Worship in the Waiting

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 

29      “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

30      For my eyes have seen your salvation,

31           which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

32      a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and the glory of your people Israel.” 

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 

36 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, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 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 2:22-38, NIV)

 

 

REFLECTIONS:

The Bible has a great many characters; heroic, conniving, those with integrity, those who struggled, people who had great faith and those who were more likely to run-from than follow the God who included them in His story. Today, in 3 short verses we learn about the prophetess Anna.  On one hand, she could seem fairly insignificant. She’s only mentioned this one place in the Bible after all, and very briefly at that. But there wasn’t a lot that needed to be said… Anna was just a real good woman. 

 

Anna was Phanuel’s daughter, and as she grew she learned the ways of Israel but more specifically the fringe family of Asher. (Asher, the man, was a step-brother, son of a handmaid, and when the twelve sons of Jacob divided up their inherited land, Asher’s portions were scattered parcels, but they were lush and fertile. Generally speaking, the children of Asher were content, peace loving, generous and had little need for territorialism or tribal identity, living up to their namesake, as “asher” means “happy” in Hebrew.) Anna was widowed after seven years of marriage, and was either 84 years old, or had been widowed for 84 years at the time of our story. She had heard prophesies about the Messiah, and like everyone else, she longed to see Him who was the hope of her people. No children are mentioned so it’s likely she had none. She had known loss and disappointment, and, as an elderly woman, surely there were more comfortable and convenient ways to spend her time, yet she chose to stay at the temple day and night worshipping and praying, often so intently that she went without food. Anna was known as a prophetess. That means that at least a few times, she had supernaturally spoken on God’s behalf and it had proven to be true, and because she was one who made it her business to listen for the voice of God, she recognized immediately when he was brought near her… all 8-10lbs of Him, cuddled by His mother and accompanied by His earthly father carrying a clumsy bundle of birds for a traditional sacrifice. She couldn’t help herself—she made a scene and told everyone who would listen that their hope had been realized. 

 

Soo….how are you with worship in the waiting? 

 

(The teacher in me wants to suggest several scenarios to get you thinking about possible applications to your own life, but I think it would be appropriate to ask you to spend some time asking the Lord for those applications yourself. Try to do what Anna did: listen and worship.)

 

 

WHO AM I?

I’m Leigh Anne Bland and I recently spent the weekend with my friend Mary. I’ve known Mary since 4th grade and long enough for us to both have some really embarrassing “stuff” on each other.  She is the big sister I never had and I’ve had so much fun reconnecting with her. Please be praying for her—she has a blood disorder and is taking chemo for treatment. Today is day 17, and it’s treating her pretty roughly.