candlemass: feast of the presentation: feast of the meeting of our lord jesus christ

in matins of the orthodox church are sung each morning nine odes, one of which is from the 26th chapter of isaiah. the ode sung only begins with the 10th verse. but i think on this morning the beginning of the chapter is appropriate to describe the expectation of simeon, who was waiting in the temple for the coming of the messiah of israel:

in that day shall this song be sung in the land of judah; we have a strong city; salvation will god appoint for walls and bulwarks.
open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
for he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
the foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
the way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
yea, in the way of thy judgments, o lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
with my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

it is in that context that simeon's canticle, the nunc dimmitis especially makes sense:

lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, *
according to thy word;
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, *
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
to be a light to lighten the gentiles, *
and to be the glory of thy people israel.

the temple in which simeon waited is no more. its replacement is made not with the hard stones cut by herod, but with the living stones which are our hearts. do we wait there for the coming of the messiah of israel? the words of the prophet isaiah can only encourage us today as they must have done simeon.