We realize that as we age, we appreciate the joy of seeing others receiving gifts, rather than that anticipation from our youth of receiving.
Many of us have experienced the feeling of anticipation – whether it’s waiting for Christmas morning, a new birth, a new job, celebrating the vocation of marriage or the religious life.
My reflection today is about the anticipation and reward of Simeon, who spent his life awaiting the fulfillment of the promise that one day he would see Christ – and the fulfillment of his promise was more than he expected as he not only met Christ but held Him in his arms (Luke 2:25-35)!
And then there was Anna, a widowed woman who spent her entire life serving as a witness to Christ. Even though Anna was able to enjoy her marriage for only seven years, and was left childless and alone, she spent the rest of her life living the choice to serve God through her prayer and praise, in never-ending anticipation of His merciful grace. She specifically moved to Jerusalem so she could be near the temple! Anna’s sole purpose in life was to please God. She was a constant presence at the temple, in a state of fast and prayer (Luke 2:36-38). William Barclay once wrote: She had known sorrow, but she had not grown bitter. She was old, but she had never ceased to hope. She never ceased to worship. She never ceased to pray.
As Simeon received the Christ child and lifted Him up to declare Him as the long-awaited Messiah, Anna was there in the right place (the Temple) at the right time (as Simeon received Christ in his arms). Anna knew at that very moment that her prayers of seeing Christ had been answered, and she continued her ministry in sharing what she had seen.
One of the meanings of the name Anna is grace – how very, very appropriate. May God’s grace fill us as it did Anna, and may we have the dedication to our Lord, as did Anna, in service to the Almighty God in anticipation of His merciful reward. God bless us all!
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