Sermon for the 28th of January - Feast of Candlemas

Today we celebrate the fact that days are starting to get lighter and longer. Candlemass got its name as it was usually celebrated with lighted candles – the overarching theme today is that of light. And we need light to be able to see.

This is what we hear about in our gospel, the story of the presentation of Jesus at the temple – his meeting with Simeon and Anna – them seeing him for who he was.

And the question that came to mind when I read this was - How did they recognise Jesus? I mean really – babies come into the temple for this ritual all the time. no-one else noticed anything special about this child – how did Simeon and Anna see Jesus as the Messiah?

The reading tells us that it was by the Holy Spirit. They could see God’s truth and recognise something of his will because they were guided by God and could see where the Spirit was leading them.

And in this season of light, it struck me, that in spite of our ability to have light in the middle of winter, to have light in dark places - in spite of all the house lighting, the street lighting and even the torches on our phones - most of us are still not great at really seeing what is in front of us.

How much do we notice as we walk down the street, about the people we pass? How much do we notice in conversations, of how the other person is feeling? How much do we notice the impact of our words and actions on those around us?

Likewise, when we look at social media, read newspapers or watch leaders on TV – how much are we able to see the truth in what is being presented to us, as opposed to whatever particular message is being conveyed?

The conclusion I reached is that most of us are not very good at seeing what God wants us to see in this world. Most of us can not always tell truth from lies or perception from reality….and that’s because there is so much that gets in the way.

So today I want to think about 3 things that stop us from seeing clearly – things that stop us from seeing where God might be leading us, or noticing things God might want us to notice.

The first one is our own experiences and prejudices that can blind us to certain truths.
We have all been brought up in a particular culture and home, which will influence the views we have on things and shape how we think. We all have our prejudices and blind spots – some we have inherited and some we have acquired along the way because of our experiences of life.

For example – if you’d been bitten by a dog as a child, you might have a hard time seeing anything good about the dogs you meet. We all have blind spots and we all have our own prejudices – and they can stop us from seeing clearly.

The second factor that stops us seeing clearly is the multiple messages being thrown at us by social media, politicians, journalists, and so on. We live in a very noisy age where it’s almost impossible to escape the headlines, the adverts, and the propaganda that inevitably gets mixed in with the news and information we are exposed to.

Just look at the level of scapegoating of refugees by some of our most read newspapers….look at the level of fake news - we simply can’t trust the images or videos we are shown. The ability to make things look real when they aren’t, has increased enormously through some very clever technology. Think about the video of Keir Starmer shouting at one of his team – it looked incredibly real – but it wasn’t.

There has been an explosion in cyber bullying in schools, the creation of fake videos to alienate people, harmful messages being given, and in many cases listened to.

All of this noise, stops us from seeing the truth…. Because how often, do we actually stop and ask – is what I’m seeing real? Is what I’m reading the truth?

And this brings me onto the third factor, which is much simpler – time.

Much of the time we don’t see clearly because we don’t take the time to really stop and look – we don’t take the time to notice the small things, to notice what is around us, what the meaning really is behind the words we are hearing or reading.

We are all guilty of this – life can be busy, we are often juggling multiple demands and just trying to get things done – we often just don’t have the time to stop.

We don’t have time to listen to God, to invite God into a particular situation – to try and see what God wants us to see.

So, 3 things that stop us from seeing clearly – our own beliefs and prejudices, the external noise surrounding us, and a lack of time.

But the good news is that society is starting to wake up to these things.

There has been a massive increase in Diversity and Inclusion awareness and training is being given across many organisations and schools – our prejudices are no longer being tolerated and we are being challenged to be more open and understand other people and their contexts.

Young people are now starting to be taught to identify fake news, and there are increasing sites which can fact check, or confirm what is real. We are growing in our awareness and ability to recognise what is fake or misleading.

And there has been a massive growth in mindfulness and other “slow” movements in recent years – encouraging people to take time, to stop, to appreciate what is around them. To be in the moment, to have time away from screens.

So all hope is not lost - but you may well ask – do we really want to be able to see clearly – do we really want to see the truth – it might hurt! ….as Simeon says to Mary – “a sword will pierce your own soul too”.
Well that is true - but the truth will also bring freedom. Our ability to recognise God’s Spirit guiding us, seeing what God wants us to see, will set us free from the lies, set us free from being manipulated by those more powerful, and allow us to see all the good in the world.

Really seeing things as they are will not only be painful – we may also notice how much love there is – how much people support and help each other, how we care for not just our families but our animals, our world.
And what God is inviting each of us to do, is to see where he is working, where he is bringing light and love to some of the dark places, where justice is being sought, the hungry are being fed, and the sick cared for.

We are being invited to notice God’s love working in the world around us, to receive the love God has for us, and we are invited to join in sharing that love with those whom we are able to see are in need of it. So let us try and live in the light of God and join with sharing his love with our world.