Homily on the Reception of the Lord
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the glorious and joyful feast of the Reception of the Lord. This feast is so called because the Righteous Elder Symeon, who lived in Jerusalem, received the forty-day-old Infant Lord Jesus Christ with His Most Pure Mother in the Jerusalem Temple. This is how this sacred event is described by the Evangelist Luke:
"Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord'), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, 'A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.' And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Symeon, and this man was righteous and pious, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 'Now let Your servant depart in peace, Master, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.' And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Symeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, 'Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be gainsaid" (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.' Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him" (Luke 2:22–40).
This is a wonderful story, brothers and sisters. But let us now focus our attention on the words: And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Then Symeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, 'Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be gainsaid.'”
My beloveds, our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom these prophetic words of Righteous Symeon refer, did not appear on earth to cause anyone to fall or to be the cause of anyone’s destruction. No, He came to earth to raise up all people, all nations. He came to save all mankind, to raise all people to the moral heights that befit them and, having made them worthy of Heaven, to lead them to the Heavenly Father. Likewise, He did not come to earth to serve as a subject of contention, not to create divisions between people and nations. On the contrary, He came to unite all people into one, to become the One Shepherd of the entire human race. Desiring that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, He came precisely for this purpose.
But the people themselves, their sins and evil inclinations were the reason that, having come into the world for the salvation of all, Christ became the cause of rebellion for some, and for others served as the involuntary cause of the fall. He became a sign of controversy, so that some joyfully accepted Him, believed in Him as God, the Savior of the world and loved His holy teaching and holy law, and others bitterly rejected Him as the enemy of truth and the good of people. This is how His contemporaries treated Christ. This is how they treat Christ throughout the entire existence of the Christian Church right up to our days: some with faith and love, and others with unbelief and hatred. And such an attitude will be in all ages, until the end of the world and His Coming: "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be gainsaid!"
Indeed, immediately after the birth of Christ, the dispute over Him began. Angels and good people greet His birth with rejoicing and praise and see in Him the joy and glory of Israel, while others, together with Herod, seek to kill Him. Christ appears with the preaching of His Gospel, proclaims to people the Divine truth and the holy law of love and does good to them - and what do we see? Some accept His teaching, look with reverence on His deeds and become His followers, while others become hardened against Him and extend their enmity and hatred towards Him to the point of condemning Him to terrible torments and nailing Him to the Cross. And His saving death and glorious Resurrection did not put an end to the division of people into those who are saved and those who are perishing: some of the witnesses of His suffering and death came to their senses and were saved, while others perished in their hardness.
These prophetic words of Righteous Symeon: "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel" - have found confirmation during the past twenty centuries. And in our time, as in all times, Christ is set for the fall of some, and for the rise of others, and serves as a subject of controversy. It is worthy of tears, brothers and sisters, that our Sweetest Lord, who came to give people happiness and joy, who laid down His priceless life out of love for the human race, is the subject of controversy, causing real bitterness in some. Christ lies in the path of all people, occupies such a position in the life and destinies of mankind that, wherever people go, they always certainly meet Him and, having met, either rise up, strengthening themselves on Him, or stumble over Him and fall. "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many" - not only in Israel, but throughout all mankind. He was a subject of controversy not only for His contemporaries, but also for people of all times and nations.
Dear brothers and sisters, in addition to the assimilation of this Divine truth, this reading and feast teach us much that is useful and good in relation to our own lives. Righteous Symeon, who, according to tradition, lived three hundred and sixty years, for it was prophesied to him that he would not see death until he saw Christ the Savior, when he took the Infant Christ in his arms, he rejoiced in spirit and sang a wondrous song: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, Master, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation" (Luke 2:29–30). His eyes saw the salvation of the world, and therefore he is calm and joyful and will die peacefully and calmly. But in order for each of us to be able to sing such a song at death, we too must become God-receivers and God-bearers.
Righteous Symeon was deemed worthy to be such not only because he received the Child in his arms, but especially because he carried Christ in his heart together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, not only the Elder Symeon was granted the high dignity of carrying Christ in his arms and being the Receiver of God, but many others can have this dignity. "If anyone loves Me," said the Lord, "he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him" (John 14:23). And in another place: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20).
This means that in order for us to receive this high dignity, only one thing is required of us - that we love Christ and keep His holy commandments and do not lock our hearts when He knocks on our door either through His word sent down for our understanding, or through sorrows.
What made Righteous Symeon worthy to become a God-receiver and God-bearer? That he was "righteous and pious, waiting for the Consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25), that he lived according to the law of God and carried the expected Messiah in his heart before he received Him in his trembling hands. If Righteous Symeon had not had this, he would not have been worthy to receive Christ in his arms, or even if he had received Him, he would not have sung such a joyful song: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, Master…" After all, the external touching of Christ and contact with Him without internal faith and love is useless. Many Jews touched and handled Him, but this did not bring them any benefit. From this it is clearly evident that only one who keeps the commandments of Christ and loves God can be called a God-bearer.
Let us, dear brothers and sisters, strive for this high dignity. Let us show our love for the Lord by keeping His holy commandments, so that the Lord may arrange bright abodes for Himself in our hearts, so that we too may become God-bearers in our lives. And upon our departure from this temporary life to an incorruptible, eternal life, we may sing with all our souls, like the Righteous Symeon: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, Master." Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
