THE FEAST OF
|
 |
THE FEAST OF
|
|
Readings for the Day:
Epistle: Hebrews 7:7-17
Gospel: St. Luke 2:22-40
From:
The Prologue from Ohrid
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovch
The fortieth day after His birth, the All-Holy Virgin brought her Divine Son into the Temple of Jerusalem, in accordance with the
Law, to dedicate Him to God and to purify herself. "Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among the
Israelites both of man and beast, for it belongs to me" (Exodus 13:2). "Tell the Israelites: when a woman has conceived
and gives birth to a boy, she shall be unclean for seven days, with the same uncleanness as at her menstrual period. On
the eighth day, the flesh of the boy's foreskin shall be circumcised, and then she shall spend thirty-three days more in
becoming purified of her blood; she shall not touch anything sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the days of her
purification are fulfilled. If she gives birth to a girl, for fourteen days she shall be as unclean as at her menstruation,
after which she shall spend sixty-six days in becoming purified of her blood. When the days of her purification for a son
or for a daughter are fulfilled, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent a yearling lamb for a
holocaust and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. The priest shall offer them up before the Lord to make
atonement for her, and thus she will be clean again after her flow of blood. Such is the law for the woman who
gives birth to a boy or a girl child" (Leviticus 12:2-7). Even though neither the one nor the other was necessary, nevertheless the
Lawgiver did not, in anyway, want to transgress His own Law whom He had given through Moses, His servant and prophet. At
that time, the high-priest Zaccharias, the father of John the Forerunner [Precursor], was on duty in the Temple["serving as a
priest before God in the order of his division" St. Luke 1:8]. Zaccharias placed the Virgin, not in the temple area reserved for
women but rather in the area reserved for virgins. On this occasion, two unusual persons appeared in the Temple: the Elder
Simeon and Anna, the daughter of Phanuel. The righteous Simeon took the Messiah in his arms and said: "Now, Master, You
may let Your servant go in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation" (St. Luke 2: 29-30).
Simeon also spoke the following words about the Christ-child: "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in
Israel" (St. Luke 2:34). Then Anna, who from her youth served God in the Temple by fasting and prayers, recognized the
Messiah and glorified God and proclaimed to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the coming of the long-awaited One. The
Pharisees present in the Temple, who having seen and heard all, became angry with Zacharias because he placed the Virgin
Mary in the area reserved for virgins and reported this to King Herod. Convinced that this is the new king about whom the Magi
from the east spoke, Herod immediately sent his soldiers to kill Jesus. In the meantime the Holy Family had already left the city
and set out for Egypt under the guidance of an angel of God. The Feast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple was
celebrated from earliest times but the solemn celebration of this day was established in the year 544 A.D. during the reign of
Emperor Justinian.
From:
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovch
The Prologue from Ohrid
© Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Western America