chrishansenhome

I take a lot of my strength from my husband, HWMBO, who is Singaporean. Travelling to Singapore and having many Singaporean friends and acquaintances, both online and in meatspace, enriches my life immensely. Last night, looking at the Gospel for tomorrow, taking in the presentation of Jesus in the temple and the Nunc Dimittis of Simeon, I had a brainwave.

February 2, 2014 The Presentation of the Lord
Sermon delivered at St. John the Evangelist, 10AM.
First Reading: Malachi 3:1-4;
Epistle: Hebrews 2:14-18; Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
“…he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ…”

In the name of God, the one, the Undivided Trinity. AMEN.

One of the great advantages of being in a multi-racial home is that each partner gets to experience two or more cultures within the four walls of their house.

I have been partners with Tan, whom some of you know, for 16 years now, and have been to Singapore, his original home, many times. I have many Singaporean friends, not only those whom I have met in person, but a goodly number whom I only know online but who are my friends nonetheless.

Singapore is a multi-racial society in and of itself. The majority are Chinese, but there are also a large number of Malay people, Indian people, and others. They rub along together in a way that many other countries do not experience.

There are four national languages, but in truth many others as well. One of them is called Singlish.

Singlish was looked down upon for decades as a pidgin tongue, not fit for business or proper society. It contains words from the various Chinese dialects spoken by immigrants, some words from Malay and Indonesian residents, others from Indian Singaporeans, and some from the English who colonised the area in the 1700’s.

One very vivid phrase, which can be loosely translated: “You need to do this, or die trying,” is “Die die must try.”

It’s used when one Singaporean finds a new restaurant or a novel place to which to travel, for example. “That new café is die die must try!”

The Singaporean Government, believing that Singlish is inferior to standard spoken English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay, or Tamil, discourages its use on radio, TV, and in spoken conversations with officials. It hasn’t managed to stamp Singlish out, and in fact its use has grown in the recent past. Part of the reason is the vividness of its vocabulary and the richness of its origins.

The phrase “die die must try” came to mind when I read today’s Gospel passage. Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah.

In this Gospel passage we read and hear that prophecy come to pass in the Temple. Simeon is mostly portrayed as an elderly man with a long beard—someone who has only a little time left before death. The Messiah would have to hurry up then, as Simeon wasn’t immortal; he didn’t have hundreds of years left before he would die, like Methuselah or any of the ancient patriarchs mentioned in the Jewish Scriptures.

I could imagine that Simeon might be middle-aged, or even younger than that. I have no proof, of course, but then again those who see him as an ancient greybeard have no evidence for that either.

In walk Mary and Joseph carrying Jesus, to give thanks for his birth and dedicate him to the Lord, as the Law dictates. When Simeon spies Jesus, he might have murmured “die die, must try” under his breath.

He took the child into his arms and blessed God, then recited the words we now use as a hymn before sleep. In the King James version we hear, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”

Many of us come to church as often as each week, or even daily. Do we come to see rich vestments? Or do we come to see an altar dressed in paraments of red and gold? I don’t think so.

We come to see the living God, Christ the Lord. We see him in the Eucharist, we sense his presence in church in the Tabernacle where the Eucharistic bread is kept. We come to receive his immortal body into our mortal bodies.

An old Italian saying goes, “See Naples and die.” Just like the Singaporean phrase, the Neapolitans believe that once you have seen Naples, you’ve seen everything that’s worth seeing and can then die satisfied. It’s an offer that few could refuse.

Do we desire that union with God in the Eucharist that God desires for us? Do we believe that we must have that union or die trying?

Our thoughts and prayers all tend toward the goal of Simeon: I must see and hold the Messiah before my death: Die die must try.

Therefore to the One who is the goal of our lives and for whom we live and die, Jesus Christ, be ascribed all might, majesty, dominion, and praise both now and evermore. AMEN.