“Blessings for the journey”

Richard C. Choe©

Luke 2:22-40

December 28, 2008
First Sunday After Christmas

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Preached at Kingston Road United Church by the Rev. Richard C. Choe

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When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, 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.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “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.” There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

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Blessings for the journey.

“Baek-il” – “One Hundredth Day” – is a celebration marking a child’s “coming out” party in Korea. When a child reaches one hundredth day after birth, a family celebrates by inviting neighbours and relations into the house for a party.

One hundred is an auspicious number for Koreans. Many infants and mothers did not survive birthing in Korea in the olden days. Ninety-nine days were lived in prayer for the well-being of the infant and the recovery of the mother’s health. A child’s household was virtually quarantined for the first 99 days of the child’s life for fear of transmitting diseases.

The ancient Koreans believed that surviving the first ninety-nine days was a sign that the child had overcome the trauma of birthing and would be strong enough to fight off diseases. It was also understood that a mother’s body requires that much time to heal if she survived giving birth.

On the one hundredth day of the child’s birth, a house would be open to the neighbours and relations so they could visit and share the joy of the arrival of the child into the family and the community. One of the traditions in the celebration was to make rice cakes and share them with neighbours and anyone who happened to be passing by the house. Often, grandmothers of the infant would share a piece of a rice cake with passersby at the gate of the house and invite them in to bless their grandchild. Ancient Koreans believed that sharing the celebration of child’s birth with the rest of their community was a way of seeking blessing for the child and the child’s place in the community. The practice was rooted in belief that happiness is multiplied when shared and that an individual is an instrument of God’s blessing to one another in community.

The tradition of “Baek-il” continues in Korean families. Koreans may not open their house to all the passersby, but the tradition of sharing happiness on the one hundredth day of the child’s birth with neighbours continue to this day. Joys and happiness, indeed, multiply when shared.

The ancient Jews also had a “coming out” party for children as well. We heard this morning from the passages in the Gospel According to Luke about the “coming out” celebration of a child named Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph.

Jesus was presented to God along with the sacrifice offering of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Mary and Joseph brought their first born according to Jewish custom where the first to be born is considered “sacred and presented to the Lord because that child opened the womb so that other children may also take their turn in being born.”[i]

Even from a distance people would have seen that Mary’s family was of modest means by the offering the family brought for sacrifice. A more prosperous family would have brought a lamb – an animal that was required for the ritual sacrifice of atonement. The child Jesus was blessed by two aged worshippers, ordinary folks, at the peripheral part of the temple where women were allowed.

The gospel writer, Luke, stressed the lowly and marginal nature of Jesus of Nazareth as he recounted Jesus’ birth and his life. Jesus, a child of a low social and religious status, was recognized by those who were also of low social and religious status. Jesus was recognized as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to people of Israel” and as “the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” even when he came from a family of low socio-economic status. It was not one of the priests or the chief priest in the temple of Jerusalem who recognized Jesus as the “One-Waited-for” but two less important but devout worshippers of the temple.

Like the time of Mary and Jesus we live in a society where we value blessings of others, and yet find it difficult to feel blessed. And like the time of Mary and Jesus, we live in a society where those who have more than others are seen to be blessed more than those who have less.

In our society where the signs of material blessings are so abundantly visible, we continue to search for the meaning of blessing – blessing of each of us as one to be cherished, nurtured, cared for, accepted as one to be loved. In a society that seems to be filled with folks driven for “success,” we continue to struggle with the voices of a “critical parent” within us that tell us that we are not good enough or that we will not amount to anybody of importance in our life. Those who hear and accept the message of the “critical parent” will eventually act out to show others that they are indeed not worthy. There is also a good chance that an adult carrying a “critical parent” within will become a “critical” mother or a father oneself to their children and even to those they encounter in their life. Those who do not experience blessing often do not live blessed lives.

How would you describe or define “blessing” in your life? Do you “count your blessings?” Do you seek blessing from others? Do you see yourself as a blessing to those you encounter in your life?

Thrity Umrigar, an American author, shares one of the most enduring and beloved Parsi legend.

A small group of Zoroastrians land on the shores of India after fleeing religious persecution in their homeland of Iran. They seek political refuge. The local Hindu ruler is wary of the foreigners and does not want to grant them entry. They do not speak a common language so the local Hindu ruler takes an empty glass and fills it to the brim with milk. The symbolism is clearly communicated to the refugees. “This land is full and cannot accommodate newcomers.” But the Zoroastrian priest is a wise man. He takes sugar and drops it into the glass and dissolves it in the milk, careful not to spill a drop. His message is also clearly communicated. “If you let us stay, we will sweeten your local culture, without displacing or disrupting it. Thus, the Zoroastrians – or Parsis, as they came to be called – find a home in India and true to their word, became a model community, their contributions enhancing the culture of their new homeland. [ii]

The Parsi story tells us of the wisdom of the priest as well as the Hindu ruler. They both were able to clearly communicate what they saw as a reality – that there was no room for them and that they came with gifts. They both were able to clearly see what they saw as a possibility – that new ways of being was possible and that they could co-exist as neighbours. The wisdom of the leaders provided new possibilities of being in community.

