Welcome
Hymn
Dear friends: forty days ago we celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now we recall the day he was presented in the Temple as a baby. In their old age Simeon and Anna recognised him as their Lord, as we today sing of his glory. In this service, looking back to the day of his birth, we celebrate the joy of his coming, but we also look forward to the days of his passion, trusting in the light that darkness can not extinguish.
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning,
My God turns my darkness into light.
(Psalm 18:28)
Jesus said, 'You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.'
(Matthew 5: 14-16)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son
and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for The Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
1st Reading
Psalm 139: 1 - 12
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Hymn
2nd Reading
Hymn
Luke 2:22-40
22 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 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace: according to your word. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people: 32 to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
Homily
Candlemas is a very ancient service, the earliest recorded celebrations being from the 4th century.
The proper name of Candlemas is 'The Feast of the Presentation', because it tells the story of when Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple at Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. The religious law stated that “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord.”
The name Candlemas, instead of 'The Feast of the Presentation', grew in popular usage because over the years it became traditional for all the candles from Christmas to be used up at this service, and so churches were filled with light at this gloomy time of year.
Also, Candlemas is snappier than 'The Feast of the Presentation.'
We have our Candlemas service at Tixover because Tixover church is still candle powered.
Over the hundreds of years since the 4th century many traditions have come and gone to help celebrate Candlemas. In Medieval times there would have been a grand procession of everyone from the village carrying candles to the church, and then at the church the candles would be blessed. So, you can imagine the people of Tixover in Medieval times processing up from the village, across the fields to the church, the clergy and local landowners in fine array, the peasants dressed as best they could, and entering from the darkness into the dazzlingly lit church, and then at the end of the service holding aloft their candles to be blessed. The idea was that you could take home the message of the service in the form of a candle that you could keep in your home to remind you of the ultimate triumph of light over darkness. The blessing set the candles aside, they were not to be used as ordinary household lights, they were to be kept and treasured as a reminder of Candlemas, and lit when you were afraid to give you courage.
I only read about this candle blessing tradition recently, and I thought it might be a good idea to revive it.
I knew people wouldn't turn up with their own candles, we don't have Medieval peasants in Tixover any more, at least I don't know of any, so you have been provided with a candle, which we will bless at the end of the service.
It's just an ordinary candle. That's important, as the meaning lies not in the appearance of the candle, but in what it represents. Like these candles, we don't have to be fancy to give light to the world. The light from a plain little candle shifts the darkness just as well as the light from a grand ornate candle, it's the flame that makes the difference.
In medieval times many people thought the candles blessed at Candlemas to be apotropaic, that is they believed the blessed candles had the power to keep evil at bay.
Apotropaic means having the power to avert evil influences. So it wasn't just about the symbolism of light, it was also about keeping spooks and ghouls away from your door.
A medieval writer described these candles,
'Whose candle burneth clear and bright,
A wondrous force and might,
Doth in these candles lie, which, if at any time they light,
They sure believe that neither storm nor tempest dare abide,
Nor thunder in the sky be heard, nor any devil spite,
Nor fearful sprites that walk by night, nor hurt by frost and hail.'
Such was the confidence people had in these candles they, the candles were placed in the hands of the sick and dying to aid them in their travails. So, you can see why Candlemas was so important to people.
However, even in Medieval times the clergy began to worry the meaning of Candlemas had wandered off too far from the story of Mary and Joseph taking the baby Jesus to the Temple. It wasn't supposed to be about magic candles, it was supposed to be about the light of Christ.
The historian Eamon Duffy writes that, “the clerical suspicion... was understandable, since according to the author of Dives and Pauper the laity were capable of diverting such sacramentals to nefarious ends: witches were known to drop wax from the holy candle into the foot prints of those they hated, causing their feet to rot off.”
If I hear of anyone who's foot has inexplicably rotted off in the next few days I shall be suspicious that you lot have been getting up to 'nefarious ends.'
The Reformation put a stop to candles and Candlemas, the Protestant reformers dismissed the notion of blessed candles driving off storms and sprites as 'superstition', and reset the dial back to the bible.
Candles were only to be thought of as functional.
They were in church so you could read the bible and the Prayer Book.
This may have seemed hard to a Medieval peasant sheltering from a storm, or afraid of the thunder, or threatened by illness, or terrified by the darkness that haunted their imaginations. It's easy enough telling people not to be afraid, but you have to give them convincing reasons not to fear, and actually something to hold onto, like a candle, does help, even if it doesn't really keep 'fearful sprites' at bay.
