Christmas Octave, Monday – 30thDecember 2019 — Gospel: Luke 2,36-40
First female herald of the Incarnation
Anna is the first female prophetess to bear testimony of baby Jesus. God took care that the Saviour’s nativity should be fully manifested. To the testimony of the angels, the wise men, the shepherds, Simeon, God added Anna also into that list. She confirms the significance of her life through prophecy. She exemplifies the patience of those who wait upon God for the fulfillment of His covenant. But she was a prophetess without uttering any word. She waited in prayer for 84 years in her widowhood, seeking God day after day. This long term of waiting was punctuated by the supreme joy of realization that this baby would be the culmination of all those ancient promises. She with her eyes upon the coming King, and the coming Kingdom lived in an atmosphere contrary to the world of her day. While Herod was troubled at the birth of the Messiah King, Anna the aged intercessor, whose soul was filled with adoration for the new born King, saw the answer to her prayers.
