In this homily Saint Gerasimos refers to the origin of the feast of the Reception (Hypapante), which goes back to God’s decision to strike all the firstborn male children of the Egyptians, in order that the Hebrews might be freed from the slavery of Pharaoh. From that time on, God required the Jews to bring to the Temple for consecration all firstborn males, of both humans and animals, as an expression of gratitude for that saving intervention of His.
The forty-day period that intervened between the birth of a child and the act of expiation in the Temple was necessary so that the mother and the newborn might be “purified” from the consequences of childbirth. This process would have had no reason to be undergone by the Word of God—nor by His all-pure Mother—yet He did undergo it: “first, so that the Jews might not immediately write that He does not submit to the Law; and second, so that they might not think and say that He is not truly man.”
In the text various symbols are mentioned, such as that of Jesus being offered in place of the lamb—which by tradition was offered on that day—and which in this case was destined to be sacrificed later on behalf of mankind. It is emphasized, of course, that Jesus is the Firstborn of all, the universal Holy One; therefore, in His person every being that comes into life can be “sanctified.” There is also the symbolism of the two turtledoves, which prefigure the Church because of their purity, and that of the two pigeons, which symbolize the Old and the New Testament.
Below is rendered into English the greater part of the homily, in which the author blesses the Spirit-bearing elder Symeon, who was deemed worthy to hold the infant Jesus in his arms.
The forty-day period that intervened between the birth of a child and the act of expiation in the Temple was necessary so that the mother and the newborn might be “purified” from the consequences of childbirth. This process would have had no reason to be undergone by the Word of God—nor by His all-pure Mother—yet He did undergo it: “first, so that the Jews might not immediately write that He does not submit to the Law; and second, so that they might not think and say that He is not truly man.”
In the text various symbols are mentioned, such as that of Jesus being offered in place of the lamb—which by tradition was offered on that day—and which in this case was destined to be sacrificed later on behalf of mankind. It is emphasized, of course, that Jesus is the Firstborn of all, the universal Holy One; therefore, in His person every being that comes into life can be “sanctified.” There is also the symbolism of the two turtledoves, which prefigure the Church because of their purity, and that of the two pigeons, which symbolize the Old and the New Testament.
Below is rendered into English the greater part of the homily, in which the author blesses the Spirit-bearing elder Symeon, who was deemed worthy to hold the infant Jesus in his arms.
This prophesied and prefigured redemption our Lord, wishing to reveal, is manifested in the embrace of His blessed Mother, and from the maternal embrace passes into the aged embrace of Symeon.
But behold also what good fortune the elder Symeon had: illuminated by the Holy Spirit, he came into the Temple at that very hour and received Him in his arms. O blessed Symeon, you appeared very bold, for you are old and weak, an aged man; this child is heavy, as though He were the whole world. Do not regard Him as small, as you see Him — He is a great giant. The head of this child reaches to heaven, His feet stand upon the earth and the sea, the span of His holy hands reaches to the ends of the world: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet” (Isaiah 66:1).
Elder Symeon, this child is the great Sun, and your eyes are weak from old age and cannot look upon Him and see Him. Turn the face of the child toward His Mother, and you yourself look downward, toward the end of your life, and say only: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master.”
O elder Symeon, this child is the ocean, and you have dared with such boldness to stretch out your hands and rest upon the boundless shoulders of the child! Do you not know that you are heavy with old age and cannot sail upon so vast a sea? Do you not fear that you might be submerged? Make haste to set foot upon the earth, within its tombs, through death, and say: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master.”
Elder Symeon, this child is the mighty element of the air, and you have given wings to your thoughts, and I think you are attempting to soar to His heights. These are your hands, stretched out upon the child. Man, do you not fear — your wings being of wax — that they may melt from the burning rays of the Sun of righteousness and that you may fall? Leave aside the heights; desire only the lowliness of the earth. Say quickly: “Now let Your servant depart in peace.”
O elder Symeon, this child is the great element of fire; take care not to bring your face close to the face of the child, lest fire come forth from His countenance and burn your senses. Moreover, your lips are not fit to kiss such a child, being aged; it suffices only to speak to Him and say: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master.”
O elder, this child is the lightning of the holy divinity, which burns the mountains, terrifies the earth, and cleaves the seas. Take heed, for you yourself are earth and should desire only to return to the earth: “Now let Your servant.”
Holy elder, this is the child who sent His angel and accompanied Habakkuk to bring food to holy Daniel, and who restrained the savage mouths of the lions so that they did not devour him; and the king, seeing the miracle, called Him God, saying: “Great is the God of Daniel!”
Blessed Symeon, this is the child who granted grace to Daniel while he was still a young boy, and by the wisdom and grace of this child delivered Susanna from death at the hands of the two wicked judges. He will also deliver you from worldly life, which is the death of the soul, and truly raise you to real life, eternal life. Only say with longing and great reverence: “Now let Your servant depart in peace.”
Holy Symeon, this is the child concerning whom the Prophet Baruch prophesied that He would be peace and glory, and he called upon Jerusalem to rejoice, because this blessed child remembered her and came and was born in her, and bestowed mercy and righteousness: “For God will lead with mercy and righteousness that come from Him.” Therefore ask this peace from Him also, and say: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word.”
