Looking for Christ - Sermon for the Meeting of the Lord & the Sunday of the Last Judgment (2026)

Today the Great Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord in the temple coincides with the Sunday of the Last Judgment. The Meeting of Our Lord in the temple is a Great Feast shared by Our Lord with His Most Pure Mother, and also with St. Symeon the God-Receiver.

Symeon was one of the Seventy elders entrusted with translating the Sacred Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek, the translation known as the Septuagint, translated in Alexandria, Egypt in the middle of the third century before Christ.

When Symeon came across the profound words found in the Prophet Isaiah he disbelieved them. The passage read, “the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a Virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Emmanuel,” which, as St. Matthew interprets, means “the God Who is with us.”

Symeon wondered how a virgin could give birth and how God could be born. He was going to change the verse to read “a maiden” instead of “a virgin” but was stopped by the Holy Spirit through a holy angel who told him to leave it as it was and that he would not die until he saw this prophecy fulfilled. St. Symeon waited around 250 years to see Christ. The Gospel states that he waited eagerly for “the Consolation of Israel,” this Consolation being nothing else but the Living Person of God Incarnate. 

What other consolation is worth waiting for so long? What other consolation slakes the eternal longing and thirst of the human spirit? What other consolation is worth enduring the afflictions of profound old age beyond normal old age? What other consolation can satisfy the pining hearts of lowly mortals?

We must take an example from St. Symeon who waited so long in faith. This was an active waiting. It was a daily trial. He had plenty of time to doubt the prophecy. He had plenty of time to give up. He had plenty of time to forget what he was still living for. He had plenty of time to bury himself in mindless worldly consolations, distractions, and preoccupations. However, he kept faith. This was not easy. This was not automatic. There is so much hidden within one line of the Scripture which simply states that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s Christ.

St. Paul says in Hebrews that the same Christ Symeon received into his arms as a babe will appear a second time to those who look for Him. In Philippians he says that we look for a Savior from heaven, in which is our true dwelling and citizenship, a Savior Who shall transform our lowly bodies into the resurrected body of His glory. 

The same Greek word for “look” is used in both places. The English hardly captures the depth of it. It more fully means to look diligently, expectantly, being completely preoccupied with the object of one’s hope, and to wait out the time which comes with such watching. Here, nothing less than the Savior’s simple but profound commandment “to watch and pray” is meant. How simple and short such a commandment is in words but how difficult and long such a commandment is in practice.

The Gospel passage for the Last Judgment which was read today is from the end of Matthew 25. And Matthew 25 begins with the parable of the wise virgins which ends with Christ’s words: “Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.”

Symeon was told he would see the Lord’s Christ before he reposed. We have been told that all mankind will see this same Christ when He comes again in glory. Symeon was not told the exact day nor hour. Neither have we. Christ has arranged it this way both so that we might have time to prepare and so that we might always be on watch.

But the time of this life seems long. Death often seems an unreal and distant shadow. Present concerns overburden us. Earthly pleasures, distractions, and pastimes are so close, and Christ’s Coming seems so far away. Isn’t this how it seems many times? Isn’t this, if we are honest with ourselves, how we often live?

The Second Coming of Christ is commemorated today, but for the true Christian it must be a daily and hourly reality, a meditation which is intertwined with one’s every breath and informs every single one of our thoughts, words, dispositions, decisions, and actions in every moment.

For those who are not prepared the Second Coming, in the words of Our Savior, will come as a terrible thief in the night which introduces us to endless darkness, fiery torment, gnashing of teeth, agony, and despair—the present and future endless life of the demons themselves.

But for those who are prepared; for those who long for nothing but the sweet and light-filled face of Christ the Savior; for those who desire nothing in this world above Him; for those who love no one in this world in place of Him; for those who constantly think about Him, converse in prayer with Him, listen to Him in the Gospel, and strive to please Him; for those who love Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength—for these the Second Coming of Christ is close at hand, a present reality, the next greatest occurrence which is about to take place, a day of consolation, a day of meeting one’s beloved, a day of feasting, a day of rejoicing, a day of the greatest wedding banquet, a day when the final mystery of deification is both perfected and forever beginning in an endless ascent, an ever fulfilled longing, and an unspeakable union with the Bridegroom of the Church.

