In honor of Christmas I have decided to write about Anna, the phophetess that was present the day Jesus was presented at the temple. I know when it comes to Christmas and thinking about women, we tend to think about Mary or Elizabeth, but this morning as I was reading in Luke 2 I was reminded of this very special woman that played a role in the story too.
Luke 2 tells us that Anna was a phophetess who was married for 7 years then widowed at the time of Jesus' birth she was 84 years old. She spent her life in the temple praising God "day and night." This woman no doubt had known suffering after losing her husband at such a young age and never being blessed with children, but she did not allow that to keep her from praising God. On the eight day after Jesus birth as was the custom of the day Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord. Simon was an old prophet who had been promised by God that he would not die until he saw the coming of the promised Messiah. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple Simon began praising God saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
Luke 2:29-32
At this same time Anna came up to Mary and Joseph recognizing that Jesus was the promised Messiah she too began praising God. She began prophesying about how Jesus was the Christ the Messiah and that He would be the one to bring redemption to the nation of Israel. She spoke of the promise of a Savior that had been given long ago. You see Anna had spent her life studying the scripture. She knew that a savior would be born of a Virgin in the city of David. She knew that the Messiah would not come into a palace or to bring an earthly kingdom. She knew that Christ must come as a man. She was expectant and looking for fulfillment of the promise. Many in Bethlehem that night and in the temple that day missed the savior coming to earth. They were busy with their lives. Some probably lost sight of the promise that had been given hundreds of years before. Some expected a earthly king to be born in a palace and free them from the earthly rule of Cesar. But Simon and Anna got it. The knew what the scripture said and because of that they were blessed beyond measure to welcome the savior of the world into His earthly life.
I pray that we do not miss the meaning of Christmas. The heavenly king stepping down from His throne into manager. He left His kingdom to become a man knowing that He would one day die a painful death for our sins, a death that He did not deserve. It is my prayer that I can live a life like Anna, a life full of praise day and night. I pray that those around me see the Messiah in me. I pray that I can rejoice as Anna did at the coming of the Christ-child. May this Christmas season and this new year we not get so busy and hurried that we don't see Christ around us as they did so long ago in Bethlehem.
