Homily for the Reception of the Lord
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
I congratulate you all on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord! This is the day when we celebrate the meeting of two Covenants: the Old Covenant, made with the people of Israel, and the New Covenant, made with the Universal Church, now including all nations. We must ponder the words of prophecy proclaimed by the ancient elder Symeon, taking the Creator of the Universe in his arms: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (By word — according to promise. By revelation — for enlightenment. By Gentiles — the nations.)
This meeting was necessary so that we could understand that the ancient law given to the people of Israel contains something great and important for our day and for the New Testament Church. The entire liturgy of the New Testament Church is woven from the Psalms spoken by the Old Testament patriarch and prophet David. Christianity has a direct relationship to ancient Judaism; indeed, one could put it another way: modern Judaism has absolutely no connection to ancient Judaism, and the direct and sole heir of Old Testament Judaism is the Universal Orthodox Church! Because with it, by the grace of God, the Creator of the Universe, the same covenant was made with ancient Israel. Modern Israel in the flesh has lost this covenant, broken it, rejecting its Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Universal Orthodox Church is the New Israel, having received the blessings that the Lord bestowed upon Old Testament Israel.
What is the essence of this Covenant, and what is the agreement between God and man, in general? Its essence is that God promises those who trust Him that He Himself will lead them through secret paths to His Divine Kingdom, that God Himself will guide His people. We are no longer alone on earth, trying to somehow earn our salvation. The Old Testament gave birth to the Most Pure Saint of all times and peoples — the Mother of God — and many other righteous ones, one of whom was Symeon the God-Receiver, the Twelve Apostles — a gift from ancient Israel to us. The most important thing that ancient Israel (and not today's apostate, blasphemous Israel) gave us is that it was not we who found God, but God who found us. It is a wondrous gift: God finds us when we wallow in the filth, when we live by the laws of sin and the devil. God finds us, breaks through to us, pulls us out of decay and death, and allows us to see the light of life, the light of endless joy, endless blessedness. He breathes His living breath into us, and thus we come alive before His face. And from us He demands only fidelity to the Covenant.
When we depart this world, the Church of God will guide us. There is a special rite called "At the Departure of the Soul from the Body," which must be recited over the dying. This rite reads: "Lord, even if we have sinned, we have not turned away from You, we have not stretched out our hands to a foreign god. Therefore, save us. We confess the Trinity in unity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For our faith, save us, O Lord, for if You remember our deeds, then we are lost." No one living in the world can justify themselves before God by their deeds. Our only true hope is Faith! And it was precisely this that justified Symeon the God-Receiver, who lived by hope in God and awaited His intervention in the world. Ancient Israel lived not simply by the law, which was needed merely as a fence; the core of Israel was not the law, but the hope in grace. The hope that the gift of eternal life will be given, regardless of our deeds, on condition of our faith and love for God and our neighbors. And on condition that we repent of our evil deeds. This is the only necessary condition for salvation, and this is precisely what Symeon saw.
But Symeon saw something else too: he saw the astonishing message of the Covenant, the message of division among people. Many people today say that everyone should be united. God believes so too, but unity must be not in lies, but in truth, not in unrighteousness, but in justice. And such a thing is impossible, says the Lord.
Therefore, Symeon the God-Receiver speaks terrible words, addressing the Mother of God: “Behold, this Child [Jesus Christ] is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that will be spoken against” (Luke 2:34).
"To fall" means that many who have seen Jesus and heard His word will rebel against Him, Symeon predicts. They will hate Him with a fierce hatred, turning their faces (or snouts, for a face turned away from God gradually degenerates into a demonic snout) away from Him in monstrous malice. They will fall and never rise again. For whoever blasphemes the Son of God and dies in this state will never be forgiven.
As the Lord said: “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:23), and the wrath of God remains on him forever.
We see how people corrupted by sin — drug addicts and drunkards, prostitutes and sorcerers, thieves and murderers — who see Jesus are touched in their hearts, repent, and rise from the very day, the corruption that festered within them being lifted. They rise to their feet, their bodies come to life, and their souls are resurrected on earth, to live eternal life in their resurrected flesh. And this prophecy of Symeon is coming true: those often considered the dregs of society often find God more quickly than the elite, who consider themselves wise. A great and terrible division is taking place in this world. The Meeting of the Lord is a sign of the division between people — those who follow the Meeting and those who fight.
In the same city of Jerusalem, at the time of the Meeting of the Lord, King Herod reigned; a few days later, he would send troops to kill the Bethlehem infants. Initially, at the same moment, a division occurs between those who love Christ and those who hate Him. The criteria for good and evil are very simple: a person who hates Christ, even if they do only good deeds, is evil. Because they fall, and it is fundamentally impossible for them to rise again until they renounce their hatred of Christ. But a person who loves Christ is forgiven, no matter what their life before, for once they love Christ, it is impossible not to change. For us Christians, everything is simple, because it has been paid for with an enormous price — the blood of God - Christ.
The very appearance of Christ is a source of scandal, a banner of scandal, the beginning of discord between those faithful to God and those unfaithful to Him. To this day, some people begin to tremble at the mere mention of Christ, even when they make the sign of the cross. Because Christ is a banner of scandal, raised by the Father! Christ is too great to be looked upon calmly. Either you hate Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your thoughts, or you love Him equally. The only thing impossible, says God the Father, is to remain indifferent, because indifference is a well-disguised, malicious hatred; at the most opportune moment, the mask of indifference is torn off, and a person begins to hate Christ with fury!
And further, Symeon the God-Receiver, addressing the Mother of God, says through the Holy Spirit: "And a sword will pierce your own soul, because the plans of many hearts will be revealed." Because Christ tears the mask from people.
He reveals the secrets of the heart, and “He will not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide matters by the hearing of His ears” (Isaiah 11:3 ), as the Prophet Isaiah predicted about Him.
But He judges people according to truth and justice, and He looks not at the outward appearance but at the heart, and many dislike this. Mary's heart was pierced on the day she saw her Son crucified on the Cross, because the intentions of so many hearts were revealed. On this day — the Day of the Reception of the Lord, which for many Christians is a day of peace and joy, a radiant day — let us see how God's will is being fulfilled now. Symeon's prophecy still haunts the entire universe. We see divisions arising among our loved ones, and it is not our task to prevent this division.
God has not given us the power to break another person's will. Very often, we want to grab a pitchfork and shove someone into heaven, but we are not given such power. Our task is to bear witness, firstly, with our lives, and secondly, with our words, to our beloved Lord Jesus Christ — to love Him, to serve Him, to nourish Him, to thank Him, to magnify Him, and to praise Him. May our hearts become like the candles of the Meeting of the Lord, burning and shining with love, and then our word, which the Holy Spirit will place in our mouths, will lead to change in those who desire this change. The Lord did not promise us that our word, even with our complete righteousness, will be able to break everyone, but those who desire to find Christ will then be able to find Him through us. Let us look into our hearts. Does the banner of scandal raised by God the Father evoke in us a flash of joy and love, or a flash of irritation that turns to hatred? Look into your heart, and let the love of Jesus be with all Christians!
Save me, Lord!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
