Open your eyes wide to the coming of the Lord! This message is given to us repeatedly as the Church approaches The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, also known as the Presentation in the Temple. In the Gospel according to St. Luke 2:22-40, we are told that Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple on the 40th day after His birth in order to uphold the custom and to offer prayers and supplications in thanksgiving to God.
Prior to this moment in this Gospel, there are only two occasions when people see Jesus. The first is when the shepherds receive instruction to go to Bethlehem when He is born. The second is on the eighth day for Jesus' Circumcision. On the third occasion, Jesus is presented to the world, shown to His people, and confirmed by the prophets.
The Prophet Simeon was there. Earlier in life, he had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Christ who would bring redemption and salvation to the world. So he spent many faithful years in prayer until one day, when the Holy Spirit told him to go to the Temple, he saw Jesus. The Prophetess Anna was there too. After spending 84 years fasting and praying, she saw Jesus in the Temple and spent the rest of her life preaching about Christ's redemption.
Thus, the feast of the Meeting of the Lord calls all of us to "come," "see," "behold,", "believe,", "know," "tell," "partake," "ponder," "meditate," and "contemplate". This is what the prophets Simeon and Anna had done long before the Incarnation and what Jesus invited Zacchaeus to do later on. This rich tax collector (who climbs a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus) is visited by Jesus who says, "Today salvation has come to this house...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:9-10).
In other words, Jesus is seeking you. Look for Him! Let Him into your heart and your home. Do not be satisfied with remaining in the crowd and with the crowd. Climb the heights and search the depths. Whatever it takes, go out of your way to be with Christ and to remain with Him all of your life, even if it means removing yourself from the worldliness all around you.
From the Menologion of Basil II, c. 10th-11th century.
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