Tuesday, February 04, 2020

A Righteous Man, a Courageous Mother


                          Giotto (Giotto di Bondone), Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (1266-1336)

The Gospel appointed for the Feast of the Presentation in the Temple (Luke 2:22-40) contains one of the more beloved passages in the Christian scripture. The words are spoken by Simeon, a man upon whom the Holy Spirit rested, a righteous man who awaited what the writers of Luke called “the consolation of Israel.” These beautiful words reflect the heart of a patient, devout servant of G-d: 

"Lord, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for 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."


A Long, Patient Wait
 Simeon lived in a Judea occupied by Roman invaders. Like many of his countrymen and women, he had long awaited a savior, the one who would save the people of Israel from the domination of the hated Romans. From the context of this statement attributed to Simeon, it is fair to assume that this was not his first time in the Temple. Simeon’s devotion to Israel had no doubt brought him here many times before this day.
But this day was to be different from those that came before. This day, Simeon’s most fervent prayer had been answered. The One he had patiently awaited for so long was here, before him.
It is hardly surprising that his first response was one of astonishment and gratitude. That gratitude is expressed in his recognition that his prayers had been answered, that he was now relieved of his calling to the Temple to prayer for salvation. And that calling had not been in vain.
“For my eyes have seen your salvation….”


Sack of the Temple, Arch of Titus, Palatine Hill, Rome

It’s important to note that this salvation - and the way that word is ordinarily used in the Gospels - does not refer to individual souls nor is it connected to an afterlife in heaven. Salvus, the Latin root of this word, means health, wholeness. In Simeon’s use of this word, he refers to the entire people of Israel, not to any given individual. He also points toward the restoration to wholeness of an occupied people right here and now, not in the next world.
Simeon’s dreams have come true. And thus flow forth these beautiful words, as only the lyrical gospel writer Luke could produce them, that are so familiar to all of us in the Anglican tradition.
Choral Evensong, 
Westminster Abbey
Those of us who have sung in choirs or spent much time in our daily offices of Morning or Evening Prayer recognize these words from the Canticle we call alternatively the Song of Simeon, honoring its source, or the Nunc Dimittis, the Latin words for “now dismissed.” For those who love the choral evensongs of our tradition, the Magnificat or the Song of Mary precedes the Gospel reading and the Nunc Dimittis follows.
It is a beautiful tradition, one of the many treasures of Anglicanism.

A Chilling Prediction
 It is hardly surprising that words directed to Mary also play an important part of this gospel reading. Mary is present for Simeon’s prayer along with Joseph and her newborn son. Mary has dutifully reported for the ritual purification that Hebrew women are required to undergo after giving birth. The couple is also there to offer the sacrifice of turtle doves their tradition requires to dedicate the first born to the Lord.
Once Simeon is finished with his prayer, he turns to Mary and gives her a chilling prediction:  
"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."
Imagine for a second being the mother of a newborn, a child she already knows is special, different from the others in her village, and now hearing this prediction. The last line is terribly troubling:
“And a sword will pierce your own soul too…”

 Roberto Ferruzzi, Virgin Mary and Child Jesus Christ (1897)


We who know the rest of the story know that Simeon proved prescient. This is a Mother who would be forced to watch as her child was betrayed by one of his own disciples, tortured and killed by the Roman occupiers who, worse yet, were working in concert with the religious leaders of the very Temple in which they were now standing.
It is an unspoken law of nature that children should always outlive their parents. And most parents who have endured the loss of a child will readily say that watching their child die before them is the most painful experience a human being could have.


A Mother Weeps for Her Child
 I think have a little insight into that reality. In August of 1985 I traveled with my husband and my family to Europe. One of our stops was the Vatican. Once inside this cavernous facility, bustling with tourists, we decided it was best to separate, see the things we wanted to see and reassemble at the steps in an hour.
I had found a group of German tourists saying mass before the high altar so I joined them. Afterward I did the tourist bit, taking photos of the Baldacchino and the many beautiful sculptures. As the time to meet my family drew near, I made my way back to the front of the basilica. Over in the corner of the entry way I saw a group of people gathered. Ever the curious one, I went to see what had captivated them.


It was the Pieta, Michelangelo’s magnificent statue of a sorrowful Mary holding the broken, bleeding body of her crucified son. It is an enormous piece of sculpture, its size alone overwhelming the visitor standing at her feet.
But it is the subject matter of this work - whose name means alternatively piety as well as pity - that Michelangelo had depicted so poignantly that most overwhelmed any visitor who knew the story. In my eye, I could hear whispered the words from Luke’s Gospel:
“And a sword will pierce your own soul too…”
Simeon’s words had, indeed, proved prescient. A sword had, indeed, pierced Mary’s very soul. And the grief of that moment that Michelangelo had so ably captured began to overwhelm the audience around me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a woman openly weeping. Trying not to stare, I turned to look at her. It was only then that I realized the woman was my own Mother. And it was at that moment that the unspeakable pain of a Mother watching her oldest child suffer became very real to me.
Some of us know what that suffering feels like because you have been parents. And some of us, like myself, know how hard it is to watch your own parent suffer because of the way you have been abused by others because of your sexuality – or anything else that makes a child different.
The sword of fear and loathing is a very powerful weapon indeed. No heart stands much chance against being pierced in its advance.
Saints Worthy of Veneration
There is a reason that we venerate Mary. She was a brave woman, a teenage unwed mother of a special child. She would watch with awe as her child grew up to be the revealer of the Holy here and now. And she would watch with horror as that beautiful child was stripped of his clothing, his dignity and crucified publicly on the edge of a trash heap in the capital city of her homeland.
And yet, it is Mary who says to the archangel Gabriel, “Be it unto me according to thy will.” And it is Mary who will dutifully remain at the foot of the cross until her son takes his final breath.
This is a saint worthy of our veneration, and - if we are courageous enough - our emulation.


It is hardly surprising that Christians have prayed to Mary over the years to intercede for them. The theologian Henri Nouwen observes in his work The Wounded Healer that it is those who have themselves suffered who are best able to enter into the suffering of others. Little wonder the prayer “Ave Maria!”,Hail, Mary!”, ends with the words “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our deaths.”

This day I am grateful for the witness of two courageous souls, two devout servants of the Holy One. Let us give thanks this day for the life and examples of Simeon, a patient man who saw his prayers answered in the coming of Jesus, and Mary, a devoted Mother whose heart would be pierced by that very same coming.


 A homily preached at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, Winter Park, FL, 5 PM service, February 2, 2020
 
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Harry Scott Coverston
Orlando, Florida



If the unexamined life is not worth living, surely an unexamined belief system, be it religious or political, is not worth holding. Most things worth considering do not come in sound bites.

For what does G-d require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your G-d? (Micah 6:8, Hebrew Scriptures)

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it. - Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Wisdom of the Jewish Sages (1993)

 © Harry Coverston, 2020
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