The gospel for Tuesday of the sixth day in the octave of Christmas is taken from Luke 2:36 to the 40th verse. There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage and then as a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple and worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer, 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. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

The child grew, became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. When someone is being infused with truth and they know something and believe it so deeply, it is very hard to change their mind. And what we see in the story of Anna, a prophetess, is her diligence in seeking a truth, an awareness. She was in the temple always. And what she was always seeking was some understanding, some knowledge of what was going to happen when the Messiah actually came. She longed for it, she fasted for it, she struggled to understand it.

And then she’s rewarded in a sense, with an invitation from God to be present in the temple when Jesus was there with Mary and Joseph. And she knew somehow, deep inside of her, this was the new beginning of Christianity. After the music, I will close with a prayer. Foreign. Closing prayer. Father, keep us vigilant, keep us seeking always a desire to know you, to find you, to receive your gifts.

We get distracted. We get so many other things going on in our life. But bless us with a focus on what is most essential, our understanding of who you are and what you are doing in our life for us. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.