Anna the prophet

My Eyes Have Seen

Posted on by Betsy

We live in a cynical world. Many of us are so used to news and information turning out to be false and misleading that we don’t believe anything anymore, and rightfully so. Media outlets who are more interested in pay-by-views than good, honest investigative journalism have conditioned us to react to things this way. Long gone are the days of reliable information. Instead, we have infotainment, vitriol, hate speech, and inflammatory language.

Where is Walter Cronkite when you need him?

Let’s join a man named Simeon who delivers the good news of what his eyes have seen:

Luke 2 (Common English Bible)

25 A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He was righteous and devout. He eagerly anticipated the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he wouldn’t die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple area. Meanwhile, Jesus’ parents brought the child to the temple so that they could do what was customary under the Law. 28 Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,

29 “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word,
30  because my eyes have seen your salvation.
31 You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples.
32 It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles
    and a glory for your people Israel.”

His eyes truly did see the Lord’s Christ, but in baby form. But the eyes of his soul saw the prophesied salvation, the light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory for Israel. Simeon saw and then told.

33 His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him.34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “This boy is assigned to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that generates opposition 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your innermost being too.”

This last sentence is so hard to read. I think of Mary, cradling her sweet baby boy at his dedication, and hearing that she will be pierced in her innermost being. It pierces me, too. We will talk more about Mary as we move toward Lent, but already we see her heart breaking.

So often women’s stories are overlooked in the Bible, but here we see that there was a “female correspondent” on the scene as well. Anna is an inspiration to us all, as she devoted her life to worship in the temple and praying night and day. She was able to be a reporter for the truth whose name was Jesus:

Anna’s response to Jesus

36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was very old. After she married, she lived with her husband for seven years. 37 She was now an 84-year-old widow. She never left the temple area but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Did you notice how much attention is paid to her age? Luke writes that “she was very old” and that “she was now an 84-year-old widow”. Hmmm, no mention of Simeon’s age … but we’ll move on. One of the better aspects of this passage is to see a woman in her golden years find a new calling as the one who delivers the news that everyone had been waiting for … the redemption of Jerusalem had been born. This reminds us that it’s never too late to start a new thing.

She went out and spoke to everyone.

Jesus as a child in Nazareth

39 When Mary and Joseph had completed everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to their hometown, Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child grew up and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.

Simeon and Anna saw with their eyes what we can only see with our heart. But the urgency to report the truth of his good news is just as powerful today. Do you know Jesus? Can you see his glory revealed in Scripture? Do you hear his stories repeated often in worship? Do you teach them to your children? Do you spend time in prayer and behold him there?

God calls us to deliver the good news of what we have seen with the eyes of our hearts. Go, and tell.

Morning Glory by Michelle Robertson

Prayer-Conditioned Life

Posted on by Betsy

I am working on a sermon on the subject of waiting and how we should spend our time when we are made to wait. I think I am pretty safe in saying that nobody likes to wait. I know people who hate to wait in line so much that they study the check-out lines in the grocery store very carefully as they finish their shopping. As they approach, they choose a line but still watch the other lines. If one suddenly seems to be moving, they dart over.

But you know you are really bad when you keep watching the other lines even when your groceries are on the conveyer belt. Some of us get mad if the guy we would have been behind in another line ends up finishing fast. I may or may not be married to someone like that.

I discovered someone who I think could be labeled as a “Champion Waiter.” We meet her very briefly in the second chapter of Luke, at the presentation of Jesus in the Temple. It was a Jewish tradition that forty days after giving birth, mothers went to the Temple to be purified. Firstborn sons were presented at that time in recognition of their position as the spiritual leader of their siblings. Anna was in the temple that day because, well, Anna was in the temple everyday:

Luke 2 (New Revised Standard Version)

36”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 seven years after her marriage, 37then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 

As a first-century widow, Anna certainly knew prejudice, neglect, sorrow, and loneliness. But Anna spent her days worshipping and praying in the house of the Lord. She is remembered by Luke as a prophet, for she saw the Messiah that day and praised God with her joy and her witness:

38At 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.”

Anna had a ”prayer-conditioned” life. She prayed every day, all day. In her 84 years of living, she prayed and fasted night and day. That habit prepared her for encountering the miraculous. The minute she saw him, she KNEW.

Anna’s daily acts of service in the Temple put her in the right place at the right time…because she already was in the presence of God. She filled her time of waiting for the consolation of Israel with active service. God is active in our waiting when we open our hearts, our thoughts, and our prayers to his Holy Spirit.

What would happen to you if you prayer-conditioned your life? What difference would it make? Are you putting yourself in the presence of God day and night?

Anna’s story only took three verses of scripture to tell, but she will be remembered forever. As we wait for the second coming of Christ, may we wait with the same patient expectation of encountering the miraculous.

Wait Upon the Lord By Kelley Lynch