Hypapante (The Meeting of the Lord)

The Thursday lunchtime Choral Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook follows the lectionary for the preceding Sunday, so today we celebrated Candlemas. During his sermon, Reverend Stephen Baxter explained that in the Orthodox church this feast is also known as Hypapante – or The Meeting of the Lord.

Reverend Stephen gave us a sheet containing two examples of paintings by Rembrandt depicting the Presentation in the Temple. The first image is an early work. Simeon’s Song of Praise (1631) shows The Meeting taking place in a grand temple setting and a large cast of onlookers, arranged theatrically down some steps.

The second painting is a very different depiction of The Meeting of the Lord. Simeon in the Temple (1669) is a much later work, with no grand architectural background – all the attention is focussed on Simeon and his reaction on seeing Jesus. This painting is said to have been found unfinished in Rembrandt's studio after his death and could have been one of, if not the last painting he worked on. The biographical link to this biblical scene is enhanced by the possibility that the image of St Simeon is a self-portrait. The figure in the background (possibly Anna) is believed to have been added later. Anna seems to be an afterthought in most of the paintings of this scene I have seen.

In this later painting, I was struck first by Simeon's posture. The old man is holding the baby Jesus on outstretched forearms with his hands meeting together in prayer. It must take a lot of energy and effort for him to do that. I have just moved house and have been carrying a lot of boxes. I am quite unfit and so for the past few nights I have been going to bed exhausted, with my arms feeling as though they are permanently stuck in an outstretched position like that! It must be quite hard for a man of Simeon’s age to hold a baby in this way, but his face shows no sign of strain or pain; such is the power of the moment.

I think this strength of faith is also conveyed in the faces of Simeon and of Jesus; whose eyes seem to convey the ‘role reversal’ of this encounter. Here the baby gazes up at Simeon - a look not of a young child learning how to use his senses to explore the world around him - but a look of a child who has a complete understanding of the world. By contrast the eyes of Simeon seem to show a moment of child-like wonder and amazement. Simeon is looking away from the child - perhaps one glimpse was enough to convince him that this is the Messiah - the light to lighten the Gentiles. He doesn't need to look any more for proof - so he gazes to beyond, perhaps towards his own mortality, to a new future for the world and a new creation. 

Simeon’s mouth is open. Rather than whispering his Song of Praise I imagine that his words are deep and resonant, driven by the same power that help him to hold the child:

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;

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.