Anna Speaks Piercing Words

~~~ 1 John 2:12-17 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Luke 2:36-40 ~~~

The presentation of the child Jesus in the temple
was much more than simply fulfilling a ritualistic law.
This presentation was a validation of who this child truly was...
it confirmed his heritage as the Messiah.

The one sent by God had indeed come to dwell among his people.
God in all of his divinity took on our humanness to the letter of the law.
It would have been very odd and unusual for Mary and Joseph
to have not taken their son, Jesus, to the temple.

The Gospel today gives us another bone chilling picture
of how significant this temple visit was for all of peoples.

There was a prophetess, Anna...

She was advanced in years, a widow...
She never left the temple...

She worshiped, fasted, and prayed.
Ultimately Anna, like Simeon, believed in the prophecies
they had heard their entire life.
I wonder if I would have had such a steadfast faith.

Would I have been honest enough with Mary to reveal to her
 the sadness slated to come her way?

Would I have been more concerned about ruining her joy
from consecrating her son to God?

In spite the destiny of Jesus he remained with his parents,
just as any normal ordinary child does.

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

This was the most private time in the life of Jesus.
We can only presume that his family life was typical
for that time and place.

This was the time Mary got to know and love her son
more and more with each passing day.

He learned about life from Mary and Joseph,
but he also grew in the wisdom from his Father in heaven...
the one who sent him to be one of us.

Anna...
gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

She had one chance to speak about the child to his parents...
She had one chance to give thanks to God for this child.

Mary had years to give thanks to God for giving her this child, Jesus.

How she must have loved him each day.
How she must have pondered in her heart
the things she was told that day in the temple about her son.

Do not love the world or the things of the world. 

Loving the things of the world will, in the end,
 only bring frustration and disappointment.

Follow the lead of Mary.
She loved in the midst of sorrow...
She loved when crushing news about her son was delivered to her..
She loved when most mothers would have become
 too frantic and disturbed to remain in joy.

We are blessed to have holy scriptures to confirm
Jesus as our Savior and Messiah.
We join Anna in giving thanks.
We join Mary in loving her son, Jesus.
~~~Peace & Joy~~~

Wisdom...Age and Grace

~~~ 1 John 2:12-17 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Luke 2:36-40

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

The joy of the Lord can surprise you at any age.

Whether you are young or old like Anna you can experience joy.

Perhaps when one has wrinkles and grey hair 

the joy is appreciated to a greater degree.

When we get older we may not expect

 there to be anything left in the joyful column.

Too many times I have seen older people

 become bitter and cantankerous rather than joyful.

Today we meet Anna, advanced in age.

She was a eighty four and had been a widow for several years.

It was not easy for a woman to survive without her husband.

After the death of a woman's husband 

she was left at the mercy of others to help her.

Anna is the only female prophetess mentioned in the New Testament.

Anna turned to God in complete devotion in her later years.

She was the one who foretold of the pain that would pierce the heart of Mary.

The Presentation in the temple was the joining together 

of the old and the new.

Wisdom of age and the hope of youth 

come together in support of one another.

Anna, with her acquired wisdom and grace, meets Mary.

Mary with her youth and new life brings hope for the future. 

One nearing the final days of her life

 the other at the beginning of her life.

Anna was given the insight to recognize this baby as the Messiah.

Elizabeth recognized Jesus as her Lord when Mary greets her.

Anna recognizes Jesus as the Messiah as she looks upon his precious face.

The meeting of these two women validate the old and the new.

The Messiah brings new life while allowing the old to remain as well.

Jesus did not come to abolish the old, 

but rather to fulfill and make perfect the old.

Today we live in a world self absorbed with all that glitters.

May we be blessed with the grace to recognize our Lord.

Whether we are of advanced age like Anna

or young like Mary there is more 

than enough joy for all of us to experience.

Keep watch for every bit of Joy.

May it be scattered over your life like the morning dew.

Revealed in the Temple

~~~ Feast of the Presentation of the Lord ~~~

 

~~~ Malachi 3: 1-4 ~~~ Psalm 24 ~~~ Hebrews 2: 14-18 ~~~ Luke 2: 22-40 ~~~ 

 

Simeon and the prophetess Anna had been patiently waiting in the temple for the Lord.

Today's Gospel gives us the rare glimpse of a woman praying and fasting

within the temple proper itself.

Anna lived and prayed their for most of her life.

You might consider her a consecrated female since the death of her husband.

The two of them were faithful to the promises of the Lord.

 

"...Jesus likewise shared in them,
that through death he might destroy the one
who has the power of death, that is, the Devil,
and free those who through fear of death
had been subject to slavery all their life..."

 

We do not have any reason to believe that Simeon and Anna feared death,

but after seeing Jesus in the Temple that day they were

content to die.

What they had been waiting for most of their life had come to pass.

They were blessed with the presence of the Lord in the Temple.

They both had been guided to wait there in the temple.

 

"...It had been revealed to him (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord."

 

 Imagine the surprise of Mary and Joseph hearing Simeon presenting himself

for God to take just for seeing their son, Jesus.

He goes on to prepare them for the heartache

they were going to experience in the coming days.

 

As a mother I cannot imagine being told of future heartaches concerning my child.

There is a good reason why we are not given the privilege of seeing the future.

For most people it would be too overwhelming.

 

I do wonder how Mary and Joseph were able to hear these prophecies

and continue to experience the joy of their son, Jesus.

Being told a sword would pierce your heart...

"—and you yourself a sword will pierce—
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

 

 

The thoughts of many hearts may be revealed...Mary must have been

confused as to what those words really meant.

 

I like to think that when I come to Mary in prayer she has an understanding

of my prayer already in her heart.

She was given insight into what troubles our hearts most.

She has the insight of a mother's love.

 

After leaving the temple they must have been filled with joy.

They must have also had heavy hearts trying to understand the words

that had been spoken to them about their child.

How could they make sense of how prophetic the words were to become.

 

'...they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him...'

Jesus grew as every normal child does.

He becomes strong working with Joseph in the carpentry business.

Most importantly he was filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him.

This is where his development as a human takes a turn toward the divine.

 

Not every person is filled with wisdom

and few are blessed with the favor of God.

 

Simeon and Anna waited in the temple for this special presentation.

Mary and Joseph came to the temple following the prescribed Jewish law.

They left the temple as changed human beings.

 

We too hope to be changed when in the presence of the Lord.

We too can be changed in the temple (church), for this is the place

were the holy one resides.

 

The child Jesus leaves the temple with his parents;

he grows in wisdom and favor outside of the temple.

He was filled with the favor of God.

 

Dear Lord, grant me the wisdom to be a better Christian.

Grant that I may be always be held in your favor through my words and actions.