Do we long for Christ in this manner? Do we set nothing else above the day we now commemorate? Is today a hard reminder which comes unexpectedly once a year? Or is today a glorious feast which one partakes of from day to day? 

Today we commemorate not only the Last Judgment, but the Second Coming of Christ and the Resurrection of all mankind which immediately precedes it. Every single person will be raised up and immersed in Christ on That Day. Every single person will be rendered immortally incorruptible for all eternity. No one has a choice about this. This is the gift Christ God has given all mankind: to live in His light and eternal life with Him. But every one of us has a choice of how we will meet Christ then and how we will experience Him then and how we will live forever.

He has told us in today’s parable that the criterion of experiencing That Day as joyous light is love, love for God in the person of the God-Man in the person of every man. No good deed is too small. No job is too lowly. No good intention is overlooked by God. No one is a hindrance to our life but rather a benefactor of our salvation. No one is the source of our sorrows but we ourselves. No one can cause us torment unless we are unstable within our own souls. No one can keep us from Christ but rather everyone can draw us closer to Him.

Clergy, do not become vainglorious because of the dignity of ordination. Laymen, do not covet clerical rank as if it were some worldly honor. Clergy, feed the flock entrusted to you with loving service, never thinking yourselves worthy of the priesthood of Christ. Laymen, lighten the burden of your pastors by prayers, obedience, and support.

Novices, do not frown when told to do something which disagrees with your self-will. Monastics, do not egotistically pride yourselves in rank which comes from length of time and not because of quality of virtue. Juniors, receive the commands of your seniors as words of life. Seniors, look out for every opportunity to be a servant to all as Christ.

Husbands, do not neglect the needs of your wives. Wives, do not torture your husbands with pettiness. Husbands, be attentive to your wives as your sole intimate co-strugglers in salvation. Wives, look out for every opportunity to console your husbands’ burdens. Parents, strive to do everything not to possessively control your children but to raise them up as offerings to Christ as immortal children of the Kingdom. Children, do not disrespect your parents but honor them after God.

Do not pass by your sorrowing brothers and sisters upset by their gloom but rather support them with a word from the heart and lips when seasonable, and always with the word of prayer in your heart.

Do not judge the poor man begging alms on the street as deserving of poverty and most likely a lazy drunkard, but give him money, feed him, clothe him, smile at him, pray for him, and love him as Christ.

Do not condemn the criminal you hear about in the news but rather pray for his salvation and God’s mercy, and think to yourself that that could be you, or even worse, if it wasn’t for the grace of God. More truly, in the all-seeing judgment of God Who sees the secrets of our hearts, maybe you are much worse than that man due to unknown reasons.

Let each of us be on the watch to always do even the smallest good. Let each of us always be looking for an opportunity to meet Christ. We can obviously meet Christ in the temple. We can meet Him when we pray. We can meet Him when we receive Holy Communion. But we can and must meet Christ in every moment, in every situation, in every circumstance.

Let us strive to meet the Incarnate Christ in every man. Let us strive to meet the Crucified Christ in every affliction. Let us strive to meet the Resurrected Christ by constant watchfulness and prayerful clinging to Him through His most holy name. Let us strive to meet the Coming Christ through purity, patience, love, and humility.

Let us hearken to the words of our beloved departed Father, Schema-Archimandrite Panteleimon, who said after his tonsure into the Great Schema: “These are my last words to you: the Gospel is simple; don’t complicate it! Jesus Christ is love! Jesus Christ is love! Let us love one another as Christ loves us!”

May we all ever strive to do this with childlike faith and joy until we all shall meet our Common Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, unto His glory, and that of His Unoriginate Father and His Most-Holy and Good and Life-Creating Spirit. Amen!