December 30

1 John 2:12-17; Psalm 96:7-10; Luke 2:36-40

Many people love the way that Luke includes women in his stories.  He often pairs a parable about a man with one about a woman, and he is the only one to tell the birth narrative through Mary and Elizabeth.  I don’t think this is a sign of his high estimation of women; I think he’s trying to share the message of Jesus with a wider audience, but also modeling how women should serve.  That’s a rant for another post.  

Today, let’s celebrate that Luke does include Anna as a prophet along with Simeon.  It’s no small thing, naming her a prophet.  She’s got her own God-given voice, she’s not just following Simeon’s lead.  True, we don’t get to hear her own words; but at least she’s here.

Give thanks today for all the prophets of all genders who announce God’s work in the world.  We need people who do good works, who are the hands and feet of Christ, but we also desperately need those who tell us what God is up to through and beyond us.  We need the voices of Christ.  Maybe that’s you.

A shout-out today to the Society of St. Anna the Prophet, a dispersed community with a minimum age requirement of 50.  I love their bold claiming of the wisdom of older women, the ministry of older women, in a world that treats older women (and often older men) as dispensable and burdensome.  When the Companions began we thought we needed an age maximum, to “build for the future” etc., but we have been learning that there is such need and desire for community among people over 50 that we are looking now at who God sends rather than at their birth certificate.  So if you think you’re too old . . .