The Church is our loving mother, who brings us to the
sanctuary—the Temple—to receive the redemption at the cost of the blood of the
Lamb.
Which brings us to a final comment on the godly Simeon. When
our Lord is presented at the Temple, after the purification and redemption
according to the Law of Moses, Simeon takes up the Christ child in his arms and
praises the Lord for fulfilling His word. Tonight’s feast is sometimes called
“Candlemas,” a reference to the historic practice of blessing the candles for
use in the Church and the distribution of candles to the congregation for use
at two important parts of the service. Such candles would be lit during the
reading of the Holy Gospel and during the consecration. They signify the “Light
to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”[6]
This Light, the Light of Christ, comes to you in the
proclamation of God’s Word and in the Holy Eucharist. As Simeon reached out his
arms to behold his Lord, so too you will come forward to hold the Lord. Just as
God’s word was fulfilled for Simeon, so too God’s word is fulfilled for you
this evening. Tonight is the culmination of everything that has happened since
Christmas Eve: the Incarnation of our Lord, the Adoration of the Magi on the
Epiphany, the miracles of Jesus, His glorious Transfiguration, and finally the
entering of Christ into the Temple. Tonight, He is entering the sanctuary of
this Church precisely so that you might take and eat; take and drink. With this
Body and Blood, your redemption price was paid and your glory awaits.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
[1]
Exodus 34:19ff.
[2]
Leviticus 12:6-8.
[3]
St. John 16:21.
[4]
“If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall
be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she
shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the
flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 She
shall then continue in the blood of her purification
thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into
the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. 5 ‘But
if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her
customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification
sixty-six days.” Leviticus 12:2-5
[6]
St. Luke 2:32.
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