‘Jesus is: ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles’ Luke 2:32
Friends, how did you get on with your candles this morning? It can be quite tricky in a draughty church lighting them, let alone keeping them lit. Most people, nowadays, don’t have too much experience with candles… except perhaps birthday cake candles, and they often have a life of their own! We have candles at home, and depending on where you buy them, or some other property I can’t quite understand, some candles go out at the slightest breeze, and others even blowing on them quite hard nothing seems to extinguish them. In a church where it’s clear when they need to be lit and when they definitely don't, it can be a quite stressful, especially at Christmas with little children around.
Today as we celebrate Candlemas—or the Presentation of Christ to give it its posh title—we use our candles to recall the Light which Jesus brought into the world and the light which our faith is meant to give to our lives and the lives of those around us. However, as you may have just experienced, candle’s are prone to go out; the slightest draft can see them extinguished. The light of faith can be like that too, if we’re not careful with faith—ours and those of our children—the winds of life come and the flame is blown out. Mary’s faith must have been strong, strong enough to say ‘Yes’ to an adventure she didn’t understand when the Angel announced she was going to have a child. As a father I know how life-changing event having a little one can be… and they say it’s harder for the mum! I remember walking out of the Maternity Unit as we were being discharged carrying my baby in a car seat, honestly thinking ‘any second someone’s gonna stop me, I have no idea what I’m doing’. And that’s not just with nappies, sleeping, and food—there are books about that, there are Health Visitors who will show you how to do those things—but how do we bring up our children to know and love Jesus in a world which doesn’t, which almost refuses, to believe. Mary and Joseph are embarking on this amazing, incredible, scary and, yes, daunting adventure in the reading we had from the Gospel of Luke: ’When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took [Jesus] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.’ Jesus is just forty days old when He is taken to the Temple. Mary and Joseph are no doubt sleep deprived but probably starting to work out this baby thing; and yet the journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem can't have been much fun even if Jesus was a very good sleeper! But they made it! They arrived, as many had before and many would again. What was on the mind of Our Lord’s parents as they went in to pray? I know what my prayer was so I can guess at Mary and Joseph’s: ’Lord, please help us to keep our baby safe, please help us to feed Him, to care for Him in the right way, and please, Lord, would He know You now and everyday of His life; would You kindle the light of faith in His heart and never, never, let it go out.'
Parents are so important to the faith of their children. Did you know the vast, vast, majority of Christians received their faith before the age of 18. The likelihood of someone coming to faith after that age is small indeed; small but not impossible, nothing is impossible for God. And yet despite childhood being a crucial stage in the life of faith, there is no ‘Baby Faith Manual’ and those with the biggest influence—the baby’s parents—have, at least with their first child, never done this before. Where do we start? What can we do, and what do we not do, in order of give our child’s faith the best chance in life? Let me try and give some pointers as to what might help: First, recognise that having a Christian family is so important. If you’re not married—or thinking of getting married—be sure of your partner’s faith; it will massively affect the likelihood of your child following or not following Jesus. Second, work on your own faith. Children see-through pretence in a nano-second. They know if we’re faking. They know if we’re going through the motions, if we’re just going to church because, well, it’s good for the kids. The candle of their faith is lit from ours—from their parents—so we need to ensure that the flame of faith in our hearts is burning bright and strong. For your child’s sake, then, how’s your faith? Is it burning bright just now or are you at a low ebb? Do your children see you praying at home? Do they hear you talking about faith in their day-to-day lives? When they look back in thirty years time what will they remember about the faith of their parents? It’s an awesome responsibility, I know, which is one reason why God gives us the Church, gives us each other so that we can help, encourage, and guide one another. Christian parents have one of the hardest jobs in the world—especially in the West—to bring up their children in the Faith… lets help each other and so make it a little bit easier.
I loved my Grandma and I miss her to this day. She was always great fun—a little bit stern at times—but I loved being with her and around her. My Grandad died when I was young and I don’t remember him and my Grandma married again. Ronald was a Catholic man who went to church and bought me Christian books. My Grandma, and the man I called Grandpa Ron were—looking back—a light in the darkness, a sign of faith, which many years later would finally take root in my own life. After parents, grandparents and older members of the Church can play a crucial role in the life of a child’s faith. We see that in our Gospel reading too. Simeon, an old and devout man, and Anna equally devout and we’re told eighty-four years old. It was they—amidst the hustle and bustle of the Temple—who came forward—who were nudged forward, if you like, by God—and testified to their faith in who this baby was and who He would become. Many of those sat here this morning are closer to Simeon and Anna’s stage of life than Mary and Joseph’s: what an impact you could make on the lives of your grandchildren, and children in our church family. Grandparents be praying for your grandchildren! Talk to them about your faith. Buy them good books—CS Lewis, Tolkien and others—which catch their attention and influence them in the right way. Love them—I’m sure you do this already—and, in appropriate ways, talk to them about faith, and the difference Jesus makes in your life. If you get the chance bring them to church. Even if the parents don’t come they may well appreciate a quiet morning without the children. Light, and kindle, the flame of faith in your grandchildren’s hearts and provide them positive memories of your faith. You may be retired but you never retire from being a grandparent, and you certainly never retire from being a Christian!
Today, through Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna, we’ve seen the great impact that faithful, faith-filled believers of all ages can have on children’s faith, and how precious that flame of faith is. As we close take a few moments quiet to give yourself an opportunity to pray for our own faith and for children in our own lives who we long to share that faith. Amen. (from Fr Mike).