"Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be to Me as a people, and I will be to them as God. They shall return to Me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7)
Have you heard this or one of the other prophecies about 'a heart to know God', or the 'coming of a Saviour' and wondered how it applies to you? Maybe the following will answer some questions, but also challenge you, as it daily challenges me, to surrender more to the Presence of the Holy Spirit in my heart, and allow God to be my God! Yet all of this within the Mystery of a 'Body of Knowledge' of God, held within the Church which is the Body of Christ. On February 2nd the Christian churches have traditionally celebrated the Christ child being brought to the Temple by His earthly parents. It was the Meeting of Christ, (brought in obedience to Jewish custom by His earthly parents), with Simeon, guided by the Spirit to come to the Temple, and Anna, a widow dedicated to prayer, praise of God and a prophetic voice in the Temple. You could say it was the meeting of the Christ child - with the Spirit and Prophetic Voice of God embodied in two people who had made God their God.
The 'characters' in the icon are all given by or to God! Firstly we have Christ, Son of God, born of the Theotokos (the Bearer of God). And we have Mary. Tradition teaches that Mary was given grace to bear Christ without the usual shedding of blood. Thus we have two human beings, already obedient to, chosen by, and coming from, God in Spirit, yet coming to the Temple for ritual cleansing and sacrifice in their humanity. Mary for cleansing prayers, Jesus to be offered as her first male child for the service of God.
Yet, here in this icon, we do not see the priest of the temple who would liturgically complete these rites! We see Simeon, who St Luke (Chap 2) tells us has been waiting for the coming of the promised Messiah and had been lead by the Spirit to the Temple on that day. Simeon tells us he had been promised by God that He would see the Saviour of the World before he died. He prophecised to Mary and Joseph about Christ's redeeming role, and warns Mary that her heart too would be pierced, 'that the thoughts of many would be revealed.' And Anna affirms that Christ is the Child to redeem Jerusalem. A Holy man who has faithfully waited for God to fulfil His Word to him, and a holy widow who has faithfully spent all her widow-hood given to God in prayer and praise. Neither of these two had access through the gate into the Meeting Place in the Temple. But both had fore-knowledge about Christ the Son of God and Redeemer of His people.
So for us, what is the significance of this Feast? What does it teach us about who we are in Christ, as children of God? How does it help us stand in the turmoil of the world today when faith in anything that might be superior to, or more powerful than, ourselves is almost anathema??
First it shows us that humility before God is paramount. If Mary and Joseph had not been obedient to the traditions of the Jews, they would not have been in the position of receiving the Word from Simeon and Anna. If Simeon did not trust in God and be obedient to the Holy Spirit, God's promise to Simeon that he would see the Saviour of Israel before he died, could not have been fulfilled, nor would we know the living fulfilment of God's promise. If Anna had not given herself to God in the Temple, through the Scriptures and prayer and praise, she would not have heard within the invitation to add her prophetic voice to this God-ordained meeting.
Does this have any relevance to us? If we are baptised Christians and seek, knock and ask in relation to our faith, Yes it does, as we are promised that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us at baptism. We are told by Jesus, that if we seek to put into practice His commandments then, 'I and the Father will come and live with you'. But dis-belief also exists within us. I can think of many examples of times when I have not been obedient to the Holy Spirit, and later discovered my mistake. It takes time and goodwill to learn to be obedient to the 'still small voice' - but if we are willing, and start to 'practice the Presence' desiring God's will - we will increasingly be built up in faith - hope- and love. So by His Love, I have more examples now of when I have risked obedience and allowed God to be my God, and for me to be His person..
Secondly, this feast brings together people who had independent relationships with God, but through the Holy Spirit they are united in the Temple, in a Life-Creating Eternal moment. This moment changes the prophetic into reality for both Anna and Simeon, as they see this Child that Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah prophecied. Simeon and Anna believed and spoke, affirming this act of humility in God making Himself our God and Lord through His Incarnation as a child.
Christ is not simply a human child given by human parents to God, but a Child of God, received by God as the Saviour of all humanity. Do we accept Christ as Saviour? Or is it another 'story' that we consider myth? When we come into a church do we open ourselves to our unity with God, through Christ and His saving mercy?
Every Liturgy is re-enacting Christ's gift to us, through His body and blood....but it doesn't stop there. The 're-membering' of Christ requires our 'Yes', like Mary. Are we willing to allow His Body and Blood to 're-member' our bodies? ie to take His word, love, provision to the hungry and lost through our hands and feet and loving Heart? This requires our obedience to our Heavenly Father's prompting and the compassion of Christ for the lost. Do we listen for those 'chairos' moments which take their reality from some sense of the Eternal timing, and require us to act NOW? Someone needs God's mercy, NOW......
