Беседа на Сретение Господне. Св. Тимофея, епископа Иерусалимского (VI в.)

Now dost thou release thy servant, O Master.... Among people, only he is perfect who cares most about acquiring righteousness. There is nothing more vital than a righteous man; according to the Divine saying: the righteous live forever, and their reward is in the Lord, and their care is with the Most High (Wisdom. Sol. 5:15-16). There is nothing more desirable than the righteous; according to Divine Scripture: the righteous man will flourish like a phoenix, due to the constant sweetness of faith: and like a cedar tree, like those in Lebanon, he will multiply (Psalm 91:13) for the venerability of the knowledge of God. In times of temptation, nothing appears so well as righteousness; according to the Divine saying: there is much sorrow for the righteous, and I the Lord will deliver them from all of them (Psalm 33:20). The righteous from the wicked generation migrates with the very body to the worthy life: the witness of my word is the righteous Enoch. A righteous man in a drowned world is miraculously delivered from a shipwreck, guided by the Divine helm: righteous Noah is a witness to my word. The righteous among the devil's temptation is an invincible fighter: the witness of my word is Joseph. The righteous man, being on the battlefield, among deaths, controls the flow of the sun and the magnifying glass: the witness of my word is Joshua. A righteous man at a small physical age destroys a copper mountain, convincing that it is not physical strength that produces victory, but the firmness of faith: the witness of my word is the righteous David. However, in order not to waste time listing the virtues of the saints, let us turn in our words to the last righteous man. Who is the last righteous man? This is Simeon, now mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. He is the last and the first: the last under the law, the first of grace, the Jew who sacrifices, the Christian who gives thanks, the lawyer who reads, the angel who knows. Simeon, about whom we have now read, chosen from the Pharisee family (like a rose from thorns) and the first to be sought out by grace-filled mercy, became so exalted in righteousness that in his very body he accepted the Divine promise not to depart from this present temporary life until he embraces on his bodily chest the eternal belly - our Lord Jesus Christ. So, the righteous Simeon, who desired to see the Lord before becoming man, saw Him in the incarnation and accepted Him into his arms and desired to be freed from slavery to the body, crying out to the appeared Child, the Lord of all, as you heard: Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word, in peace: for as mine eyes have seen Your salvation (Luke 2:29, 30 ). "I have seen and will be released, so as not to be kept here; I will be released in peace, so as not to be kept in sorrow; I have seen Your glory, the choirs of angels, the praise of the archangels, the creation rejoicing. And now I receive permission, so as not to see the insolence of the fellow Jews against You, so as not to see the servant striking You, the spear touching You, the sun darkened, the diminishing moon, the changing elements, nailed to the cross, the stones being torn apart, the veils of the church being torn apart. Not enduring boldness, even the elements themselves sympathize with the Master: Now, O Master, you release your servant, according to your word, in peace: for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all. people. What is an Evangelist? You heard his story. And there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon: and this man was righteous, seeking the joy of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was in him. And if he had been promised by the Holy Spirit, he would not see death, before he even saw Christ the Lord. And he came in spirit to the church (Luke 2:25–27). What does it mean: and come in spirit to church. Listen carefully. While Simeon, being at home, prayed for the fulfillment of the prediction, Joseph and the Virgin decided to bring the Infant Jesus into the church in order to do what was established for them according to the law, immediately the Holy Spirit appeared to the eyes of Simeon and aroused him, saying: “Arise, old man, the prediction has come: go quickly! He who lets you go has come; Emmanuel has come. Go immediately to the church; prophesy in the church the sacred about the sacred. birth." Therefore, Simeon, inspired by a strong desire, overshadowed by the Spirit, warned; Joseph and the Virgin in the church, but he did not warn the holding Baby: and how could he warn the One who is omnipresent? Simeon warned Joseph and Mary in the church and, having arrived, stood at the door, awaiting the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Stopping at the church, Simeon saw many mothers who, with their children, had come to sacrifice the purification of mothers, in ordinary human form; and one Virgin, surrounded by an immeasurable and Divine light, and hastily separated the rest of the mothers, calling out to everyone: "Give me a place to see Him who foresaw me. Why do the maids communicate with the Free One? Why do you bring your children to the altar? get away from here. Bring the most ancient Child of Abraham. " Then, taking the child of God who had appeared in his arms, Simeon blessed Joseph and pronounced a prophecy about the Lord, saying To the Virgin: "Why do You look at the child as Yours and not Yours? Why do You often offer His breast, wanting to have a blooming Child? He does not need food: He Himself is the giver of manna. Why are you making movements with your hand, wanting to put the Baby to sleep? He does not slumber and does not desire sleep according to the hidden dignity of the Divine, for the Prophet writes about Him: He who guards Israel will not slumber, but will fall asleep (Ps. 120:4). Why are you looking at your child? With the hidden power of the Divine, He stretched out the sky like a skin and hung the earth on nothing. This Child rules the sun, controls the moon, holds