Rorschach

(Scriptures:   Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:22-40)

First of all, for those who were here Christmas Eve, and for those who weren’t, I hope you all had – and I hope you all have – a Merry Christmas.  As the song “the twelve days of Christmas” reminds us, Christmas is not just a day, but a season of 12 days, ending with Epiphany, celebrated as “Three Kings Day” in many Hispanic traditions and “Little Christmas” in Orthodox traditions.  For many, the biggest celebration of Christmas was not on December 25, but is yet to come on Epiphany.  So if Christmas day didn’t work out – somebody got sick, somebody wrecked the roast, one of the toys broke, whatever… by the church calendar, it’s not too late to have a Merry Christmas.  And, of course, you all have my prayers and best wishes for a Happy 2015!

After all the powerful images we celebrated on Christmas Eve – angels, shepherds, wise men, the heavenly host singing in chorus - and crazy king Herod – today’s Gospel reading gives us a quiet but truly touching, tender moment….Mary and Joseph coming to the Temple, and receiving a blessing from the aged Simeon and Anna, whose lives were drawing to a close.  It’s a circle of life moment, those about to walk off the stage of this life blessing the One who has just arrived onstage,   the aged faithful blessing the newborn Christ.

Mary goes to the Temple to offer a sacrifice – per the law, after giving birth, after a time of purification – 33 days for a male baby, 66 for a female baby -  a mother was to make an offering.  And so she went to the Temple, and Joseph with her.  Someone else was coming to the Temple that day, the aged Simeon, a spirit-filled man, who lived in hope of the coming of the Messiah.  Somehow the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would see death until he had first seen the Jesus, the giver of new life.  He crosses paths with Mary and Joseph, and in the babe he saw the One for whom he had waited his whole life, the One toward whom his whole life had been directed.  And so he tells God, “Now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; my eyes have seen your salvation.”  Simeon’s words are still preserved in the liturgy at the Nunc Dimittis, which we don’t use, but which you can find at the top of page 30 in the front of the E&R (Maroon) hymnal.

Mary and Joseph also cross paths with Anna, a prophet – a female prophet, which is unusual in Scripture.  We’re told she had been widowed early in her marriage, and was always at the Temple fasting and praying.  She also recognizes the baby as the promised Messiah, and though we’re not given her words as we were for Simeon, we’re told that she spread the news of the coming of the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Israel.

All these words, all this fuss about a baby who can’t walk, can’t speak, can’t even control his own bowels or bladder, and yet is to be the salvation of the world.  So many expectations heaped upon one baby.

I titled this sermon “Rohschach”, which may seem like an odd title for a Christmas sermon.  Rorschach, of course, is the name of a psychological test involving the use of inkblots.  It’s a test used today; in fact, the psychological testing I underwent as part of my credentialing process – yes, denominations do extensive psychological testing of candidates to weed out those who are predatory or mentally unstable – that testing involved, among many other tests, the Rorschach inkblot test.  The thing about the ink blots is that they’re ambiguous…. While at first glance some of them look like butterflies, they’re not clearly pictures of anything specific.  The testing subject is asked to look at each of a series of inkblots and to tell what they see in the inkblot, what the inkblot reminds them of.  It’s common and in fact expected that some inkblots will remind the subject of more than one thing.  The thing about the test is, since the inkblots themselves are ambiguous – they’re just inkblots after all, nothing more, nothing less - what the test subject sees in the inkblots says something about test subject, not the inkblots themselves.

In reading today’s Gospel reading, and particularly Simeon’s words, those inkblots are what came to my mind.  Remember Simeon’s blessing of Jesus – a surprisingly ominous blessing, if you want to call it that – “"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."  Let me repeat that phrase – “so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.”   Like a Rorschach inkblot, our response to Jesus reveals our inner thoughts, not only about Jesus, but about ourselves.

Think of the reactions to Jesus we’ve seen so far.  For the angels, of course, Jesus is a cause for proclamation and celebration.  For Joseph, the babe in Mary’s womb was originally a deal-breaker for their relationship, but later one to be welcomed at considerable cost into his family.  For Elizabeth, Jesus was the blessed fruit of Mary’s womb, and for the unborn John the Baptist, even though he obviously couldn’t speak, he could jump within Elizabeth’s womb.  For the aged Zechariah, Jesus was a mighty Savior in the house of his servant David, and a sign that the God of Israel has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.  For the shepherds, a cause of rejoicing.  For the wise men, one for whom to travel far, and one to whom to bring rare gifts.  For Herod, a threat to the throne, and for all Jerusalem – we should understand that to mean, for all those in power in Jerusalem -  a cause for fear, one who would, as Simeon said, be the cause of the falling and rising of many, and a signed to be opposed by many.  For Simeon himself, a light to the Gentiles for the glory of Israel. 