As I meditated on this icon I saw the key relationship between the Door to the Altar through which the Place of Meeting was reached in the Temple, and Christ, through whom we approach the throne of God the Father, not simply as repentant sinners, if we dare, but as children of God. The shift from the Law to the Law of Love requires this change of Heart that the quote from Jeremiah (above) refers to. In Him we are increasingly purified and unified by the Holy Spirit. As St Paul boldly asserts, 'In Christ is neither east nor west, Greek nor Jew, slave nor free, nor male nor female'. Through the Holy Spirit Who unites, we are all children and servants of God, co-workers with Christ and the Saints who have gone before- always listening and willing to be obedient. Are we humble and willing enough to ask to hear the Father's will, as Christ urges us in the Lord's Prayer?
Thirdly- The context of this happening was in the Temple...the 'House of God' and the place of all ritual cleansing and sin-offering for the Jews. Indeed the 'Mysteries' of the church are still 'places' where we meet the Life of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit within the Body of Christ, the Church. These are still opportunities to enter with humility, and surrender to the overarching work of God the Father through Christ. Thus in Baptism, Chrismation (Confirmation), Confession (Penance), Eucharist (Holy Communion), Marriage, Ordination and Unction (anointing before death) we are encouraged to grow in humility but also love for God and each other.
Through the Mysteries within the Church, we enter more fully into the Life of Christ, and God's love and desire for the world. Indeed our heart becomes changed as God promises. It becomes changed through the Presence of Christ and His Word, and the vision given us by the Holy Spirit from God the Father. We come to recognise the truth of Christ's words, 'Heaven is in your heart'. But Christ did not stay preaching in the synagogue. He continued to be obedient to the Father, to see what and who came to Him and He took the Good News out into surrounding towns and villages.... teaching the disciples, but healing the sick, teaching the lost and encouraging the broken hearted to repent and find healing and righteousness.
He invites each one of us to be His Hands and feet, Heart and Voice as we listen to Him and desire to live for Him. How do we do that? We surrender as Mary and Joseph to the Law of Love and meeting together for 'ritual cleansing'....dying to self as we give up our time to meet and pray for all the world with our brothers and sisters. And we offer ourselves afresh to the Father, for His work and 'to go in His Name' after each Liturgy...... into the world, but not of it.
Above all we keep trusting that God is and ever will be our God......so indeed we will be His people; knowing He has provided for ALL our needs through Christ. We seek to do His will and build His Kingdom in and through our hearts. Does this make us 'better'? NO my dear brothers and sisters.... the more we live for Christ and become purified and sanctified , the more we see that but for the grace of God we could be accused of any sin. Truly in Christ alone is our hope and salvation. And 'in Him I live and move and have my being'. In Truth, He alone is the Door to the Father and the Kingdom of God. Only with Him in our hearts can we say that God is our God, and we are His people having inordinate compassion for the broken and lost. Thus it is Christ alone who is the Door to the Father and the Kingdom, not the church as a physical place, nor even the actions in it. St Paul made it very clear that 'without love' no amount of knowledge, even of the mysteries of God, nor miracle working, nor loveless self-sacrifice would count as anything. Christ is Love.
“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. (John 14:27)
As we answer that call of love implanted in us at baptism through the Holy Spirit, with commitment to prayer, we grow in awareness of our sin and separation from our True Heart in Christ, and each other. But in perseverance, we also grow in compassion for the lost, and we find the prayer of St Paul (Ephesians 3:14-21) for the growth of our inner being in Christ, beginning to act within us. By the grace and mercy of God, we are humbled to know we have nothing worthy of our own, but everything we need in Him and His Love. He indeed is the Light of the world...and in Him is no darkness.
Does this Light bring comfort and Peace? 'In this world you will have tribulations; but do not be anxious, I have overcome the world'. In other words, NO, life will not always seem easy, and we will suffer tribulations, difficulties and things we cannot know the answers to in worldly terms. But our peace lies on Higher Ground - because He is the entrance to the Father, and in HIM we have peace - whatever turmoil surrounds us at earthly level. Thus God could say to St Silouan,'Keep your mind in hell, but don't despair'.
So through this icon and Feast we see that hope in our salvation and knowing God in our heart, directly relates to the person of Christ in His humanity being a manifestation of the gateway to God. We see the essential humility of Mary and Joseph who were obedient to the Jewish beliefs and practices; and the humble listening and seeking of the prophetic figures of Simeon and Anna which led to the Meeting. We need to seek and knock according to the Spirit within us. We too need to keep expecting for our salvation, yearning and trusting in the promises of God, and pleasing God by believing in Christ and what He has accomplished. We need to keep asking for the change of Heart and the humble acceptance of God as God. Yet let us live with what He has done for us....because in this we are witnesses to the Risen Lord and thus can serve in Love and compassion, knowing what we ourselves have received. We are 'individually members of His Body' and need to know nothing can separate us from the Love and tenderness of God, and the grace to do His will in all things, fulfilling His purposes through the Holy Spirit of Christ. Let us not deny our Lord through false gods or the spirit of death which denies resurrection through Christ and the Holy Spirit, and in fact crucifies Christ in His servants because they are not allowed to enter the gate of the Temple. Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us. Most Holy Theotokos pray for us.
Come Lord Jesus. Come Holy Spirit - to the glory of God the Father.