Prophetess Anna
December 30 - The Sixth Day in Christmas Octave
Luke 2:36-40
What strikes us in today's Gospel is the long description of the main character, Anna. First of all she is described as a prophetess. There were not many prophetess in the Old Testament. There was Miriam, the sister of Moses, Deborah from the Book of Judges who helped the nation to defeat its enemies, Huldah who during the reign of king Josiah(640 - 609 BC) predicted the destruction of Jerusalem that would took place in 586 BC, finally the wife of prophet Isaiah is also identified as a prophetess. As prophetess, Anna speaks about the child Jesus to everyone who awaits the redemption of Jerusalem.
The meaning of the name Anna is the same like the Hebrew name Hannah - "favour, grace" - and reminds us of the mother of the prophet Samuel. Luke tells us that Anna was the daughter of Phanuel. We have no information regarding her father but the name of her father reminds us of Penuel, the place were Jacob wrestled with a divine figure and demanded to be blessed by him. The name Penuel means "face of God". Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the face of God.
Anna comes from the tribe of Asher. Asher was one of the sons of Jacob that Zilpah the servant of his wife Lea bore to him. The tribe of Asher belong to the ten lost tribes of Israel that disappeared after the Assyrian empire invaded Israel and destroyed its northern part in 721 BC. Prophet Jeremiah prophesied about the times when God would bring back those lost tribes of Israel to their land.
Anna was married for seven years - notice the number seven - but we do not hear anything about her children. What we hear instead is the fact that she was a widow for eighty-four years. Both seven years of marriage without children and years of widowhood perhaps indicate the time of bereavement and waiting to be consoled. There is prophecy of Isaiah that addresses Anna's life story. God speaks to his people: "You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood" (Is 54:4). In this case Anna would represent Israel who finally can forget about her seven years of marriage and 84 years of widowhood. The time of sadness and waiting has come to an end. The redeemer is here. When he grows up and become strong, Jesus Christ shall redeem Israel and shall marry his beloved bride - the new Israel represented by the Church.