| 2. The Presentation (Hypapante) |
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This feast celebrates the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple as recorded in Lk 2:22-35. It is a meeting or encounter (hypapante) of Jesus with his Church. There is a nuptial theme here too, like there was at Christmas, when the divinity became wedded to humanity. Patrick Duffy expands this theme.
The account in Luke 2:22-38 Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to make the offering for their child. Simeon, an upright and devout man, took the child in his arms and blessed God that he had seen this day. Anna, an elderly prophetess, was also there and began to praise God. The title given to this feast in the Eastern Church is Hypapante. The "meeting" or "encounter" Simeon and Anna both express their amazement, their delight and great joy that they have lived to see this day, this special day of the meeting of the saviour of the world with his people. It is like the maidens in the gospel parable coming out to 'meet' the bridegroom and going with him to escort him home with his bride. It also evokes the anticipation of those Thessalonian Christians who were expecting to be caught up to 'meet' the Lord in the air, when he was revealed from heaven at the end of time (1 Th 4:17). And the child's father and mother stand there wondering at the things that were being said about him. It's like they are on both sides of this meeting: they are at once the "God-carriers" and the "God-receivers". A day of crisis, of discernment |