A Widow's Witness

Gospel: Luke 2: 36-40

We began Luke's Gospel with the stories of Elizabeth and Mary, two women who play pivotal roles in the drama of salvation history by accepting the roles offered to them in being the mother of John the Baptist and Jesus respectively.  They did so in spite of the skepticism of the men in their lives and the social difficulties that may arise with such undertakings.  Today we have a bookend at the end of the infancy stories with the arrival of Anna the prophetess. 

Anna is a remarkable woman.  She was married only seven years before her husband died, at which point she spent the remainder of her years a widow, constantly in the Temple area fasting and praying.  She likely sought the support of others here as well, picking up odd jobs and receiving alms as it seems clear she had no sons or family to support her.  She, like Simeon and others, await the coming Messiah, and she is rewarded by actually being one of the first to meet him as an infant.

Anna completes the bookend of women who form the core of the earthly origins of Jesus' life.  She forms a second sort of bookend, being the last in a line of marginalized people to whom the Messiah comes - Mary, a simple village woman; the shepherds; the Magi; and now a widow.  Jesus' mission to the poor, lowly, outcast, and marginalized all find foreshadowing in his infancy.  It is a mission to which we are called each day as his followers.