And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38 ESV)
Done Waiting
I am waiting for a particular thing. It involves a decision that some other folk are making, that will mean a great deal to me. Every morning, I glance at texts. Every day I check email. Every day, I jump when the phone rings.
And while I am NOT mentioning it now, the time will come when I will mention it, talk about it, hum about it, post about it, write about it, and shout about it.
While it IS an important thing to me, it is not, however, of cosmic importance.
But Anna was waiting for something that really mattered.
And the moment she saw the Christ child, she spoke to everyone else who had been waiting, too.
Heat beats increased. Mouths stretched into smiles. Eyes sparkled. And voices probably hummed and sang.
Because waiting for the Messiah was done!
Today, we are used to the Messiah. So it does not seem so grand that the waiting is done.
But it IS grand, still. We still wait for the absolute end of sin, because of the Messiah. We sill wait for the end of every tear, because of the Messiah. We still wait for hope to be fulfilled, joy to be irrefutable, and peace to reign, because of Jesus.
And so we can understand Anna… and rejoice with her.