Blessed Symeon, this is the child whom the priest Sirach called the morning star, the sun, the moon shining like the full moon, the radiant rainbow in the sky, the flower of the rose, the lily, and the shoot of the fragrant tree of frankincense, toward which the sons of Aaron blew the trumpet and sang hymns. And you also, with your trumpet — your aged mouth — hymn the child and say: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word.”
Thrice-blessed Symeon, this is the child of whom Solomon says that with His holy right hand He gives the diadem of beauty to the righteous, shelters them, and helps them: “Therefore they shall receive the kingdom of glory and the diadem of beauty from the hand of the Lord, for He will shelter them with His right hand.” Now you too hold His holy right and His holy left; ask Him to grant you that beauty of His kingdom: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master.”
Most blessed Symeon, this is the child who delivered the race of the Hebrews from destruction, which Haman was ready to inflict upon them, through the prayer of Queen Esther, and hanged the diabolical Haman upon the gallows.
This is the child who strengthened the widow Judith, who went out from the city of Bethulia to the Assyrians, cut off the foul head of Holofernes, and delivered her homeland from the hands of the Assyrians.
This is the child who long ago sent His archangel Raphael to accompany Tobias, who found him a fish in the river Euphrates, who drove away the demon Asmodeus from Sarah by means of its heart, and healed the blinded eyes of Tobit with its liver.
This is the radiant child whom the angel of the Lord showed to the Prophet Zechariah upon the lampstand with seven lamps. The lampstand is the Most Holy Virgin, and the seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Spirit, with which He enlightens the whole world.
This is the child whom the Prophet Habakkuk foresaw would be born in these times, and he trembled. He prophesied also that He would lie in a manger between two living creatures: “O Lord, I heard what You revealed to me, and I was afraid. I considered Your works carefully, I understood them, and I was seized with great amazement. Between two living creatures You will be made known to mankind. When the years draw near in which Your goodness is revealed, You will be more fully known; when the appointed time comes, Your power will be manifested.”
This is the child of whom the Prophet Micah foretold that He would be born in Bethlehem, saying: “And you, Bethlehem, are small among the cities of Judah; you do not even have a thousand inhabitants. Yet from you shall come forth a man who shall become a ruler.”
This is the child who delivered Jonah from the belly of the fish and had compassion on so great a multitude of people and animals in the city of Nineveh, and did not destroy them.
This is the child whom the Prophet Daniel, after much fasting, saw in a vision as a great giant, whose eyes were like lamps, whose face shone like lightning, and whose voice was like the sound of a multitude — and he foretold this very hour in which you, thrice-blessed Symeon, were deemed worthy to see Him!
This is the child who spoke through Isaiah, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me and sent Me to preach to the poor in faith, to heal those whose hearts are crushed by the weight of sin, to proclaim release to the captives of sin and to grant sight to the blind.”
This is the child of whom Isaiah also prophesied that before He grew up He would subdue the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of Assyria: “For before the child knows how to say ‘father’ and ‘mother,’ He will take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of Assyria.”
This child is the true God, who sought His beloved Adam in Paradise, and when He found him says in the Song of Songs: “I will rise from my bed, I will go about the city, the marketplaces and the streets, and I will seek Him whom my soul loves.”
This child is the true God whom you, O aged priest, longed to see as another fountain of salvation, to drink the saving death; therefore you said: “My soul thirsts for God, the mighty, the living God. When shall I come and appear before You?”
This is the child of whom you said: “I will love You, O Lord, forever; You are my strength. The Lord is my firm support, my refuge, and my deliverer.”
This is the child whom Jacob saw resting upon the ladder, surrounded by the blessed angels ascending and descending upon it. This is the One who made it rain for forty days and forty nights and drowned the whole earth, yet kept holy Noah alive, preserved within the ark.
This is the child who created the entire world — heaven and earth, sea and air, the ether and all the heavenly bodies.
This is the child who formed Adam and Eve, planted Paradise in Eden, and placed them both there to hymn God.
This is the child who entered the immaculate womb of the Most Holy Virgin as into another Paradise, and took upon Himself this blessed flesh which you see, in order to save mankind from the burden of sin.
This child will be baptized in the River Jordan, cleanse lepers, heal the sick, and raise the dead.
This child will ascend the holy Cross, will be put to death, and will become a sacrifice to His unoriginate Father in order to reconcile God for the salvation of the world.
This child will descend into Hades to illumine all the forefathers and become salvation even for the dead.
This child will rise on the third day; all the mysteries will be fulfilled; eternal death, sin, the world, and above all the devil will be put to death.
This child will ascend into the heavens and sit at the right hand of His heavenly Father — because He is consubstantial with the Father.
This child will come again with great glory, seated upon the clouds of heaven, to judge the living and the dead, to send sinners to eternal punishment and the righteous to His Heavenly Kingdom.
It is enough for you, thrice-blessed Symeon, the abundant and immeasurable sanctification you have received. Him whom the whole world cannot contain, you contained in your aged embrace. Now give the child of grace back to His blessed Mother. Bow down to the ground, worship Him and His Mother, and prepare yourself alone for your departure, if you desire to behold Him eternally. For as your body has grown heavy, it will not sustain you — just as He said to blessed Moses: “No man can behold all My glory and live; but remove your sandals, and then you shall see Me from behind.”
Thus you too, departing from this life and ascending to the other, will rejoice in Him unceasingly, together with the choirs of the blessed and holy angels, hymning and blessing His all-praised name together with His unoriginate Father and His all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, unto the boundless ages. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
