Anna the Prophetess

Who?

She lost her husband when she was young. She had been married for less than ten years. When we meet Anna in the second chapter of Luke, she’s an elderly widow of many years.How did she go on with life? But she did her best and served at the temple. She and another person named Simeon recognized that the baby Mary and Joseph brought to the temple was Jesus. The baby would someday be the Savior of mankind.

I first learned about Anna when my mom was playing a new Christmas song at the piano. She was putting music to a poem written by our friend, Sally Wise.

Sally writes of Anna:

She came to the temple,
Anna the faithful.
She was old and wise, she fasted and she prayed.
When she beheld the baby, her heart was filled with joy.
She gave thanks and spoke of Him, Savior to all men.
She knew, she knew, she knew her Savior.

Anna is a significant person in the Christmas story because she is another witness that Jesus had indeed been born. We need to pay attention to her.

She had gone through a lot while remaining faithful to the Lord. She knew the real meaning of “good tidings of great joy” and peace, and we can as well.  We probably all know Annas who endure while seeing the good in life.

Sally ends her poem by showing how we can be like Anna and Simeon:

At this Christmas season,
I will remember
The birth of Christ our Savior, the babe of Bethlehem.
As I read the scriptures I can feel His warmth.
And I know He lives today, Savior to all men.
I know, I know, I know my Savior.

References:
Luke 2
“They Came to the Temple” by Sally Wise
Images:
Featured and second image in post: The Substance of Hope found on alyoung.com. Copyright by Elsbeth Young.  All Rights Reserved.  Courtesy of Al Young Studios.
Simeon in the Temple by Rembrandt