HOMILY ON THE MEETING OF THE LORD

Delivered by His Grace Bishop Atanasije (Jevtic), 1995 in Pozarevac

Today we celebrate a great Feast, the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple, we celerate a joyous event of the Meeting of Heaven and earth, the timeless and the transient, God and man, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Jerusalem Temple the newly born Savior was taken into the arms of the Righteous elder Simeon, who, having received a Divine promise that he would not die until he sees with his own eyes the Savior and Messiah, gave thanks to the Lord at that very moment for fulfiling that promise by saying: „Now you are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation...“. Receiving and taking into his elderly hands the Savior of the world, the righteous Elder recognized also in his prophetic vision the full history of what would be with Christ, and all of those who follow Him, and that is why He says to the Most Holy Theotokos: „Behold this Child is destined for the fall and rising, and for a sign which will be spoke against and many will stand against,“ but they will not be able to prevail, for in Him the thoughts of the hearts of many will be revealed.

THE SONG OF SIMEON, THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST, AND THE GREEK OLD TESTAMENT

Gabe Martini

February 2nd marks the celebration of one of the twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church year: The Presentation (or Meeting) of Christ in the Temple.

This is a feast that recalls the Gospel story of the infant Christ being presented to the elder Simeon in the temple (Luke 2:25-32), a man of great age. The Nunc dimittis or Song of Simeon is a recorded response as this old, frail servant of the Lord beholds the incarnate Lord of Glory for the very first time. In this moment, he knew his life was complete; he had fulfilled his purpose.

THE MEETING OF THE LORD

Byzantine icon of the XV century.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

On the fortieth day following the Nativity, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, as was customary according to the Law of Moses, brought the Infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, and Simeon and Anna, the prophets of Israel, being instructed by the Holy Spirit, met Him as the promised Christ the Saviour. And Saint Simeon the God­Receiver foretold to the Mother of God:Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:34­35).

THE MEETING OF OUR LORD

Archbishop Dmitri (Royster)

On February 2nd the Church celebrates the great feast of The Meeting of our Lord in the Temple. The Gospel lesson for that day relates how the mother of Jesus brought Him to the temple, as was the custom and requirement under the God-given Law of Moses, of Israel (Exodus 13:2, 12; Leviticus 12:2-8). When the righteous Simeon, who received Christ in his arms at the temple, saw the child he knew immediately that this was the Redeemer promised by all of Israel’s prophecies, for the elder was inspired by the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:26-27). Being inspired he himself uttered prophetic words which form the hymn sung or chanted at the end of every Vespers service: "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 Thy people, a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32).

THE MEETING OF THE LORD

As with all of the sacred events celebrated by the twelve great feasts, the Meeting of the Lord also is so rich in content that it is difficult immediately to grasp it. Let us dwell in thought only as it were on the historical meaning of the event.

On the day of the Meeting of the Lord, an encounter occurred between the Old and New Testaments. Old Testament humanity ­ in the person of the Elder Simeon and the Prophetess Anna ­ saw with it's own eyes, in the Person of the Child Jesus, the realization of all its expectations and the meaning of its own existence. Old Testament humanity, although it was not deprived of Divine Revelation concerning the meaning of life and even had communion with God to a limited extent, all the same, became increasingly more conscious of the limited degree of this communion. This humanity, through its best representatives, thirsted for something greater, and unto these people ­ the best of the Old Testament ­ God gradually revealed that in the future the fullness of good and the fullness of communion with God would be given, so that the spiritual thirst of humanity would be satisfied. Gradually, to the ancient prophets was revealed the mystery concerning the future appearance of the Messiah, the special Anointed of God, the Bearer of Supreme Truth.

HOMILY ON THE MEETING OF THE LORD

St. Theophan the Recluse

What a tender scene the Meeting of the Lord shows us! The venerable elder Simeon, holding the infant God in his hands, on either side of him are the righteous Joseph and the Most Holy Mother of God. Not far away is the Prophetess Anna, an eighty-year-old faster and woman of prayer. Their eyes are all directed toward the Savior. Their attention is absorbed by Him and they drink in spiritual sweetness from Him, which feeds their souls. You can judge for yourself how blessed was the state of these souls!