The Ojibway say that there are seven hills to life. Each hill is a vantage point for looking back, thought not everyone takes the time for reflection. It is only in looking back, the Ojibway say, that you discern the trail, identify the climb and rest contented in each stage of the journey. The final hill is the elevation of wisdom. It is from there you can look back on the vast panorama of your life and come to know who you are by virtue of who you’ve been.[iii]

In a land where the value of the life of a child from a poor peasant family was worth next to nothing, two elders, Simeon and Anna, were able to see a child of blessing and blessed Jesus’ life journey. In a time when hope seemed to have disappeared and God seemed to have forgotten the plight of the oppressed people of Israel, God blessed Simeon and Anna to see the coming of the “One-Waited-for,” the Messiah. From the vantage point of the seventh hill in life, Simeon and Anna came to know who they were – the ones who were blessed to recognize the coming of Messiah. From all the places they have been in life they were blessed with wisdom to recognize the Messiah in an ordinary child. And to recognize their part in blessing the Messiah for his life’s journey. The ones blessed both received and shared blessings.

We, as a congregation, have celebrated 100th year of ministry in this neighbourhood and beyond. We have heard stories of challenges and growth, we have remembered the times of pain as well as joys we have experienced together. We have looked back and realized that our community has never been perfect or that we have always been in the right. What we saw from the vantage point of this 100th year was how we were able to grow and transform together as we experienced each phase of growth as community.

Our children, through their participation in the Nativity Play, reminded us of our childhood and the times gone by – the times of innocence, the times of youthfulness, the times of wonder and discovery along with growing pains about life, death and resurrection. Nothing stays the same in life. People grow old. Relationships grow, change, at times, break apart and heal. There are joys in life as well as grief.

Our geographic location may not have changed but our contexts of ministry – our neighbourhood – has changed and will continue to change. Neighbourhoods change. Familiar neighbours move out and strangers move in and become neighbours. Along with those changes, the membership of our congregation changes as well. Looking back helps us to realize that we, too, will continue to adapt, change and find new and different ways to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ in this neighbourhood and beyond.

Seeing our children on the Christmas Eve family service was a vantage point of looking back for me. I saw our children growing in faith and maturity. I was saying to some of the parents that some of the angels dressed in white looked more like brides than children dressed as angels. Watching the play also reminded me of how God opens our eyes to see each and every child as blessing to our faith community. Watching our children also reminded me that each one of us is a blessing to our community if we choose to take that blessing seriously. Our life affects the lives of those we encounter. Like the way God called and blessed Simeon and Anna to recognize a child from a poor peasant family from Nazareth as the Messiah, God continues to call and bless us to recognize blessing in those we meet in our life.

Each child is blessed. Each child, regardless of social or religious status, is blessed was the message Jesus and his family experienced from the actions of Simeon and Anna. Each child, each life, is a blessing for every community.

I lived with my grandparents for a while when I was about 9 years old, a time when I was really fascinated by spy and espionage stories. I invented a cryptic alphabet to communicate with my friends and carried a membership card made with rubber stamps for a spy organization I invented. One of the things we used to do was to “train” ourselves by daring one another to jump over the open sewer in the neighbourhood. Each night I would return home dirty with a ripped shirt. One day my grandfather confronted me with the “evidence” of what he believed to be my involvement with a neighbourhood gang – my membership card of my imaginary spy organization. He thought I had joined a gang and was involved in something illegal. It took a quite a bit of time for me to explain to him that the spy organization was created out of my imagination. The filthy pants were due to failed attempts to jump across the open sewers. And shirts got ripped when my friends tried to grab me from slipping into the sewer after landing.

My grandparents used to laugh about that time whenever they reminisced about the time I lived with them. A time when they thought that their grandson, a model student, had gone astray and joined a gang.

Children grow, change, and show us of the blessings of change and growth. There are those who are able to see God’s child in each person. My grandparents saw a blessed child in me and they blessed me with stories of wonder and an unconditional love that helped me to know that I am loved forever. If we choose, like Anna and Simeon, we, too, could be a blessing to those we encounter.

As we journey towards the New Year may the Apache Nation blessing go with you:

May the sun
Bring you new energy by day,
May the moon
Softly restore you by night,
May the rain
Wash away your worries,
May the breeze
Blow new strength into your being.
May you walk
Gently through the world and know
Its beauty all the days of your life.

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy 101st year of ministry!

Amen.

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[i] http://liturgy.slu.edu/HolyFamilyB122808/theword_gillick.html
[ii]Thrity Umrigar, Harper Collins, http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=29280&isbn13=9780061240232&displyType=bookessay
[iii] Richard Wagamese, One Native Life (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 2008), 168.