The Sixth
Day in the Octave of Christmas
December 30, 2013 8:30am
Mary and Joseph have just
presented the child Jesus in the temple, and Saint Luke carefully notes the
presence of this woman named Anna.
This is the only place Anna is
ever mentioned in the gospels, but in these few verses we can get some insight
into her and a lesson for ourselves.
First, Anna has been widowed for
many years – probably about sixty years.
She knows hardship and sorrow,
but she has not grown negative or bitter.
Instead, she comes across as a
positive and peaceful person, a person of faith.
She has dealt well with
adversity.
Second, Anna is old – 84
years-old – but she has not lost hope.
Sometimes age can take away not
just the strength of our bodies, but also the strength of our spirits.
Sometimes age can cause the dying
of our hearts and souls, but not with this woman Anna.
Luke says that she still gives
thanks to God and looks forward to the one who will be a savior for God’s
people.
And third, perhaps the reason for
Anna’s peacefulness and hope is her perseverance.
The gospel says, probably a bit
of an exaggeration, but it says “She
never left the temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer.”
It’s easy to pray when we feel
like it.
But Anna apparently just prays
day in and day out, when she feels up and when she feels down, no matter what.
And that perseverance in praying
has some payoffs for her: inner peacefulness, hope for the Savior, and now even
insight to be able to identify the Savior in the child Jesus.
So, this simple, elderly, widowed
woman is quite a good example for us.
Steady, faithful, persevering
prayer – tending our relationship with God every day, no matter what – this can
also help us too to have peace, to have hope, and to have insight into how God
is present to us now and what God wants us to do.
Anna is a great figure for us.
Our thanks to Saint Luke for
remembering her for us.
