Soon, we as a Church will be celebrating the Feast of the Encounter of the Lord.

“Adorn your bridal chamber, 0 Zion, and welcome Christ the King. Welcome Mary, the Gate of

Heaven, for she has appeared as a cherubic throne on which the King of Glory is seated.”

This text from the Aposticha of the feast of the Encounter, or the Presentation in the Temple, can be applied to our souls. Each soul is a temple of God to which Mary brings Christ. Each one of us, like Simeon, needs to take the Child in our arms and say to God our Father: “My eyes have witnessed your saving deed” (Lk 2: 30).

The prayer of Simeon — “Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace” (Lk 2: 29) —does not simply mean that someone who has seen Jesus and has held Him can now leave this life and die in peace. Rather that, having seen and touched the Savior, we are released from the hold that sin has on us, and, in peace, we can leave the realm of evil and begin to extend the Kingdom of God’s love. Our service to others will increase the Light of Christ in our world. The icon of the Encounter of Our Lord is a pictorial rendering of this Gospel event. In the Temple of Jerusalem the aged Prophet Simeon holds the Christ Child in his arms, covered so as not to touch the Savior. St. Joseph stands with the Mother of God, holding the offering of the poor, two turtle doves — one for the holocaust and one for a sin offering. The Prophetess Anna stands with Simeon. In the imagery of this event, Simeon and Anna represent all that is good, all that was God-seeking in the Old Testament community. Encountering the Incarnate Word of God present in the Infant Jesus, the Old Testament people — personified by Simeon and Anna — reached their fulfillment. Thus completed, they can recognize the dawn of a new age, the Age of Redemption. The Prophetess Anna whom we meet in the Gospel of St. Luke (2: 36-38) announces to all creation that the Child now present in the Temple is the Creator of heaven and earth.

The icon calls us to discover Christ, to meet him as our Lord and Savior, so that we may help to extend his Kingdom of love. This feast of the Encounter celebrates the first meeting of the Lord with his people. Christ, being an infant at the time, acted through his Mother, Mary. Until this time, Christ’s contact with the world was limited, confined to the small circle of the Holy Family’s abode, the adoring shepherds and the wisemen. But now the tropar tells us that Christ our God is the Sun of Justice who will enlighten all who stand in darkness. Only the Light of Christ can overcome the darkness of sin and death in our world. Our efforts toward peace and justice must receive inspiration and strength from our personal encounter with Christ; in prayer, in the sacraments and in the celebration of the Liturgy.

Reprinted with permission from Awakening Our Treasures; published at the Sower, Stamford, Ct.