Thoughts for the Day

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Yesterday, we looked at the Holy Family who visit the Temple in Jerusalem. There they meet Simeon as they go to carry out their ceremonies according to the Law of Moses. Simeon, a man in whom the Holy Spirit rests, takes the baby Jesus in his arms, recognising him as the Messiah who had come to save God's people, and says that the child will be a 'light to the Gentiles'.

Now we see another 'quiet' person, the prophet Anna. She had spent much of her life in prayer and worship, while watching and waiting for a sign that God's Messiah had come. Anna was a member of the tribe of Asher, one of the ten "lost tribes" of Israel which had been taken off in captivity years before by the Assyrians. She lived in the temple and had given over her life as a widow to prayer and fasting.

As Christians we can learn much from Simeon and Anna. These two faithful people can teach us what God wants from us. We say each week in the Lord's Prayer, 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven', and we need to be aware that it is up to all Christians to pray constantly for this Kingdom to come in all its fullness for its only partly here at present. We also need to be on high alert to watch out for evidence of where God's kingdom is working, that is where love and peace appears in our world.

Father-God,
we long for Your Kingdom to come,
and know that it must start with us.
Forgive us when we start to think
only of ourselves
and not of others.
Help us to be generous to others
with our time, and our talents,
and to spread Your peace
as the Spirit guides us.
May we also continue the example of Anna
by praying for the completion of
God's Kingdom.
Amen.