21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived.
22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD.”
24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons {doves}.”
I've been reading the 19th century English pastor and theologian, J.C. Ryle and his expository notes on the Gospel of Luke. As I preach my way through this Gospel I find some of these older works to be of invaluable worth in my own thinking, meditating, even praying through scripture.
Ryle makes the point that Mary and Joseph's sacrifice was the act of a poor couple. Leviticus had prescribed an animal sacrifice for a circumcision, unless the couple was poor - then they could offer two pigeons...doves. God did not send his son into a world with privilege. Instead he was born in a poor family, where hard work and scraping to keep things together still did not get you ahead.
The 12 days of Christmas mark the period of time between Christmas and Epiphany (see yesterday's blog if you want more information on this). The song says of this second day:
My true love gave to me:
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
The 2nd day of Christmas is God’s gift of the Two turtle doves. I have to admit, from early boyhood the idea of a turtle and a dove brought weird images to my mind. I wasn’t sure whether the song was saying the true love gave a turtle or a dove, but it was confusing to try to put the two together.
Why two turtledoves?
Some have suggested it is a way of reminding children that these were symbols of the sacrifice that Mary brought in lieu of the lamb.
In the Jordan valley a similar species, the palm dove, or Egyptian turtledove, is still common today.
The nature of turtle doves is that they pair for life - a poetic type and symbol of God’s covenanted love. The dove appears in the language of Old Testament Poetry to describe the love that never dies.
Song of Songs 2:10-14 (NRSV)
10 My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
11 for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
It could be that the symbol of the two doves is the giving of God’s covenanted word in both Testaments - the Old and New. The two show his faithful love that is fulfilled - even as two partridges stay together for life. There are two completed aspects of God’s covenant that both point to Jesus – The Old Testament gives us the background for Jesus’ coming in the redemptive work of God through repentance and sacrifice. The New Testament shows the completed work of Christ and the direction of God’s work in redemption through the Kingdom of God.
Two turtle doves…God’s faithful love from eternity to eternity.
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