Reading
Lk 2:36-40
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Meditation
Luke's Gospel opens with a chorus of prophecies about the child Jesus, before alluding at his hidden life in Nazareth and making him reappear at the age of twelve when he is discussing with the doctors in the temple. The last of these prophecies has for protagonist Anna, an elderly widow who leads an ascetic life without ever leaving the Temple. Her advanced age does not prevent her from serving God and her service to him is made up of fasting and prayer.
By exalting Anna's devotion, the Evangelist testifies that faith cannot be confined to a purely "horizontal" dimension, considering useless those who cannot exercise an active ministry, due to advanced age or other limitations.
Anna's prayer and her fasting, continued for so many years since her widowhood, are a prophetic sign of God's superiority in relation to anything else; they testify the perseverance in waiting the advent of the Messiah, a supplication that turns into praise at the moment in which the longed-for meeting takes place: "He praised God and spoke of the child to all those who awaited the redemption of Jerusalem".
Like John the Baptist, Anna interprets the prophecies of the Old Testament, acting as a "bridge" between them and the new covenant in Christ; reminding us with his vigils and fasts, the only necessary, "the better part" (Lk 18:41-42) which is revealed to the humble, to the "poor in spirit", because theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Prayer
Awaken in us, Lord, the desire to transcend the things of this world ant to annunce with our lives and with our word the advent of your kingdom. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
