Souls shining bright with grace

This is last Sunday's sermon:

A Cambridge scholar Mark Frank preached at Candlemas during the seventeenth century like this:

Light up now your candles … it is Candlemas, become we all burning and shining lights, to do honour to this day, and the blessed armful of it. Let your souls shine bright with grace, your hands with good works; let God see it, and let man see it; so bless we God. Walk we ‘as children of the light,’ as so many walking lights; and offer we ourselves up like so many holy candles to the Father of Light. But be sure we light all our lights at this Babe’s eyes, that lies so enfolded in our arms; and neither use nor acknowledge any other light for better than darkness, that proceeds from any other but this Eternal Light, upon whom all our best thoughts, and words, and works, must humbly now attend like so many petty sparks, or rays, or glimmerings, darted from and perpetually reflecting thankfully to that glorious Light; from this day beginning our blessing God, the only lightsome kind of life, till we come to the land of light, there to offer up continual praises, sing endless Benedicites and Alleujas, no longer according to the laws or customs upon earth, but after the manner of heaven, and in the choir of angels, with holy Simeon, and Anna, and Mary, and Joseph, all the saints in light and glory everlasting. Amen, amen.

"Let your souls shine bright with grace, your hands with good works; let God see it, and let man see it; so bless we God. Walk we ‘as children of the light’."

The actual date of Candlemas is the second of February (which incidentally is my husband’s birthday). Second of February comes 40 days after Christmas. Additionally, it is also the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. In Europe

bears and wolves are said to emerge from hibernation to inspect the weather. If they go back to their lairs it means severe winter will last another 40 days. In North-America Groundhog day is one example of this, too.

The second of February has in many places also been the annual beginnings of the agricultural season. Something one finds hard to believe up here in the north. According to an English saying, "If Candlemas Day be bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year." I regret to remind you of the fact that it also was – and extremely cold.

The two themes that merge in the Gospel of this day are: the purification of Mary and the presentation of Christ in the Temple. The basis of the Feast of the Purification was the Jewish tradition that women were considered unclean after the birth of a child and were not permitted to enter the Temple to worship 40 days after the birth of a son and 60 days after the birth of a daughter. At the end of the 40 or 60 days, the mother was brought to the Temple or synagogue and ritually purified. Now she could go to religious services again, and generally go out in public.

Today’s women probably find this somewhat insulting (I do at least) but insult aside this custom did in fact protect the mother’s and baby’s health. Even today the same six weeks is when mothers in Finland go to have a check up after giving birth.

The second theme is the one which gives rise to the blessing of the candles. As Jesus, as the first born son, is presented in the temple old Simeon picks the baby in his arms he praises God and calls the baby the Light of all the peoples, gentiles and Israel.

One writer says this about Candlemas:

“To present Christ anew with many candles each year, is to present Him anew in our own lives. The beauty of the litugical year is its hallowing of time, much as the Jewish festivals are to its people.”

For the Church Candlemas is a day of hope and light. It is a time to honor the Lord as the Light of the World and to remind us that we too have that light within us. We too have Christ’s light within us. And my prayer is that it will shine through.

Because we wanted the children to be present for the blessing of the candles we have not walked into this chapel as a procession carrying lit candles. However, as we leave I shall come to the doorway to hold this Christ candle and as you make your way to out please light them. It’ll be a symbol for us that with us we take the light of Christ with us to the world, for the world to see.

"Let your souls shine bright with grace, your hands with good works; let God see it, and let man see it; so bless we God. Walk we ‘as children of the light’."