ANNA - LUKE 2

My daughter Becky originally coined the phrase. . . whenever she needed prayer she’d get in touch and say, “Mom, can you pass this on to the God Squad?”  The members of my God Squad have changed since we’ve moved, but I now have a new God Squad to rely on whenever Becky, or I, need prayer. 

Who are the women who make up your God Squad, the people you call when YOU need prayer?

The subject of today’s blog was her own one-woman God Squad.  Her name was Anna and her story follows on the heels of Simeon’s story in Luke 2.

Luke recorded just three verses about her and truthfully, they don’t contain a lot of information.  Luke 2:36-38:

There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.  Coming up to them (Mary, Joseph, Jesus and Simeon), at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

We know from verse 36 that she was a prophetess, an interesting and unusual fact.  We tend to think of a prophet as someone who predicts the future.  God’s prophets certainly did that, but when the Bible uses the word, it has a broader meaning.  Biblically speaking, a prophet is someone who spoke the words of God.  Moses, Isaiah, Micah and many others were considered prophets.  And so was Anna.

What makes Anna unique is that female prophets were rare.  Moses’s sister Miriam was a prophet, as was Deborah in the book of Judges in the Old Testament.  In the New Testament, the four daughters of Phillip the evangelist, were also prophetesses, but males far exceeded females in this important office.

In verse 36 we’re told that Anna was the daughter of Phanuel, who was of the tribe of Asher (one of the twelve tribes descended from Jacob).  Asher was one of the more insignificant of the twelve tribes, settling in the land assigned them by God along the more northern border of Israel.  It had been said that “no prophets can come from Asher”.  Anna proved otherwise.

In addition to being quite old, 84 years of age, we also learn that she had been a widow since the seventh year of marriage.  That would have been hard for any woman, but especially a woman living in Anna’s day.

A woman left widowed in that day had few options.  She could either return to her parents’ home or that of another relative, to wait in hope for another husband.  Or if she had grown children, she could live with them. 

If you have read the Old Testament book of Ruth, then you will remember the widow Naomi, Ruth’s mother in law. 

Naomi had lost not only her husband, but both of her grown and married sons, and was filled with despair over what would happen to her without their support.  When she returned to Israel from Moab, where they had all been living, accompanied by her daughter in law Ruth, she lived in hope that a near relative of hers might offer to care for them, and she found that relative in Boaz. 

Maybe you know a woman who was so devastated after the loss of her husband that she never recovered.  As far as she was concerned, her life was over.  What followed was loneliness, isolation and depression.  Maybe she even blamed God for her husband’s death.  Maybe you even ARE that woman.

Anna apparently did not give in to despair.  Instead of turning inward or turning away from God, Anna turned TO God and He became the focus of her life.  She had experienced great loss and was now old, but the Lord gave her an important ministry.  Anna was what we Christians  call a prayer warrior, someone who will faithfully and powerfully pray to the Lord on behalf of others.

Verse 37 tells us that Anna never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

Since there really was no place for Anna to have actually stayed in the temple, commentators say this probably means that whenever the temple doors were open – Anna was there – worshiping and praying – day and night.

Even though Anna was completely focused on the Lord, she wasn’t unaware of what was going on around her, so when Simeon stood holding Jesus, Anna noticed.

Verse 38:  Coming up to them at that very moment

Sounds like a coincidence, right?  Given the nature of this encounter, this was too much of a coincidence to BE a coincidence!  I prefer to call this a Divine Appointment! 

God who had taken such good care of Anna during all the long years of her widowhood, saw to it now that she didn’t miss the most exciting moment of her life!

At this point, I’m left with some questions I might have to wait till heaven to have answered!

·       Did Simeon and Anna know one another? 

·       Did they talk together about the Promise the Lord had given Simeon?

·       While Simeon was holding Jesus did he motion to Anna to come over or did she simply SEE Simeon with the child and put two and two together? 

·       Had she arrived in time to actually hear what he said and that prompted her to rush over?

·       How did the conversation go once Anna joined it?

Whatever prompted her include herself in this scene, we know what she did next, verse 38:

·       She gave thanks to God.

·       And she spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When I read this, I can’t help thinking about that other woman, the woman at the well in chapter 4 of John’s gospel who believed in Jesus, and then went out to the whole town and told everyone else she had met the Messiah!

That’s exactly what Anna did, she told everyone also clinging to the hope of Messiah that He had finally arrived!

I wish God had told us exactly what she said, and then what everyone else said and did who heard and believed her news!  Don’t you?

When it comes to Anna’s life, we don’t have a lot to go on, but there is a lesson we can learn from her:

When the focus of our lives is Jesus – even loss and old age are no barrier to serving God.

Widowhood didn’t signal the end of Anna’s life, nor did the physical limitations of old age.  Rather, when she found herself without a husband, she gave herself over to serving the Lord and others in His temple, and believing in the promises of His Messiah’s coming.

When Anna became a widow, and then got to the ripe old age of eighty four, she didn’t turn inward.  She didn’t think she was no longer of use to anyone, including God. She devoted herself to prayer and worship of the Lord.  And when she finally saw Jesus, her long awaited Messiah, she didn’t keep it the news to herself.

Maybe you, like Anna, have lost a husband, or retired from a job you loved and find yourself at a loss. 

How are you reacting to your loss?  Are you turning inward and isolating yourself?  Throwing a pity party?  Blaming God?  Withdrawing from the things that used to give you pleasure?  

When we turn inward after loss, we deprive ourselves of the comfort God is abundantly willing and able to give us.  And we lose out on the potential of having a meaningful ministry to others who might also be hurting.

Let me encourage you through Anna’s example, if you will focus your life on Jesus, there WILL be life after loss.  That very loss makes you uniquely qualified to comfort others in their loss as the Lord has comforted you.  Who knows better the faithfulness of God during loss than someone who has already experienced it?

There’s a poem called, “Just Think”, by Roy Lessin that hangs on my wall here at home.  Whenever I become discouraged and need reminding about the high calling God has for us as His children, especially as I get older, I read it. 

Just think, you’re here, not by chance, but by God’s choosing

His hand formed you and made you the person you are.

He compares you to no one else – you are one of a kind.

You lack nothing that His grace can’t give you. 

He has allowed you to be here at this time in history to fulfill His special purpose for this generation.

God has a special purpose for your life and my life for this very time in history that He doesn’t want us to miss.  How sad it would be to spend what remains of it in isolation and despair.

The next time you experience loss, or a look in the mirror reminds you that you’re not so young as you used to be – remember Anna, and ask yourself this: 

Am I going to let this keep me from worshipping and serving the Lord for the years of my life that remain, or am I going to see it as an opportunity to renew my devotion to Him – the way Anna did – the way Simeon did - so that I’ll be alert to SEE what God is doing around me?

Then, will I determine to be be part of it?

Do you know what we might discover if we do that? 

We might just discover that our most productive years, in relationship with God, and in spiritual service for God, are still ahead of us! 

What contribution will you make this week to be productive in God’s kingdom – despite personal loss, or the ravages of age?