Now You shall dismiss your servant O Lord
according to your word in peace
For my eyes have witnessed Your salvation
a revelation to the Gentiles,
the Glory of Your people, Israel. (Lk. 2: 29-32)
This is the hymn which Simeon uttered when he received the Child
Jesus in his arms in the temple. He had been promised by the Holy
Spirit that he would not see death until he beheld the "Anointed of
the Lord." (Lk. 2: 26) The Icon of the Encounter of Our Lord is a
pictorial rendering of this Gospel event.
The event takes place in the Temple of Jerusalem, in front of the
gate of the altar. Immediately flanking the gates are, on the right, the
aged Prophet Simeon holding the Christ Child in his covered arms;
and, on the left, a small group including the Mother of God, the
Holy Joseph, and the Prophetess Anna. Simeon is the most
important person in the Icon. In the imagery of this event, he
represents all that was good, all that was God-seeking in the Old
Testament community. Encountering the Incarnate Word of God
present in the Infant Jesus, the Old Testament people -- personified
by Simeon -- reached their fulfillment. Thus completed, it can
recognize the dawn of a new age, the Age of Redemption, and see
the close of its own era.
The Icon shows the Infant Jesus seated in the arms of St. Simeon as if on a throne. Simeon's hands are covered with his garment as a sign of reverence. Jesus is clothed in a short robe or tunic. The Mother of God is depicted with her left hand covered in a gesture of offering, having just given her Son to Simeon. Next to her is Joseph, carrying in the folds of his cloak the sacrifices of purification as prescribed for the poor in the Book of Leviticus: "two turtle doves or two young pigeons; one for holocaust and the other for a sin offering." (Lev. 12: 8) The last figure is the image of the Prophetess Anna, also
introduced in the Gospel of St. Luke (2: 36-38) announcing to all creation that the Child to Whom she is pointing, now presented in the Temple, is the Creator of Heaven and of Earth. For us, the Icon is a call to discover Christ, to meet Him, and accept Him as our Lord and Savior.
