There was 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.
There was 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.
Today’s passage follows immediately after passage where Mary and Joseph, brought Jesus to the temple to offer sacrifice for the birth of Jesus, and to obtain ritual cleansing, acording to the jewish law. That passage ends with the temple priest Simeon rejoicing over the arrival of the baby Jesus, and gives Mary the dier prophecy about her heart being peirced.
Then we come to today’s reading, with the prophetess Anna. She also recognized the significance of this moment, and she too, it seems, was given a long life, so that she too could live to announce this moment to all the world. So the question comes up, why do we need two prophets at this moment? The venerable Bede helps us better understand this moment.
Bede reminds us that this woman was married a virgin, she lived 7 years as a married woman and then was widowed. And after she was widowed she spent day and night living in the temple, in the service of the Lord, until she was 84 years old. 84 divided by 7 equals 12. These numbers are not random, they represent the days of the week (7) and the perfection of appostolic teaching (12). Futher, we also hear about her parents, who were well known and very good citizens of the jewish community. All of this was to establish that she was a very good, holy, and faithful woman that devoted her life to serving the lord, and upholding His law.
Consequently Bede, explains, that while Simeon served as a symbol of the priesthood, that Anna served as a symbol of the church. A church that was widowed when the shekina cloud left 580 years earlier. A church that was now being reunited with it’s bridegroom, the lord Jesus Christ. A church that would be recreated and rebuilt in the image of Jesus, and would be ultimately established in heaven for all eternity.
So this passage represents the culmination of everything that the jewish people were waiting for. The return of the presence of the lord into this world. An new marriage covenenant between the people of this world and the Lord, and a new temple of the lord, in His church. And all of this would be humanly and physically represented in the body blood soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ (aka. the Eucharist).
Simeon and Anna got it, many many christians over the years have understood this too. And many are still just now begining to understand. Do you believe this? that Jesus christ is truly, physically present in the holy eucharist? If not, why not. He told us at the breaking of the bread, at the last supper, “That this IS my body, and this IS my blood, and that no one comes to the father except by me” (John, chapter 6).
This is without question, the most important thing that we humans will ever do or understand in this world. If you dont understand it now, Humbly ask God to show it to you, and then be open to hear what He has to say. Learning, and ultimately believing this one fact, will forever change your life, and will determine your eternal destiny. It is not a small thing, it is everything! “Search and you find, knock and the door will be opened…” so dont put it off another moment.
