Baby Jesus: Dedication

 

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise

him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had

given him before he had been conceived.

When the time of their purification according to

the Law of Moses had been completed,

Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem to

present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law

of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be

consecrated to the Lord"), and to offer a

sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law

of the Lord: a pair of doves or two young pigeons.

Luke 2:21-24 

On the eighth day of life for Mary's little baby, His parents were still in Bethlehem.  He was brought to the rabbi for the rite of circumcision, and was named Jesus, as the angel commanded.  According to the Law regarding women who give birth of a son, Mary had to wait 40 days before going to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for purification.  In addition, each first born son was to be dedicated to the Lord.  When the forty days were over, the little family set out on their short journey.  The distance between Bethlehem and Jerusalem was only about five miles, so this trip would be fairly easy for Mary and her infant son.

Upon arrival in the city, the family made their way to the Temple, where they would purchase the animals for the sacrifice - probably choosing the cheaper option of two pigeons or doves rather than a lamb.  As they moved across the courtyard toward the place of presentation, an elderly man stopped them with a simple request:  he wanted to hold the baby.

In my time of raising three children, I experienced many requests to "hold the baby."  It was a request (or at times, a demand) that I never took lightly.  Holding a precious babe is the right of the parents, but a high privilege for anyone else.  But as Mary and Joseph gazed at this stranger, something must have reassured them that they could safely place their son in his care.

* 

O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 230