the winds in the treasuries; this Child is the Lord of all creatures. Hearing about such His power, have, O Virgin, not worldly, but spiritual prudence: for this is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, and it is reproached as a sign: and a weapon will pierce your own soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:34-35). So, Simeon said this about the Child Jesus by revelation from the Holy Spirit: This one is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel. The true word about the Lord, since not by His own power, but by revelation from the Holy Spirit, Simeon spoke everything about the Lord, turning to the Virgin. This is for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel - for the fall of the unbelievers, for the rising of the faithful, - for the fall of the synagogue, for the rising of the Church, - for the fall of demons, for the rising of saints, - for the fall of Judas, for the rising of Matthias, - for the fall of the thief who is on the left, and for the rise of the thief who is on the right hand. For the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign it is reproached. The true word: it is a sign that can be contradicted. The Lord appeared at the birth of the Virgin: for the great sign is that the Virgin gave birth and again remained a Virgin. And that the Virgin is really a debatable sign, listen to Isaiah, who says to Ahaz: “Ask for yourself a sign in depth or in height,” and further (after Ahaz said to him: “Do not ask the imam to tempt the Lord): The Lord Himself will give you a sign.” Which one? – Behold, the Virgin will conceive in her womb (Isa. 7:10–14). Simeon predicted this sign in the Sovereign birth of the Virgin, which was about to become controversial and controversial, saying to the Virgin: This one lies for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel and is a debatable sign. And a weapon will penetrate your very soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. Simeon's saying: a weapon will pierce your soul does not signify the martyrdom of the Mother of God from a spear, as some thought. The copper spear tears apart the body, but does not destroy souls. Therefore, the Most Holy Virgin, All-praised in all generations, moved to the mountain villages of the One who had a settlement in Her, and remains immortal to this day. Simeon says: And a weapon will pierce your very soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Simeon here called the weapon that pierces the soul the sorrow with which She had to grieve, as if she had to lose the One who came to seek the lost. You heard from the Evangelist Luke that She was overcome with grief over the Son born from Her virgin womb: and when Jesus was twelve years old. The Evangelist said this about God the Word, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Creator of time. So, when Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary came with Him, according to custom, to Jerusalem for the feast; when, at the end of the days of the holiday, they returned, the Child Jesus remained in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His Mother did not notice this, but thought that He was going with others; Having walked a day's journey, they began to look for Him among relatives and friends, and, not finding Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him (Luke 2:42-45). This is where what Simeon said to the Virgin is fulfilled: and a weapon will pierce your very soul, a weapon of sadness, for although She is a virgin and a Mother, she nevertheless carried wombs and swaddled clothes and had maternal care, like a mother about her Son or child. So, thinking that the Child was lost, Mary looked for Him for three days, and in the sadness of her heart she cried out: “Alas for me, the unfortunate one! When I hoped for prosperity, then I suffered loss. Who stole My treasure? I will never hear again: “Blessed are You among women!” They will never say: “Blessed is the womb that bore You!” Elizabeth rejoices, but I am saddened; she has a warrior, but I have lost a King; the slave remains, but the Master does not appear. Where is Gabriel's kiss? Where is the worship of the Magi? where is the joy of the shepherds? When I hoped to reign, deprivation took possession of Me.” This sadness, like a weapon piercing the soul, was predicted by Simeon, saying to the Virgin: “And a weapon will pierce your very soul." The Evangelist did not say: “he will win or take possession of the weapon,” that is, for a little while you will be saddened and quickly freed from sadness. That the Virgin was really sad, considering the One who came to seek the lost lost, listen to the Evangelist about this. “After three days they found Him in church, sitting among the teachers, listening and asking them. And the Mother said to Him: “Son, what have you done to us? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you with great sorrow (Luke 2:48). Why did you not go with us? Why are you sitting among the teachers? How do you, completely ignorant of literacy, teach and ask? Why do you incite slander against yourself? Or do you wish, so that I may lose my child? Look what fiery glances they cast at You. Look how they gnashing their teeth against You, like wild beasts stirred up against a lamb! Child, what have You done to us? Your Father and I sought You with great sorrow.” But the Lord, revealing to them the dignity of the Divine hidden in the poor incarnation, answers, saying: "Why did you seek Me? and where did you seek Me? Surely you did not ascend to heaven? You did not dwell in the belly of the whale? Didn't you hear the prophecies of Simeon? Didn't he confess Me as the Lord God? And you seek Me like a Child? Don't you know that I must be in the things that belong to My Father"?... But let us finish the word here and proceed to the Last Supper, by which the world is established, and the kingdom is preserved, and the Church is multiplied in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen 122. See Curs. Compl. patrolog. Migne, volume LXXXVI. pars. 1, col. 237–252. You might be interested in: