Simeon's Encounter with Jesus

Hesychius, a presbyter of Jerusalem, speaks about the presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do not be unaware that the Spirit made Simeon a prophet and promised him, 'You shall not see death before you see the Christ' (Luke 2:26); 'Now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word' (Luke 2:29). Having been granted this through him, did he not bless Joseph and Mary? Was he not commanded through him to speak to Mary, 'Behold, this is destined for the fall and resurrection of many in Israel' (Luke 2:34)? Did not Anna, as a prophetess, possess him through him? And having been filled by him, did she not proclaim the salvation nearing through the child? The explanation of these things should be given to you in turn, but perhaps time has been consumed, and it was necessary to prune the word for the sake of your obedience.

If the word is not acceptable to you, because you are unamenable companions at the table of holy writings, from where the writer of the Gospels began the history, it was necessary for us to prune the interpretation from there as well, so that both time and your own desire might be met. 'And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon.' The Spirit wove no small encomium for this man, Simeon, in the prefaces: 'For behold, he says, there was a man in Jerusalem' whom the prophets of old sought and the law desired, but grace found and, finding him, crowned him with the following. Where is the crown woven? Pay attention: 'And this man was righteous and devout, expecting consolation for Israel' (Luke 2:25). It was fitting to rejoice for Simeon and consider him blessed, for he was not only righteous but also devout, abstaining from all wickedness; and as one 'expecting consolation for Israel,' he neither labored in striving for virtues nor did we make him one who merely avoided wickedness. And 'there was a Holy Spirit upon him.' This is wonderful and appropriate also for those to whom it was spoken; for he had a temple, and his flesh had a pure bridal chamber, and he cleansed his soul of the entire worldly spider's web; from there he drew the Spirit's dwelling to himself. 'And he had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before seeing the Lord's Christ.' You see how great it is to be a temple of God; those who practice such a life pass from life to life. Therefore, to Simeon, 'it had been promised that he would not see death before seeing the Lord's Christ,' that is, before seeing the one who abolishes death, before seeing the one who raises the dead, before seeing the one who transforms tombs into a bridal chamber, before seeing the one who makes his departure from here fearless.

And he came into the temple in the Spirit. This is also not worthy to be passed over; for it is a proof that he acted according to the command of the indwelling Spirit, and he did not enter the marketplaces or engage in any activities at all without him; how much more, when he enters the temple, he comes not otherwise, but through his leading. 'And when the parents brought the child Jesus to do according to the custom of the law concerning him, and he received him into his arms.' Whose child was it to him that he did not know, having been informed by the one dwelling in him and commissioning him by the Spirit, and certainly somehow to Simeon saying: 'Run, elder, run, hasten already, seize the blessing quickly, before the star...'