Both Simeon and Anna wait for the Messiah, recognize the Messiah, speak about him, and praise God. Both witness the expectation of Israel fulfilled in Jesus. Simeon speaks for himself, speaks to Mary and Joseph. Anna goes and speaks to the community and whomever will listen about the infant Jesus. She proclaims God’s presence in Jesus to the community. [...]
What does the presentation and revelation of God, as witnessed by Anna, mean for us today? Anna challenges us when we are tempted to despair and lose hope. By attending to Anna’s story, we are asked can we wait with her for an undetermined period of time? Can we prepare with fasting and prayer? Can we develop a willingness to see the infancy of God’s promises being incarnated into the world, a world awaiting and needing restoration, reconciliation, redemption, and peace? And then when God arrives, in persons young, vulnerable, and needing care, can we recognize that we are seeing God face to face, give thanks, and proclaim God’s presence in our midst to others awaiting redemption, even as we continue to hope for God’s promises to be fully realized?
--Kathy Lilla Cox
Image source: Ludovico Carracci, The Presentation of the Christ Child in the Temple (ca. 1605), https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/carracci-ludovico/presentation-christ-child-temple
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