And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which 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 Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 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 all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, 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. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spoke of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. (Luke 2: 22-38)

Troparion

Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, O Virgin Theotokos, for from thee hath risen the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, enlightening those in darkness.   Rejoice, thou also, O righteous Elder, as thou receivest in thine arms the Redeemer of our souls, Who also granteth unto us the Resurrection

THE MEETING OF THE LORD AND THE FAMILY

The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord is one of those holidays that we for the most part allow to pass by with little thought or reflection, without delving into what takes place on that great day.

On the Nativity, Christ comes down from the Heavens and is born on earth, for our salvation.  At the Baptism of the Lord, Christ comes to sanctify water, and through it, the entire world.

That is something we can comprehend.  However [at the Meeting], Christ is brought into the church as an infant, like any being, to be sanctified, offered to God. Many somehow do not accept that holy event, and do not understand it as they do the other of the twelve major feasts.

This can be explained by the fact that we understand neither this Feast nor what happens to every one of our infant children on the 40th day after their birth; without delving to the significance of the Feast, we simply let it pass by.

The infant is brought into the temple, and prayers are read over him, just as they have been over every person.  What does such an offering mean?  What is it? Just some simple custom? Is it something done simply as a reminder that it had once been done with the Lord, while the Lord was brought to the Temple as a reminder that it was something instituted by Moses?

Or why is something like this done, why do we celebrate the Meeting of the Lord, what great thing is done, and why is every infant brought into the Temple?

Every infant is Baptised, is sanctified, is born into a grace-filled spiritual life, and more often than not we imagine that with that, everything is accomplished, and that all the rest is merely custom.

The main thing that happens in this bringing of infants into the Temple is that the father and mother bring their child – who has already been born not only physically but also spiritually, into a life in Christ, life incorruptible – to freely give it to God.

In churching their child, the parents say as it were, “This is thine, and we offer this infant to Thee, this infant from whom original sin has been removed through Holy Baptism.”

This is a great day in the life of the child and of its parents. At that moment, we give up the child to God, our Creator, and no longer consider our child our own. As the festal sticherae proclaim, thus was our Lord Jesus Christ offered up to God...

That is how we had been brought and given up to God.  However, more often than not, we think that everything here comes down to “getting  a prayer of purification for the mother,” and making a few photos of the touching rite of churching. Yet, on that day, the infant is permanently given up to God.

Unlike in the Old Testament, in the New Testament it is not only the first-born male child, but all children, male and female, that are given up, are dedicated, to God. This giving up of their children to God is a step the parents take voluntarily.

If in living our life, each of us were to remember that at some time in the past the Holy Church inspired our parents to make that offering, and that they, perhaps without fully understanding what they were doing, really did give us up to God, that from that moment we were dedicated to Him, if each of us were to bring that to mind not only during these days, but always, then little by little a recognition of the connection between us and the One to Whom we were brought as an offering, would come into our souls.  Then little by little, the children’s holiday, the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, would become ever more dear to us, and would speak to us as clearly as do the Nativity of Christ, the Baptism of the Lord, and the rest of the twelve major Feasts celebrated by the Church.

Archpriest Victor Potapov, February, 2013

The Meeting of the Lord (1994)

The Meeting of the Lord (1991)