God knows when we are afraid, or worried, we heard in our first reading,
'You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.'
The Psalmist says that even in the darkness God is present,
'If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.'
God knows when we are afraid or worried, and He is there with us. There is comfort in knowing we are not alone, but there would be more comfort in knowing salvation is at hand.
In our second reading we heard Simeon, as he took the baby Jesus in his arms, say,
“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace: according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people: to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of your people Israel.”
Simeon had been waiting to see the Messiah, the one who would bring salvation, and in the baby Jesus he saw that person. There too was a prophet called Anna, who also recognised Jesus as the Messiah, and immediately tells those around her. This is often how God works; in the Great Temple the voice of God is not heard through the religious establishment, the High Priest or the Temple officials, but through an old man and women who see the spiritual reality hidden to the great and the good, a reality visible to Simeon and Anna’s faithful and sincere hearts. They had been waiting to see the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled, to see the child that Isaiah wrote of, the one who would be called, “Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Simeon and Anna saw and proclaimed that God the Son had become God our brother.
Jesus was subject to all the trials and joys of this life, all the same trials and joys that we are subject to.
Simeon and Anna were probably too old to live to see Jesus grow into a man, but Anna said to Mary, 'a sword will pierce your soul,' which is a reference to the sorrow Mary would experience at seeing her son crucified.
As Mary received the crucified body of her son, it must have seemed that darkness had triumphed over the light, that salvation had died, but death could not hold the author of life.
The resurrection of Jesus shows once and for all that light is stronger than darkness, that life is stronger than death, that love is stronger than hate, and it shows these things because of who Jesus is– the love, the life, the light of the world.
As the disciple John wrote, 'the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.'
If we follow the way of Jesus, the way that he taught, then God can see us through the darkest of times in our lives and on into the light, He can even take us through the graven gateway of death and on into resurrection life.
That's what the little candle you have represents, not something to keep hobgoblins at bay, but a physical reminder that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
Hymn
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Ev'rywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine! x3
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Jesus said to me, I gotta let it shine! x3
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Intercessions
Father, Jesus was acclaimed as the glory of Israel: Look in mercy on your Church, sharing his light.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Father, Jesus, who was rich, for our sakes became poor: Look in mercy on the needy, and kindle in us compassion.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Father, Jesus is the one in whom faithful servants find their peace: Look in mercy on the departed, who see your salvation.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord God, you kept faith with Simeon and Anna and showed them the infant King.
Give us grace to put all our trust in your promises, and the patience to wait for their fulfilment; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Lord God, the springing source of everlasting light, pour into the hearts of your faithful people the brilliance of your eternal splendour, that we, who by these kindling flames light up this temple to your glory, may have any darkness in our souls dispelled, and so stand before you in that eternal temple where you live and reign,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;thy kingdom come;thy will be done;on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who
trespass against us.And lead us not into temptation;but deliver us from evil.For thine is the kingdom,the power and the glory,forever and ever. Amen.
Notices
Hymn
Father, here we bring to an end our celebration of the Saviour's birth.
Help us, in whom he has been born,
to live his life that has no end.
Here we have rejoiced with faithful Simeon and Anna.
Help us, who have found the Lord in his temple, to trust in your eternal promises.
Here we have greeted the Light of the world.
Help us, who have lit these candles,
never to forsake the light of Christ.
Here we turn from Christ's birth to his passion.
Help us, for whom Lent is near,
to enter deeply into the Easter mystery.
Here we bless one another in your name.
Help us, who pray in Christ’s name,
to shine with your light in the world.
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace: According to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation;
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles :
And to be the glory of thy people Israel
(Luke 2.29-32 King James Version)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son
and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Blessing of the Candles
Bless these candles that they may be to us a sign of the light that shines in the darkness.
Let us shine with the light of your love
The love that drives out fear
Let us shine with the light of your love
Like a town upon a hill
Let us shine with the light of your love
Like a lamp upon a stand
Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
fill you with radiance
and scatter the darkness from your path.
Amen.
Christ, the Sun of Righteousness,
gladden your eyes and warm your heart.
Amen.
Christ, the Dayspring from on high,
draw near to guide your feet into the way of peace.
Amen.
And the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
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