Anna, Prayer and Prepare for Lent

Anna was the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for seven years, although we do not know who her husband was. Now, in old age, she spent her time in the temple, in fasting and prayer, and was a prophetess. Like Simeon, she sees Jesus in the temple with his parents; unlike Simeon, she does not say anything directly, but Luke reports her as giving thanks to God, and speaking of Jesus. (Luke 2: 25-40). We know so little about her, and she takes up no more than three verses. Yet those verses include some very specific information as to who she was; they also give an insight into her character, and her devotion to God. She never left the temple, spending time in prayer and fasting. Practically, some questions come to mind: fasting cannot mean never eating, or she would have died of starvation; did she sleep in the temple, or does ‘did not depart’ mean just during daylight hours? Did the temple shut at night? But these are not really the point.

Whether Anna heard Simeon’s words is not clear to me from the text, but she seems to have come up at the moment when Simeon finished speaking to Mary; she may or may not have known what was happening. But this is a woman who has dedicated her life to God, who spends many hours in prayer and is known as a prophetess; she could see that Jesus was a special baby, and spoke about him to those who would be interested. She spread the word of the good news, even if she was not aware of exactly what that good news would be. Her time spent in prayer and fasting may well have given her some insight into who Jesus was, and she may well have spoken about that. How many people she talked to, how many people listened, how much longer she lived, we do not know. She comes into the gospel for those three verses, and then disappears from history. Given her age at this time, it seems unlikely that she would have lived long enough to see the fulfilment of her words.

But I wonder how many people whom she spoke to about Jesus remembered her words thirty years or so later when Jesus began his ministry? I wonder how many people were prepared to listen to Jesus because they had spoken to Anna a few decades before? I wonder how many people remembered Anna’s words … and how many people forgot they had met her, but still that meeting prepared something in them for a later meeting with Jesus? I wonder how many of those people she spoke to told others of her words? As John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, I wonder if Anna did the same? It is clear to me that, had she not spent those hours in prayer and fasting, she may well not have had the perception to see who Jesus was; it must also have contributed to her prophesying, as someone who spoke out about the things of God, and who might therefore be trusted when she spoke about Jesus.

When reading this passage, it is so easy to pass over those three verses given to Anna, and focus on the larger story of Jesus coming to the temple, and being greeted by Simeon. Those aspects are important, but I think we lose out if we miss Anna’s story. It is three verses packed with information, and we can take much from them. Her first response on seeing Jesus is to give thanks to God; she then spoke about him; all this coming from her dedication to God, and hours spent in prayer. What can we learn from Anna?

To start with, how much do we give thanks to God? Do we have a regular space where we will give thanks? It is not just Anna who encourages us to do this, Paul does, too (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). It is not an optional extra, but an essential element of our faith, although not always easy, especially when times are tough. While Anna rejoiced on seeing Jesus, it would also have been easy for her to respond with ‘a baby? But we need help now!’. But she did not; she gave thanks.

She then spoke about Jesus. I wonder how often we do this? It is tempting to keep our faith something private; it fits in with our culture and is much safer. We are not going to be ridiculed or offend anyone, or end up in trouble. It is true that there are times and spaces when it would be inappropriate to speak about Jesus, and we need to be aware of that. But is it also possible that we might be avoiding speaking when we could?

Finally there are all those hours that Anna spent in prayer and fasting. It is worth us pondering on those. Not that many of us have that opportunity, or even the calling – and it is a calling. But it might be wise to spend some time assessing how and when we pray, and seeing if that needs to change. Our prayer habits may well alter, as our lives vary over time, and it can help to focus on that every so often, to see if we need to adapt. A wise spiritual director might help here.

Traditionally celebrated on the 2^nd February, this story is the culmination of our celebration of the incarnation and Jesus’ birth, and reflects the timing of the visit of Mary and Joseph to the temple. However, it is also an appropriate passage to read as we approach the Lenten fast, and it might be something we can take into Lent this year; how could Anna’s story affect the way we celebrate Lent? How could that affect the way we live going on from there?