Anna’s Turn
theophilus December 30th, 2008
Today’s gospel carries the rest of the story from Luke 2 of the Presentation of the Lord; and with it, more lessons for us to carry into the new year.
We hear about the octogenarian prophetess Anna. She worshipped in the temple day and night and spoke about this baby as the Messiah to all who would listen. She had great faith; a faith that, like Simeon’s, was justified when she held baby Jesus in her arms.
She kept God close to her heart. She truly believed and hoped. She, like Simeon, persevered in her long life and was richly and spiritually rewarded.
There are also other lessons from the Presentation. It’s almost a side note, but this story closes with an observation from St. Luke that “[w]hen they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, . . ..” The “they” was Mary & Joseph, who showed absolute obedience to what God wanted for them. In the Presentation, they also showed a humility and earthly detachment that is an example for us all.
They instinctively knew of what St. John writes in today’s first reading from 1 John 2.
“Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.”
In the coming year, along with the lessons learned from Simeon (patience, perseverance and faith), I’m also going to work on the lessons learned from Anna and the Holy Family at the Presentation. Obedience, sharing the faith, prayer and devotion, hope, trust, humility, and worldly detachment are all good things to work on to bring me closer to Christ.
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve; the end of a very tumultuous year for most of us. Tomorrow is a good day to allow the Holy Spirit to help you reflect on the year past and what Christ wants you to do in the year to come. It’s time to reflect on the lessons learned and the lessons that need to be learned. It’s time to put our lives in God’s hands and recommit our energies to the work of laboring in the fields.
