2-го числа

Meeting of the Lord in the Temple of Jerusalem When the days of purification have been fulfilled by her, according to the law of Moses, says St. Evangelist Luke about the Mother of God and the Child of God, taking Him up to Jerusalem, setting Him before the Lord, and giving a sacrifice: as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every child of male sex, opening his womb, shall be called holy to the Lord (Luke 2:22-24). For the ancient redemption of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt, by the death of the firstborn of Egypt, destroyed by the hand of an Angel, the law of the Lord demanded from the Jews (Ex. 13) that every firstborn male child of theirs, as the property of God, acquired by the blood of alien firstborns, on the 40th day after his birth, should be brought to the church of God, dedicated to the Lord and redeemed from the Lord. This was the presentation or dedication of the baby to God. The Divine Lawgiver, as the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15), as the firstborn among God's elect (Rom. 8:29) and as the firstborn of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:25), fulfilled the law of Moses regarding the firstborn. He who was to sanctify and redeem all people was Himself first dedicated to God and redeemed! “The Old One, who gave the law to Moses of old at Sinai, is now seen as a Child and, fulfilling the law, is brought to the church.” The Child Lord was brought to the Temple of Jerusalem by the Mother of God and Joseph on this day, which is the fortieth day after the birth of the Savior. According to the Law of Moses (Lev.12), a wife who gave birth to a male child was forbidden to enter the church for 40 days: these were days of purification according to the law. At the end of this period, the mother of the newborn came to the church of God to make a sacrifice to God. They sacrificed a lamb and a turtledove, or two turtledoves if they were unable to provide a lamb. David's daughter could only make the last kind of sacrifice! Although Mary, having become the Mother of the Lord, was sanctified by His birth, and, without ceasing to be a Virgin, had no need for purification according to the general law, “as the undefiled, unglamorous, incorruptible and most pure Virgin,” but out of deep humility she submitted to the dictates of the law. Then the righteous and pious elder Simeon lived in Jerusalem, seeking the joy of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him (Luke 2:25). He was promised that he would not die without seeing Christ the Lord. By the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Simeon came to the church at the time when the parents brought the Baby Jesus to present him before the Lord; received the Infant of God in his arms, which is why he is called the Receiver of God; blessed God and uttered a prophetic song about the Savior: now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word in peace: as mine eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people: Light for revelation by the tongue, and the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:29-32). Joseph and the Mother of God marveled at what was said. Simeon blessed them too and continued to prophesy about the Child: Behold, this One is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel. And to you too, St. The elder predicted to the Mother of God that a weapon will pierce the soul, and the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed (Luke 2:34–35). In the church there was also the 84-year-old widow Anna, who had not yet left the church, serving with fasting and prayers day and night: and she at that hour confessed to the Lord, and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for deliverance in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38); which is why she is called a Prophetess. It opened so clearly and majestically Divinity in a forty-day-old Child! By those who sought the joy of Israel, He was recognized and glorified as Christ, the Savior of the world and Lord. Simeon, blessing God, said: as my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people. The life of the righteous man, according to the will of God, as legend says, was extended longer than usual, so that he, having seen with his own eyes the Infant Savior of the world, departed in peace from this life. By celebrating the Presentation of the Lord, the Church confesses and affirms the immutable truth that “Christ appeared to the world not as an opinion, nor as a ghost, but as the truth,” and therefore denounces those ancient false teachers who rejected human nature in Jesus Christ, considering it unworthy of God and untrue. By the example of Jesus Christ, dedicated to God as the firstborn, the Church inspires that we, bought at the price of the blood of Christ, are no longer our own (1 Cor. 6:19-20); from birth we must be dedicated by our parents to God, so that after this we too, in imitation of the Infant Christ, may grow and be strengthened in spirit, filled with the wisdom and grace of God (Luke 2:40). And in the disasters that befall us, the feast of the Presentation teaches us to turn to God, the ever-present and quick Helper and Intercessor for those who call on Him with faith and true repentance. St. Martyr Gabriel In addition to circumstances that accidentally reveal the readiness of Christians to suffer for their faith, which is oppressed in the East, as can be seen, by the way, from the example of the new teacher recalled yesterday. Anastasia Navpliota, there are also frequent cases when those who ardently love their faith in Christ do not wait for random reasons to manifest it, but warn them and create for themselves the opportunity to be rewarded with a suffering feat. One of those who were carried away by such a positive desire for martyrdom was Gabriel, remembered today, who was born in the Allionia district, in the Prikonis diocese. Even in his youth, he chose monasticism as his path and led a chaste and virtuous life; Over time he moved to Constantinople and was made canonarch of the great church. The constant thought of martyrdom from a young age never left him here, and he fervently prayed for the desired path to be shown to him... One day, after receiving the Holy Communion, he walked through the streets of Constantinople, in thought (probably still on the same subject). Here a Muslim met him and boldly pushed him out of the way. Gabriel answered him in kind and at the same time expressed himself insultingly against the Mohammedan religion. At the Muslim’s cry, his fellow believers came running, began to beat Gabriel and dragged him to the judge. To the usual proposal in such cases for a Christian to leave his faith and accept the Mohammedan confession, Gabriel replied: “I have not yet reached such madness and ignorance as to call my Lord Jesus Christ, the true Son of God and perfect God, a simple man, and your Muhammad, an ordinary man, a prophet! I confess Jesus and believe that He is the true God from the true God; your Muhammad is not only not a prophet, but a stupid man, an ignoramus, a deceiver and an enemy of our Savior Jesus Christ. I despise him and reject both him and his religion." The answer to these words was the command to cut off the head of a Christian. The executioner immediately began to carry out this command. Having tied Gabriel's hands, they brought him to Bakche-Kapisi, near the customs, and there, on February 2, 1676, they cut off the head of the confessor praying on his knees. The Turks threw the holy remains of Gabriel, a virgin, a monk and a martyr, into the sea, not agreeing in their irritation to give them up to Christians even at the price of gold.