Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple - 2/2/26
Monday, February 2nd, we celebrate The Meeting of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ in the Temple.
Forty days after His birth Jesus was brought to the Temple at Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord. (According to the Law of Moses (Lev. 12:2-8), a woman who gave birth to a male child was forbidden to enter the Temple for forty days.)
At this time the righteous Elder Simeon was living in Jerusalem. It had been revealed to him that he would not die until he beheld the promised Messiah. Saint Simeon went to the Temple at the very moment when the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Joseph had brought the Child Jesus to fulfill the Law.
Saint Simeon received the divine Child in his arms, and giving thanks to God, he spoke the words repeated by the Church each evening at Vespers: “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 enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).
Saint Simeon then said to the Most Holy Virgin: “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 your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).
Read more about the Meeting of the Lord here.
Readings for Monday, February 2nd:
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20
knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21
for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
1
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2
And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3
By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
4
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
5
and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
6
and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;
7
and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
8
(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) –
9
then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
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9
But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.
10
And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.
11
But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
12
Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
13
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
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7
Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
8
Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
9
Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,
10
for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
11
Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron
12
For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
13
For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14
For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
15
And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest
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who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.
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For He testifies: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
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22
Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
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(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”),
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and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27
So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
28
he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
29
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
30
for my eyes have seen Your salvation
31
which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32
a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
33
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
34
Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
35
(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36
Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
37
and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38
And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39
So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
40
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
The Holy Scriptures are part of the Church’s Holy Tradition. Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of blessed memory wrote:
In the words of Father Alexander Schmemann, “A Christian is the one who, wherever he looks, finds everywhere Christ, and rejoices in Him.” This is true in particular of the biblical Christian. Wherever he looks, on every page, he finds everywhere Christ.
See Metropolitan Ware’s article How to Read the Bible for more on an Orthodox approach to scripture.