~~~ 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.
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