Anna
Magnificent
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, 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 worshiped 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
The setting is the temple in
Mary & Joseph are coming
about 6 weeks after the birth of Jesus.
On the 8th day Jesus had
been circumcised, the first Jewish ritual.
Now it is 40 days after his
birth and time for two other rituals:
(1) The first is the
"redemption of the firstborn."
Since each firstborn male
belonged to God, the parents had to buy him back with an offering to the
temple.
But this ritual isn’t mentioned—the
boy was already God’s son and would buy us
back.
(2) The second ritual is mentioned—the
purification for Mary.
A woman could not enter the
temple until 40 days after the birth of a son.
Mary came to offer the
required sacrifice of two pigeons to celebrate her return to full Jewish life
after childbirth.
The new parents bring Jesus
along with them. This was before day care centers.
It is in the
Picture Mary & Joseph
coming across the open
Mary is carrying her
six-week old baby. Anna starts toward the little family. She's an old-woman
baby-lover.
She insists on holding and
praying for every baby passing her way.
Sort of a lay dedication
ceremony.
The people let her do it, of course.
"A godly woman wants to pray for my baby" how could I refuse?
Simeon—a fellow messianic
Jew beats her to the couple. He takes the baby into his arms. He prays a
blessing.
Then the family heads toward
Anna.
She too will pray for
the baby. But as she takes the child she senses something is different.
The baby is ordinary enough.
And so are the parents... poor parents offering only two pigeons as their
offering.
Yet something strange is
going on. Could it be? Could this be the messiah? This
little baby?
He is! He is the messiah! She knows it! Anna announces to the crowd around her:
Here he is! The messiah! This one here! He is the
redemption of
And she prays aloud... right
in public... thanking God for his promised messiah.
What a scene! What
confirmation for Mary and Joseph.
Anna plays only a short
scene in this drama. Supporting actress at best.
After this, she disappears.
But you can imagine her
going about her day in the temple with a new energy after this.
You can imagine her smiling
as she prays for other babies, wondering...
Which might turn out to be
the messiah's disciples? Which his
followers? Which his enemies?
She had seen God's promise
come true -- He did send the messiah... She had seen him...prayed for him.
Held Him in her arms!
Anna has only three verses
in Luke, but they are packed with information on her.
In a way they would have
been suitable for carving on her gravestone.
What a wonderful old woman!
This is what we know of her:
1. She was a prophetess.
In this she kept
company with other Old Testament women: Miriam or Deborah.
She was to be the first in a
long line of New Testament church leaders who were women.
Mary the mother of James
& Jesus,
Mary the mother of Mark,
Dorcas the woman committed to serve,
Priscilla, an
almost-Apostle,
Pheobe the deaconess,
and, of course, the four single
daughters of Philip who were also called "prophetesses."
If anyone doubts a woman's
right to be a prophet, they will need to get a new Bible.
2. Her name: Anna, daughter of Phanuel,
of the tribe of Asher.
This wonderful woman
has lent delight to all the derivatives of her name down through the centuries:
Anna, Annabelle, Annette,
Ann, so many others.
Of her father Phanuel we know nothing.
Except that his claim to
fame is being Anna's father.
However, being from the
"tribe of Asher" says plenty.
The tribe sprang from the
8th son of Jacob.
They numbered about 50,000
when they entered the Promised Land.
They settled along the rich
Western seacoast near the prosperous Phoenician cities.
But their history is one of
failure.
Intimidated by the strength
of the worldly Phoenicians, they never even took full possession of their
assigned territory.
They became so anemic that
they were gradually swallowed up by the secular culture.
The tribe disappeared by the
time of King David, a thousand years before Anna.
Yet here is strong,
sturdy, stalwart Anna "from the tribe of Asher."
Still hanging in there.
Isn't it interesting? Have
you ever seen it?
A home of exceptionally weak
moral fiber producing a sturdy example of moral fortitude?
Anna was such a person.
Anna... from a loser tribe. Anna from
the secularized tribe, Asher. A tribe fully assimilated by the world.
Her tribe was no longer
different. They were no longer a peculiar people. Like
They had become just like
their secular neighbors.
These are Anna's roots. The tribe of Asher.
But she was not victimized
by her roots.
She did not say,
"Because I come from Asher I can not be a prophet."
She did not join a support
group for "women from loser tribes" and give up on her future.
Neither did she hit the road
with her harrowing story of her abuse.
She simply decided to rise
above her past.
And she did.
Anna is a story of greatness
coming from littleness.
Strength from weakness. Boldness
from fear. Faith from failure.
Anna tells us today that you
can rise above your past.
You can escape your
failures, your family, your home town, your childhood abuse.
Anna did.
We can too.
3. She was a widow.
Anna knew both joy and
sorrow.
You can imagine how excited
she was when she got married. "The man of her
dreams." "Just what I always wanted."
And I suspect her marriage
was a happy one.
Perhaps they got a starter
house,
and she made it a cozy happy place.
And she had... Seven
wonderful years of marriage
They passed as quickly is if
it were a honeymoon.
