She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
It seems that Anna only got a small dose of what people would have regarded as normal life before she became a widow. People would have seen this as a lack of blessing from the Lord, if not a curse. But it appeared that she did not get lost in things that might have been, or in self-pity, or in an aimless lack or purpose.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
What might have seemed like a curse to others was something Anna utilized to her benefit. Others were caught up in the things of the world. But she chose to be caught up in the things of God and the things of heaven. The proximity to God tuned her spiritual sense in a way that made her eager for the Messiah and even able to recognize and celebrate him when he came.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
There were many years after her husband before the child Jesus was presented in the temple. And yet Anna simply "came forward at that very time" as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She had clearly been prepared by her life of worship and prayer. God must have given her to understand that she would have some role in explaining "about the child" to those others "who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem". What others might have experienced as decades in a holding pattern Anna experienced as a kind of spiritual retreat and a preparation for this specific moment when God would use her as a part of his plan to reveal his Son to the world. From her we can learn that things that appear to be curses may actually be blessings depending on how we respond. And we can learn that long periods where we don't contribute to society in customary or recognizable ways, holding patterns where we aren't fulfilling any obvious purpose, are almost certainly leading to specific ways in which God will use us. Anna was something like a sleeper agent, ready to be activated when the plan required it. We too can be sleeper agents for God, but only if we do not entirely fall asleep.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
The trick we must learn is to remain attentive to God even when his movements in our lives are not obvious, when it seems as though the shape of our life is a track that has been playing on repeat for years. Provided we remain more attentive to him than the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, we will be able to do this. After all, it is not the things of this world, things that are so easy in which to become entangled, that last forever. It is those who, like Anna, do the will of God that remain forever.
Bring gifts, and enter his courts;
worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth.
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