Meeting and Encounter: The Glory of Israel and the Judge of All
A Reflection on the Sunday of the Last Judgment (and the Feast of the Meeting)
Sunday of the Last Judgment – (I Corinthians §140 (8:8-9:2) / Saint Matthew §106 (25:31-46))
Beloved in Christ,
Today, two great mysteries meet before us. The Church brings together two feasts: the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple and the Sunday of the Last Judgment. At first, they may seem far apart: one quiet and gentle, the other radiant with majesty and awe. Yet they both reveal the same Lord, the same Christ, one and the same Light.
Today we see Him twice: once as a Child carried into the Temple of Jerusalem, and again as the Son of Man seated upon the throne of His glory. The difference lies not in Him, but in how He is met. For it is the same Christ Who was embraced by the righteous Simeon, Whom we too must one day meet face to face when He comes to judge the living and the dead.
The Meeting in the Temple: Christ among His People
When the forty days after His Birth were accomplished, the Lord was brought by His Mother into the Temple according to the Law. Old Simeon, righteous and devout, had long awaited this hour. Taking the Child into his arms, he blessed God: “Now, Master, lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”
This was not merely a meeting in passing. It was the very purpose of Simeon’s long life, to behold the Salvation of God. The Lord came to His Temple and was received.
And so it is that every Divine Liturgy is a re-enactment of that same meeting. When the priest brings forth the Holy Chalice and cries, “With fear of God and with faith draw near,” the Church once more holds the Lord in her arms. The same Christ, no longer hidden in swaddling clothes, but veiled in the Mysteries of bread and wine, comes to be received, to be seen, to be held.
At that moment, dear friends, we are Simeon. We are Anna the Prophetess. We stand in the Temple of God, and our eyes look upon salvation. Here in this place, the Light to enlighten the Gentiles shines forth again. The Lord comes to meet His people, and He allows Himself to be touched.
This Meeting as Preparation for the Final Judgment
Yet not only Simeon sees Him. The Gospel this morning speaks of another meeting, one that lies before every soul: the coming of the Son of Man in glory, when He shall separate the sheep from the goats.
The Lord is the same in both scenes: merciful and radiant. But in the first, He is received with joy; in the second, He comes to reveal whether He was received or not in the hearts of men. The Judgment is, in truth, nothing other than the unveiling of this meeting.
When the Lord says, “I was hungry, and you fed Me; I was a stranger, and you took Me in,” He reminds us that every act of mercy, or of neglect, can be an encounter with Him. We meet Christ in the Chalice, yes, but also in the least of His brethren. The Eucharist opens our eyes to see Him in them.
Thus today’s Epistle from Saint Paul completes the picture: our liberty, our fasting, our eating or abstaining, all must be governed by love for our brother. For to wound a brother’s conscience, says the Apostle, is to sin against Christ Himself. The same Christ Who comes to us in the Mystery of His Body comes also hidden in the weakness of our neighbor.
The Lord Who Comes Now and Then
Beloved, this means that the “Day of Judgment” is not simply future, but begins even now. Each time the Gifts are brought forth, each time we stand before the Chalice, the Light of Christ shines upon our hearts and asks:
“Do you recognize Me?”
“Do you receive Me in humility?”
“Do you meet Me in love?”
If we answer yes, if we receive Him now in the fear of God and in faith, then we will not fear to meet Him when He comes in glory. The same Light that now consoles will then glorify. The same Christ Who now humbly enters our souls in communion will one day lift us up to meet Him in the clouds of heaven.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, let us then approach the Chalice as Simeon approached the Child: with joy and trembling, with wonder and thanksgiving. Let us see in this Mystery not a symbol, but the Lord Himself, the Light unto revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel.
And as we step out into the world, let us carry that light with us, seeing Christ in the least of His brethren, in every suffering soul, every person in need of mercy. Then the day of His Judgment will not find us strangers to His presence, but friends who have met Him again and again.
May the same Lord Who was received in the arms of Simeon receive us also into His Kingdom, when He appears in glory: to Him be glory and dominion forever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
15 February 2026