Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, Yr C (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, Yr C (2025)                            The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Psalm 84                                                                                       St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Luke 2:22-40

In the name of the one, holy, and loving God:

            in whom we live, and move, and have our being.  Amen.

I am struggling.

I think most of us, if not all of us, are struggling.

Some of us are struggling with our bodies:

            with unrelenting pain,

                        or new diagnoses,

       or diseases that are chronic that we learn how to manage as best we can,

                  and we are grateful for times of relief.

Some of us are struggling with our mental health:

            with anxiety or depression,

                        or addictions.

Many of us struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene:

            some are still cleaning up or rebuilding,

       and all of us see the destruction as we drive around town or watch the news.

Some of us are struggling with the uncertainty of a new presidential administration:

            Who will be deported today?

       What will happen with healthcare and social security and federal grants?

                        Whose God-created nature will be denied?

                  Who will be attacked or even killed?

On a more mundane level,

some of us struggle with keeping up with the buildings and grounds of St. Andrew’s:

                        our 3 buildings are 100 years old,

                   and we have trees that are even older!

I do not say all this to be depressing,

            but to simply name our reality.

This was my state of mind and heart on Monday morning

when I read Richard Rohr’s reflection on Fr. Greg Boyle’s ministry with gangs

        and Richard’s assertion that Jesus came to release us from what binds us.

Referring to Jesus’ healing of the Gerasene demoniac, Boyle says,

“Jesus asks the demoniac…, ‘What is your name?’

“The guy says, ‘Legion’… which actually means ‘I am what has afflicted me.’

“The invitation and plea is for healing.

“And Jesus does.

“Even though it would appear he ‘drives out the demon,’

            he’s actually freeing him of his affliction

       and asking him not to define himself this way anymore.

“More liberation than salvation.

“The demoniac’s ‘growth’ is not about becoming less sinful,

            but more joyful.” 

(Gregory Boyle, Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times, Avid Reader Press, 2024, p. 42)

Jesus came to offer us freedom from what binds us.

It seems to me that this freedom requires two things:

            an acknowledgement of what is binding us…

       and a shift in our perspective from bondage to freedom.

A shift in our perspective from pain to joy,

            from impossibility to possibility.

I wondered how we might make this shift in our perspective,

and my thoughts went to today’s alternate Psalm… Psalm 84.

The Psalm is filled with images of life…

images of finding rest and renewal with God.

“How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts!

            My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord.

            my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

“The sparrow has found her a house

            and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young;

            by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts,

            my King and my God.

“Happy are they who dwell in your house!

            they will always be praising you.

“Happy are the people whose strength is in you!

            whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.

“Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs,

            for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.” (Ps 84:1-5)

And then I wondered:

What are those places for us?

       Where do we turn to seek God’s presence?

Do we seek God’s presence in scripture?

            Or in worship?

Perhaps we seek God’s presence through serving others.

Maybe we seek God’s presence through a walk in the woods or around Lake Junaluska…

in sharing coffee with a friend,

      in painting a picture or listening to music.

Maybe we seek God’s presence as we sit in silence in Centering Prayer.

Perhaps we seek God’s presence in many of these ways!

Simeon and Anna saw God’s presence in the boy, Jesus,

            as they awaited the consolation of Israel…

       as so many awaited relief for all the things that bound them.

The Good News is that we are not defined by our struggles.

            We are not defined by who others judge us to be.

Jesus frees us for new life.

After fellowship time today, your vestry and I will be meeting

            for a mini-retreat.

Among other things, we will ask the question:

What is our purpose here at St. Andrew’s?

Who are we as the gathered Body of Christ in this place, at this time…

in the midst of a hurting and broken world?

Can we be a place of welcome to every person who walks through our doors?

Can we be a place of refuge?

Can we be a place of transformation,

            of restoration,

       of hope?

If so, in what ways do we do that?

How do we name our struggles

            and live into joy?

I invite us all to ponder such questions…

            both as individuals and as a community.

I look forward to journeying together,

            presenting ourselves as living members of the Body of Christ,

     so that we may be beacons of God’s Light, love, and mercy to each other

                        and to the world in which we live.

Amen.