The old lady at the temple

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

How old was Anna? Eighty-four, having been widowed after seven years of marriage? Or had she been a widow for eighty-four years after seven years of marriage? Luke 2:36-37 can be translated either way. But of course it doesn’t matter; whatever, she was a very old woman!

And we meet her here in the Jerusalem temple, along with Simeon, some six weeks after Jesus’ birth. Both she and Simeon are deeply devout Jews, and they greet Joseph and Mary as Mary comes to undergo the purification rites which were required by Jewish law for new mothers.

She occupies just three verses of the Bible, but she is worth thinking about, and not just because of her great age.

For one thing, she is called “a prophetess”. There’s a Jewish writing dating from about this time which says that “seven prophetesses have prophesied to Israel… Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther”, which puts Anna in pretty select Old Testament company.

Perhaps the nearest equivalent we might think of today would be a nun: a woman marked out by her life-long dedication to God.

We are told that Anna “never left the temple”. I doubt if we should take that literally – though, who knows, I suppose there is a possibility that, recognising her ministry, the temple authorities had given her living quarters somewhere around the temple precincts.

As well as her “worshipping night and day” and “fasting and praying”, you could even describe her as a preacher; she was happy to speak publicly “about the child” to those who came to worship.

All of which reminds us of the important role of women in the Bible, both Testaments…

The first people to proclaim the good news of Jesus risen from the dead were women (Luke 24:1-12). The first person to meet him was a woman, Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18). Read Romans 16:1-16 – that long list of names – and you see that over a third were women, and they were obviously greatly valued by Paul.

Then there’s Lydia the businesswoman, Paul’s first convert in Philippi, clearly a formidable woman whose hospitality Paul was glad to accept (Acts 16:11-15). And that married couple specially precious to him, Aquila and Priscilla. (Is there any significance in the fact that, five of the seven times their names are mentioned in the New Testament, it’s “Priscilla and Aquila”: the wife put before the husband? Just asking…!)

Pointing this out doesn’t, of course, settle the vexed question of the role of women in the church – that debate will no doubt continue for a long time. But perhaps it should deter us from being too dogmatic on the matter.

There’s no getting away from the fact that, in spite of the heavily male-dominated cultures of the time, the Bible presents us with a number of women gifted with real leadership qualities - and, like Anna, used by God. Is there a danger today that, in some churches, women’s wisdom, gifts and talents are left unused?

A second reflection… I wonder how Anna came to discover her prophetic calling? Let me speculate for a minute…

Her life was shaped by sadness. Losing her husband so young, and being a widow so long, is pretty sad, isn’t it? Perhaps her early vision in life was the conventional one of being wife and mother. (Well, perhaps she did have children – we aren’t told.)

But it’s as if widowhood led to all her mental and spiritual energies being channelled into a focus on God and his purposes for Israel. I picture her as a familiar figure to everyone who came to the temple for either regular worship or for occasional pilgrimages as “that old lady who’s always around the place praying for our nation” - and being held in respect and even awe.

Would she have developed this ministry if she hadn’t been widowed? Would she have been there to greet Joseph and Mary that day? We don’t know, but quite possibly not; her life would have been occupied with other important things.

So what…? Well, this reminds us that God can take the sad and even tragic events of our lives and use them to open a new door into something we had never expected or wanted. The obvious example, thinking now of men as well as women, is those who never find a marriage partner though they long for one, or whose marriage breaks down, and who are drawn into some ministry for which God equips them.

Or it could be an accident or a serious illness, a big career disappointment, or some other unwelcome turn of events. How many people serving on the mission field never dreamed of such a ministry until a life-changing event?

Can you recall a time which changed everything for you, and even left you thinking “My life has been ruined”? Nothing will ever completely take the pain away, and there’s no point in pretending. But is it time to do what Anna must have done, and to turn all your focus onto God your loving father, and to ask, “Lord, what do you have in mind for me? Please show me”?

You could be in for a wonderful surprise!

Father, thank you for all the godly old people who bear the battle-scars of Christian discipleship and who have been an inspiration and challenge to me. Help me to respect and honour them and to be a better follower of Jesus because of their example. Amen.