And for Mary?  We have a very complicated picture indeed.  Jesus’ coming was a surprise announced by angels – from God’s standpoint, Jesus’ coming was planned from the beginning, but for Mary’s, Jesus’ coming was very much an unplanned pregnancy which surely drew whispers from the neighbors.  Jesus brought discomfort to her journey to Bethlehem, but also many visitors to his infancy.  Mary was surely taken aback at the many who came to visit Jesus, to bring rare gifts,  and to speak of him. Scripture tells us that “Mary pondered all these things in her heart”, and Jesus surely gave her plenty to ponder. But, as Simeon said, a sword would pierce Mary’s sword as well, as she herself didn’t always understand Jesus’ mission – Mark’s gospel tells us at one point early in Jesus’ ministry that Mary thought Jesus had gone insane and was trying to have him put in restraints.  She watched her son’s ministry be casually accepted by many, who were happy for healing and free food but had no real commitment to Jesus himself, opposed by many in power, and truly embraced only by a few – and even those few really didn’t understand him during his earthly ministry.  And then, of course, she watched her son’s arrest, sham trial, and crucifixion…..and then rejoiced at the resurrection.

How about for us?  For us as well as for those in Jesus’ day, Jesus functions as a Rohrschach, so that, as Simeon says, the thoughts of many will be revealed.   Of course, at Christmas, we too see the baby.  For many, Christmas is about the Hallmark Christmas card imagery, warm, fuzzy, non-threatening.  Hallmark Jesus is cute and cuddly-wuddly, and especially at Christmas, it’s easy to forget that the baby will grow up, will teach us new ways to live, demand change in our lives, lay his healing finger on the broken and painful spots in our lives, bring salvation to us all.   For those who lived in Jesus’ day, and for those who live in our day, Jesus was a teacher, a prophet, an example of how to live, and indeed he was and is all these things.  To Rome and to the Jerusalem Temple hierarchy, Jesus was a troublemaker, and indeed Jesus was and still is a troublemaker to the powers that be, including those in political power and many prominent religious leaders right here in our country, which is why our leaders try so hard to promote the non-threatening Hallmark Jesus – the Jesus who reminds you that it’s time to go shopping - or to co-opt Jesus in other ways to fit the agenda of those in power, such as making Jesus a club with which to beat up disfavored groups. We forget at our peril Simeon’s words that Jesus will lead to the falling and the rising of many in Israel – and not only in Israel, but in our day as well.  Jesus is disruptive, one who is willing to make a whip and drive the moneychangers from the Temple.   For many, Jesus is the friend who will listen when nobody else will, and indeed, glory to God, as the hymn says, “What a friend we have in Jesus.”  It is to Jesus that we can take our deepest sorrow and pain and shame and guilt, the things we dare not tell anyone else, and also with whom we can celebrate our greatest joys, when our spirits are ready to burst open with joy and we can’t find words to describe how good life is.

Jesus is many of these things, and more!  As our images of Jesus reflect our own thoughts, they also reflect our own poverty of spirit, our brokenness, our need for salvation.   It is Jesus who saves – not only offering pie in the sky by and by when we die, but salvation here, now, today.  And it is Jesus, the 2^nd person of the Trinity, the Word become flesh, God who became a babe whose diapers needed changing, who is our Lord, the one to whom we belong, in life and in death, the one we are to follow, in life and in death.

As we turn another page of the calendar and enter a new year, let us take time to ask ourselves, really ask ourselves some challenging, searching questions: “Who is Jesus?  Who is Jesus to the world?  Who is Jesus to me?  And what does that mean for my life?  What will have to change in my life because of who Jesus is?  What will have to change in the way I treat my neighbors because of who Jesus is?  Does Jesus save?  Will Jesus save me?  Is Jesus saving me right now?  How and in what ways does Jesus save?  What does salvation look like?  What is the reign of God that Jesus proclaimed?  Is that kingdom here now, or at the end of the world – or maybe both?  What does it look like?  What is it about God’s kingdom that demands that we reject the things of this world?  Why can’t we have both?”   Let’s not rush to answer these questions – rather, we should sit with them, ponder them, meditate on them, live with them.  For those so inclined, you might even start a journal and write down your thoughts on these questions.  Our answers may and I hope will change as our faith matures – certainly, what Jesus is for a child of 6 is different from what Jesus is for a man or woman of 60.  Questions are answered, and new questions are asked.  For indeed, the life of faith is directed toward the mystery we call God, and with mystery comes questions, many of the answers to which we will not know until the end of all things, when all will be revealed.   

Simeon called Jesus “a sign that will be opposed, so that the thoughts of many will be revealed.”  May the Risen Christ reveal us to ourselves – the goodness of God’s image within us, the pain of brokenness and sin within us, the need for healing and salvation within us – and may that revelation change our lives, turn us upside down and all around, so that we can be used by God to change the world.  Amen.