Faith is a journey. And that journey is marked by rituals and rhythms. We come to worship. We confess our sins. We offer grace. We hear the Word. We baptize children. We break bread.
Such rituals root us in a story, in God’s story. They remind us that, no matter what is happening, we are not alone.
Mary and Joseph participated in such rituals.
After eight days, Mary and Joseph took their child to the temple to circumcise him and officially name him Jesus, just as the angels had told them. It was one of the sacred birth rituals of their culture and tradition.
While they are doing what was customary, the unexpected occurred. A man named Simeon, led by the Spirit, proclaimed Jesus as the “light of revelation.” Then, a prophet named Anna suddenly approached them; she praised God and spoke about Jesus to everyone longing for redemption.
Rituals often mark sacred turning points in our lives. Marriages. Baptisms. Funerals. Anniversaries. Birthdays. In their own way, they’re all rituals.
Such rituals help us make meaning of celebrations, losses, and transitions.
And perhaps the same was true for Mary and Joseph. It has been quite a journey for them, from angelic announcements to a trip to Bethlehem to only having a stable to give birth. And this was just the beginning of their journey.
Perhaps the ritual of going to the temple to dedicate and name their child was a way of bolstering them and giving them courage for what would lie ahead.
As we look towards a new year, how do our rituals root us and help us live into new chapters of life?
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