Then tragedy struck.
We are not told how her
husband died.
But somehow he was taken
from her.
She was heartbroken.
Sick. Pained.
Lonely. Hurt. Grieving her lost
lover every day.
He left a hole in her life
which nothing could fill.
How would she ever recover?
God does not let her down.
He calls her to his temple...
she finds a ministry praying
for travelers... and children, especially babies.
God becomes her companion.
He never leaves her nor forsakes her.
Her sorrow could have
hardened her into a bitterness, resentfulness. But it
didn't.
God fills her life with himself.
Anna becomes a kind, soft,
sympathetic, gracious, Godly woman of hope.
Tragedy can have either
effect.
Driving us further from God
or bringing us closer.
It seemed that nothing would
ever fill the hole in Anna's heart.
But, God is in the business
of filling empty heart-holes.
If you'll let him.
4. She was a godly woman.
"She never left
the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying."
Really..."she never
left the
Where did she sleep? At the temple.
Where did she eat? At the temple.
Where did she bathe? At the temple.
She did not have an
apartment near the temple she lived in the temple! Day
and night. She never left.
Today we would call
her a homeless woman... a sort of a "spiritual bag lady” living in the
And what did she do?
She "worshipped day and
night."
How?
By "praying and
fasting."
A pretty good description of
a godly woman.
Worshipping day and night,
praying and fasting.
Listing such activities on
your resume' may not impress your next employer.
But it impresses God.
This lady gave her life to
"full time spirituality."
How did she support herself?
Perhaps she had some
leftover funds...
Or perhaps, the travelers
gave her coins or shared their lunch with her.
If she got nothing today...
she simply fasted another day.
Anna was "living by
faith." She was in full time Christian service.
Her full time job was to be
a godly woman who prayed for kids and parents.
In the
In a sense living in an
"ivory tower"
—constantly praying and
fasting...
—constantly attending
worship in the
She lived in the spiritual
clouds.
Her life seems strangely
unrealistic to today's modern woman.
She is the woman who knows
nothing of Ophra Winfrey
She hasn't heard about
"gay marriage"
If she were alive today
she'd think "gay" meant happy.
She knows nothing about
inflation, or interest rates, or economic bailouts.
She has never seen CNBC,
because she doesn't even have Cable.
She can't point out
But she is in touch with
God.
Anna.
Out of touch with her
culture.
In touch with God.
I don't suppose you must
make a choice between the two.
But if you had to choose...
which choice would you make?
Being in touch with the
worldly culture… or being in touch with God?
Which do we value more?
Which of the two gets the
most attention in your daily schedule, in your budget?
Choosing only one, to which would you
cling? Which would you forsake?
Anna clung to godliness.
5. She was an old woman.
Really old. 84 years old to be exact.
Eighty-four is no spring
chicken today, let alone back then. We need old women in our churches.
To help the preacher preach.
To smile when the preacher
is on track.
To give the preacher a
perplexed look when the sermon's not clear.
To correct the facts quoted
wrong.
To pray every day for the
pastor.
Godly old women have such
charm, and elegance, and grace
A younger woman just can't
find that sort of stuff in the latest make-up kit.
An "old woman" is
at peace with herself.
She knows who she is and
doesn't try to be someone else.
She accepts her age as an
asset, not a liability.
You can always tell when a woman
becomes an "old woman"
She tells her age... like
she did when she was a child... announcing it early...
"This September I'll be
eighty-four" she says.
Such old women have
confidence...
They know.
They've been there.
You can't fool them.
They've seen your type
before.
Old women like this give
advice... and warnings... and wise counsel.
And, we should listen.
Maybe that's what Paul was
recommending to Titus.
Old women...
teaching the younger women. "Old woman's
ministry". Older women busy in ministry... like Anna.
Wandering around the
Spending her days and night
fasting and praying, attending worship services.
A retired lady... in full
time spiritual work.
A special ministry for old
ladies?
The church needs more
"old women" to do this kind of thing.
But where will we find them
today? Who will volunteer?
Who will graciously accept
the ministry of an "old woman" today?
Women are taught to fight
old age with a vengeance.
Deny it, dye it, cover it
up, lift it, nip it, tuck it.
But looks aren't the issue,
here. A beautiful old lady is a magnificent sight.
The real issue is ministry.
Challenging more women in
the church to graciously answer the call to "Old woman" ministry.
Anna turned her sorrow into
opportunity to become a grand old lady of the church.
She spent her time in
prayer, and fasting, and in worship... pursuing godliness.
She may have been thoroughly
out of touch with the world... but she was in touch with God.
Not alone in her private
chambers... but out in the open... ...where she could pray for pilgrims,
...and families,
...and little babies that will grow up to be the Savior of the world.
Who is God calling to become
a "Grand Old Woman" in your church?
Is He calling you to become
your church's "Anna?"
What a magnificent old
woman!
We should honor such woman
today!
Who is the
“Anna” in your church? What is she like?
So what do you think?
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This sermon was originally given by