Luke 2:33-38: a reflection

33Joseph and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him. 34Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. 35Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” 36There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity, 37and she had been a widow for about eighty-four years), who didn’t depart from the temple, worshiping with fastings and petitions night and day. 38Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.

Amid the temple crowds, an old woman recognizes the infant Messiah. Anna is a widow of great age, eighty-four years a widow, we are told, who did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. For decades, in obscurity, she has given herself to worship and waiting. And now, at the end of a long life of devotion, she comes up at just that hour, sees the child, gives thanks to God, and begins to speak of him to all who were waiting for redemption.

Notice the fruit of her long faithfulness. Anna had spent years, most of a lifetime, in unglamorous, hidden devotion, worshiping and praying when no one was watching, with no dramatic results to show for it. And that long, patient faithfulness had shaped her, prepared her, given her eyes to recognize the Messiah when he came as a baby carried by ordinary parents, whom others in the temple walked right past. The decades of quiet worship bore their fruit in a moment of recognition.

There is encouragement here for anyone in a long, obscure stretch of faithfulness, especially those who are older, or widowed, or feel their years of quiet devotion have amounted to little. Anna's story says otherwise. The long, hidden faithfulness of a lifetime is not wasted; it forms us, and it gives us eyes to see God when others miss him. Keep worshiping, keep praying, keep waiting, even in obscurity and old age. Like Anna, you may find that decades of quiet devotion have prepared you to recognize and proclaim the Lord.

Lord, Anna spent a lifetime in hidden, faithful devotion, and it gave her eyes to recognize you when others walked past. When my own years of quiet worship seem to amount to little, or I feel old and obscure, remind me that long faithfulness is not wasted; it forms me and gives me eyes to see you. Keep me worshiping and waiting, like Anna, to the end.