Wonder - Day 26
The wonder of heaven & earth colliding
Luke 2:36-38
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
Whenever I read the story of Anna, I can’t help but think of my Grandmother McCoy, Like Anna, my Grandmother lost her husband in their prime, and like Anna, my Grandmother never remarried. My whole life, whenever my grandfather was mentioned or she began talking about him, she had a look of love in her eyes. She married right the first time, and she had no reason to do so again. She was devoted.
Anna was devoted as well. We don’t know how she felt about her husband who had passed, but we do know that she lived completely devoted to God for the rest of her life. In fact Luke tells us she never left the Temple.
What’s interesting to me is that both Simeon and Anna are old, as were Elizabeth and Zechariah, where as Mary and Joseph were young. It’s as if through the telling of this story, Luke is bringing together the old and the new. Yes, God is up to something new (Isaiah 43:19), but He’s doing it by bringing the old and the new together. Jesus, himself told us in the sermon on the mount, ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17 NIV)
Something old and something new. Christmas is full of these things. Old traditions practiced with new family members and friends. Old songs sung in new ways. Old recipes shared with the next generation to make them their own. Tj6here’s something beautiful that comes when the new is able to learn from the old to create something even better, even more complete.
Anna’s presence confirms the words of Simeon, and her devotion is an example to us to put Jesus first, always, in all things. Our lives will take us in many different directions, but if we remain devoted to Christ, then we already know the end of our stories (which is really, just the beginning).
QUESTIONS
Luke 2:36-38
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
Whenever I read the story of Anna, I can’t help but think of my Grandmother McCoy, Like Anna, my Grandmother lost her husband in their prime, and like Anna, my Grandmother never remarried. My whole life, whenever my grandfather was mentioned or she began talking about him, she had a look of love in her eyes. She married right the first time, and she had no reason to do so again. She was devoted.
Anna was devoted as well. We don’t know how she felt about her husband who had passed, but we do know that she lived completely devoted to God for the rest of her life. In fact Luke tells us she never left the Temple.
What’s interesting to me is that both Simeon and Anna are old, as were Elizabeth and Zechariah, where as Mary and Joseph were young. It’s as if through the telling of this story, Luke is bringing together the old and the new. Yes, God is up to something new (Isaiah 43:19), but He’s doing it by bringing the old and the new together. Jesus, himself told us in the sermon on the mount, ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17 NIV)
Something old and something new. Christmas is full of these things. Old traditions practiced with new family members and friends. Old songs sung in new ways. Old recipes shared with the next generation to make them their own. Tj6here’s something beautiful that comes when the new is able to learn from the old to create something even better, even more complete.
Anna’s presence confirms the words of Simeon, and her devotion is an example to us to put Jesus first, always, in all things. Our lives will take us in many different directions, but if we remain devoted to Christ, then we already know the end of our stories (which is really, just the beginning).
QUESTIONS
- Do you, or did you, have as sage in your life that was a source of wisdom for how you live your life today?
- What happens when we destroy or get rid of our history in order to head in new directions?
- In what way can you show Jesus your devotion to Him today?
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