Anna 2020 (from Luke 2)

by: Khalilah Shelton

I remember having my daughter and taking her to church service for the first time.  The congregation "oooh-ed and awww-ed" over her plump cheeks and her rose petal lips that pursed together to make the most perfect pucker. We were in love with this little person and we were happy to parade her around for everyone to see.  In Luke 2, the writer speaks of how Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple. I assume that folks were in awe of His sweet face, I mean these are church folks. One man, Simeon, even picks up the Child and not only recognizes His outward appearance, but recognizes who He is.  He says,

"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."

Luke 2: 29-32

But there is an 84 year old woman who comes near Simeon and begins to speak and this woman is who I want us to hone in on. 

Anna was a prophetess, a faithful woman, who worshipped at the temple day and night with fasting and prayer.  She lived at the temple and was privy to the happenings thereof. We should not assume that Anna was at all unaware of the world around her or things that occurred beyond the temple columns, because the Bible tells us that she was a prophetess, a person who speaks for God. But why does Luke take a moment to make mention of Anna? 

"And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem."

Luke 2:36‭-‬38 ESV

When Anna met baby Jesus, she too recognized WHO He was. She, along with all of Israel had been waiting for the Messiah to come and redeem Jerusalem (make a new home of peace and freedom for God's people) and HE WAS FINALLY HERE! Anna, then did the most appropriate thing, she gave thanks to God and spoke of Jesus to all who were waiting.  

Sis, we are ALL waiting for something. I know the family of Breonna Taylor is waiting for answers, the officers shot during protests are waiting, communities are waiting for healing, our country is awaiting its next president and all of creation is waiting for Christ to return.  So many are waiting, but what do we do as we wait? 

Sisters in Christ, we worship. We deny ourselves for the sake of drawing closer to God. We pray that He will remove the blinders from our eyes and show us Himself. We pray for our families and our communities. We pray for the leaders in our homes, our neighborhoods, our churches and our government. 

We give thanks. We should never assume that God owes us anything but judgement. We give thanks because we are grateful, but we also give thanks because we had better not assume that God owes us anything. Every good gift comes from God, above.

We must also tell all who are waiting that Freedom is coming. Like Anna, when we see Christ, we must speak of Him to all who are waiting. Proclaim the good news that Christ was born on earth, lived a sinless life, but died to pay for the sins of the whole world so we would not die and go to hell for eternity. All because He loves us! 

No matter where you find yourself, it's always a time to worship, to give thanks and to tell others about Christ! Press in, sis. He is waiting to hear from you!