In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
All come to honour the appearance of Christ on the earth. The Heavens offer a Star that the Magi—who represent the Nations, the Gentiles—follow seeking the newborn King, the Earth offers a cave, the wilderness offers the wood from where comes the manger, the angels offer their hymn and the shepherds their wonder, while we offer to our Lord the very best of our race, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
But two things are missing. Kingship is present through the lineage of David, but the rank of Priests and the rank of Prophets are absent.
At that time, the parents brought the child Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons.’
And the Lord submits to obey the Law He Himself has given. And there the Righteous Symeon and Anna, representatives of priesthood and prophets, receive Him that due homage be paid unto Him from all.
Yet this is more than just ‘all categories coming to the Lord,’ for these two recognise, in the Child, God. To Abraham, who had not withheld even his son Isaac, the son of the Promise, Christ had said,
By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—
blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
In your Seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.
— Genesis 22:16–18
And in this Seed, in Christ, (see Galatians 3:16) all the nations, which is to say all the gentiles, shall be blessed. And the Righteous Symeon, as he beholds and bears in his arms the Seed, gives to us the prayer which summarises the entirety of the Old Testament, the fulfilment of the promises to Abraham, the revelation of the One who would bring about the Victory over idolatry, sin and even death.
Lord, now let your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a Light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.
And we are given the grace to be here and witness this great mystery. We stand here and again behold a priest bearing in his arms the Seed, the God of Heaven and of Earth, Who deigns to descend for us and for our salvation. We are called to offer once again a sacrifice, meekness and humility, repentance and love, that we be purified according to the Law,
A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit,
A broken and humbled heart God will not despise.
— Psalm 50:19 lxx
And having purified ourselves, to the extent we are able, God too will deign not only to be carried by us but to be partaken of by us—neither unto judgement nor unto condemnation, rather unto Life, eternal Life, Life without end.
To our incarnate, crucified and risen God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who deigns to be born aloft in triumph by those who believe in His name, be all glory, honour and worship, together with His unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit. Amen.
Brethren, it is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. Here tithes are received by mortal men; there, by one whom it is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, ‘Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek.’
— Hebrew 7:7–17
At that time, the parents brought the child Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Symeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; and Symeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
— Luke 2:22–40