Fr. Augustine Sokolovski
Today marks a remarkable coincidence of three feasts. The Sunday of the Last Judgment coincides with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and both of these feasts together coincide with the Little Easter, as the Church calls each Sunday.
This coincidence is possible because our Church follows the Julian calendar. If our calendar were the modern Gregorian calendar, Candlemas would fall on February 2, which would be too early in relation to the preparatory Sundays of Great Lent. The Feast of the Presentation concludes a special and very important cycle of celebrations. It began with Advent, forty days before Christmas; it continued for forty days and ends with the Presentation.
The Presentation is the bringing of Jesus to the Temple. Since the firstborn sons of Egypt were destroyed in the Old Testament, God commanded that the firstborn sons of Israel be consecrated to Him. The Feast of the Presentation is the dedication of Jesus to God. Since Mary brings Jesus to the Temple, this feast is both in honor of the Lord and in honor of Mary. In this, it is similar to the Annunciation. This is a very important and rare feature.
The main character of the Feast of the Presentation is Simeon. The event of the Presentation is described in only one of the Gospels, the Gospel of Luke, and only Luke describes the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Since the Sunday of the Prodigal Son was celebrated by the Church a week before Candlemas this year, this gives us, as the Church - the Community of Interpreters - a reason for special theological reflection.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son describes a father who has two sons. One of these sons is righteous, and the other is prodigal. The father accepts both, but the older son condemns his younger brother, who was prodigal, and whom his father fiorgave. In response, he hears the bewilderment of his kind father. Today, on the Feast of the Presentation, we hear the continuation of this parable.
For the father is not only the Heavenly Father, but also the image of every good parent who forgives here on earth and who is merciful. But mercy is not redemption. The father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son is Simeon. He grew old and outlived both of his children. He remained alone and lived near the temple. Mercy does not bring redemption. Grieving that forgiveness does not overcome time, and that everything on earth is mortal, he waited for the coming of the Messiah. It turned out that the one who was the embodiment of good fatherhood himself needed a real Father, Who is the Heavenly Father.
In one of the Paterikons, that is, the sayings of the ancient desert fathers, someone from the world came to the ascetic to inform him of the sudden death of his father in the city. “You are lying, my Father is immortal.” The Feast of the Presentation is the joy of the Church over these words, it is a united solidarity in prayer of praise to God for the fact that in Christ He is our true Father, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” as we repeat again and again in the beloved prayer of the Lord Jesus.