What Anna Said that Day

The Christmas story ends in the temple in Jerusalem with a prophet coming up to Mary and Joseph and the infant Jesus.

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. - Luke 2:36-38

There was a longing in Jerusalem for redemption because the Romans occupied the city. They’d even built a barracks, called the Antonia Fortress, right up next to the temple itself with an entrance into the temple courts (and just for spite, Herod built the fortress one foot taller than the Temple itself to demonstrate his own greatness and power).

No wonder people gathered in the temple courts and prayed for redemption for their beloved city.

And yet, in so many ways, Jesus did not redeem it. Yes, he opened a new way for all to know God and know their belovedness. But He did not push the Romans out by force. And within a generation, the Temple would be utterly destroyed.

Sometimes our hopes are not realized the way we want. Sometimes the promises God gives us don’t pan out the way we thought they would. and sometimes there are disappointments around the holidays because of these things.

As you reflect on yesterday, can you name any disappointments and talk with God about them? Perhaps you can imagine what Anna might have said to the gathering crowd that day - and maybe there’s word in it for you.