By Steve Hall
Anna was one of many who recognized the need to stand and wait. Not waiting with emptiness, but with growth. Not waiting with inactivity, but with preparation. Waiting for the now when they would know what to do.
The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
1 John 2:12-17
Luke 2:36-40
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.”
(John Milton, A sonnet reflecting on his blindness)
What God has done lies in our storied past. It exists that we might know him better and recognize his presence in the ‘now’ where we live our lives.
What God will do remains in the unknown future. It remains hidden that we might grow in confidence and trust as we move on with our lives.
What God is doing in the ‘now’ is where we meet and engage with him.
Luke’s record of the prophetess Anna brought Milton’s poem to mind, particularly his closing line: “They also serve who only stand and wait.” We must guess, but it seems reasonable to assume that Anna’s husband died when she was about twenty. So for several decades she could have been found at prayer in the Temple.
She was not physically blind like Milton. She did not wonder how a physically limited person could serve the Lord. But she probably pondered the significance of her husband’s early death. She probably sought to understand what drew her to a life in the Temple. She probably questioned her purpose as year after year she found herself among those who seem to simply stand and wait.
Luke says she worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. Anna was one of many who, like Milton, found themselves among those who stand and wait. Not waiting with emptiness, but with growth. Not waiting with inactivity, but with preparation. Waiting for the ‘now’ when they would know what to do.
John the Baptist was insufficient for so great an event as the Incarnation of the Messiah. Jesus himself would acknowledge that “Among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11) But still greater preparation was needed for the wondrous work God was doing. And so there was Anna. Preparing herself with fasting and prayer. Growing in the awareness of the presence and activity of God. Standing and Waiting until Knowing the truth that needed telling in the now, even before the proper time for the Baptist’s message to be proclaimed: “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Not all are called to stand and wait. Not all are called to decades in Temple or Church for fasting and prayer. But each and every one is called to growth and preparation for the “now” when we are to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. And since the necessity of that proclamation comes in the ever-present now, so too must our growth and preparation be.