Homily on the
Meeting of the
Lord
Saint Theophan the Recluse, + 1894 A.D.
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WHAT
a tender scene the Meeting of the Lord shows us! The venerable elder Simeon, holding the infant
God in his hands, on either side of him
are the righteous Joseph and the Most Holy Mother of God. Not far away is the
Prophetess Anna, an eighty year-old ascetic and woman of prayer. Their eyes are
all directed toward the Saviour.
Their attention is absorbed by Him and they
drink in spiritual sweetness from Him, which feeds their souls. You can judge for yourself how
blessed was the state of
these
souls!
But,
brethren, we are called not only to think about this blessedness, but also to taste it in
reality, for all are called to
have
and carry the Lord in themselves, and to disappear in Him with all the powers of their spirit. When
we have reached that state, then our
blessedness will be no lower than that of those who participated in the Meeting of the
Lord. They were blessed
who
saw it; we shall be blessed who have not seen, but believed. Pay attention. I will show you briefly how
to achieve this. Here
is
what you should do.
1.
First of all, repent. Remember that nothing must be done in spiritual life without repentance. No
matter what anyone endeavours to seek,
let the beginning of it be repentance. Just as a house cannot be built without a
foundation, nor a field be
sown
or planted without first being cleared, so also without repentance we cannot begin our spiritual
search; anything begun without
repentance was begun in vain. Thus, first of all, repent - that is, weep over everything
bad that you have done,
and
resolve to do only what is pleasing to God. This will be like turning your gaze and your whole body
towards the path of meeting the Lord, and
taking the initial step upon that path.
2.
Next, keep this state of repentance constant; establish for yourself a manner of life and conduct that
would make every step or movement
something directing your attention to our Lord and Saviour. Such an order of life
will establish itself
naturally,
if: a) you do everything that you do for the glory of the Lord and Saviour, for
Christ's sake. Here we mean not only great deeds, but all deeds. For, seeing
and hearing, silence and
speaking,
food and drink, sitting and walking, work and rest can all be dedicated to the Lord and
sanctified by His All-Holy
Name.
There isn't a minute when we are not doing something; so, by thus dedicating your activity, you
will be meeting the Lord
minute
by minute, directing all of your activities to His glory. You can even more conveniently do this and
reap fruits from it if you also: b)
insert into the order of your daily activities the practice of prayer -
both in church and at home; and in general make it your rule to be a strict fulfiller
of all the rules and order
of
the Holy Church to the last iota, without vain elaboration and distorted commentary, and with simplicity
of heart. As the content
of
all prayer is the Lord and our turning to Him, by doing it and participating in it you will be
meeting the Lord through
your
heart's sympathy and delight. If after this: c) you fill all your interim time
with reading the Scriptures about the Lord, listening to talks about Him, or with your
own contemplation of
Him
and the great work of salvation that He wrought on earth, then you will see for yourself that
nothing will remain within us
or
outside of us that does not bring remembrance of the Lord, bring Him to your attention, or carry your
spirit to meet Him.
3.
Just the same, you should not forget that all of these labours and occupations are only
preparation. You should not
stop
at them, but rather strive onward. Just as food taken in rough form later imbues refined elements
needed for life, so must these
occupations performed visibly and tangibly turn into a spirit of a very refined inclination or
striving toward the Lord.
Namely,
the labour of consecrating all our activities to the Lord should have the quality of reaching with
our whole soul's desire
only
for the Lord; when we do all our prayers or attend the Divine services, a
feeling should form in our hearts of accord only with the Lord and what is His. Underlying our
reading and hearing the Holy
Scripture about the Lord should only be the eager directing of our mind's attention
toward the Lord alone.
These
labours are that very working of the field, and these strivings are the growth of what has been
sown. The first are the
stem
and branches, the latter are the flower and fruit. When these inclinations come up in us, it will
mean that our spirit has
gone
out with all its consciousness and disposition to meet the Lord. Since the Lord is everywhere, and He
Himself seeks to meet with our spirit,
their mutual meeting will then come about by itself. From that moment on, our spirit
will begin to taste the
blessedness
of Righteous Simeon; that is, it will begin to bear in the embrace of its powers a striving for
the Lord, Who is its complete satiety and
satisfaction. This is what is called tasting the Lord, rest in Him, mentally standing
before the Lord,
walking
in the presence of the Lord, and ceaseless prayer – the object of all God's
saints' labour, desire, and seeking.
I
wish that all of you who celebrate the Meeting of the Lord be vouchsafed this blessing. If anyone complains
that he would like the fruit but
the labour it takes to get it is too hard, the answer is: Good. There is an easier
method, a method simpler
than
the one laid out. Here it is! Repent; then, with zeal for keeping all of God's
commandments, walk unfailingly in the Lord's presence, striving for Him with all
your mind's attention,
all
your heart's feelings, and all your will's desires. If you thus dispose yourself, you will soon meet the
Lord. He will come down to you and abide
in you, as in the embrace of Righteous Simeon.
There is no other way to lighten the labour needed to seek a meeting with the Lord. The Jesus
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, is powerful and
strong to help in this work.
Again, however, not by itself; but under the condition that all the strength of our
spirit be directed toward
the
Lord! Be sober, be vigilant (1 Ptr. 5:8). Seek those things which are above … and
your life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:1, 3). Then, having become one in spirit
with the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 6:17), you will
behold and embrace the Lord, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man
taketh from you (Jn
16:22),
neither in this age, nor in the age to come. Amen.
