A Communal Hope: The Prophet Anna

Painting by Jan Van't Hoff

The political, economic and military systems of the world seem to limit our understanding of peace to simply the absence of war. But what about those dreams that are held in the innermost places of people that are shattered by realities of the human condition that are neither political, economic nor military. Those realities that can cause people to cave in on themselves, like the unexpected death of a loved one, a sick child, a broken relationship.

Peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding, may seem like an elusive, naïve dream to some.

The Good News of Jesus Christ involves confronting the world as it is, not as we would have it be. It’s not easy. We need one another.

From the Gospel today, Anna had been a widow for many, many years. She knows the curve balls life can throw. She knows grief. She also knows hope. The artist Jan Van't Hoff captured Anna's face beautifully in the painting above. A face weathered by years and toil but a face that knows deep joy.

 

In her grief Anna went into the Temple. The place where the community gathers and she found hope. She found something there that fed her soul and kept her living in hope all those many years. She learned the disciplines of worship, fasting and prayer. She learned that where the community gathers there too is the hope that true peace can be found.

 

Jesus gathers the scattered and restores individuals and communities that have been scattered and broken by all the realities of the world. Today, our invitation to others - all others - must help people grapple with the realities of their world as it is.

 

How are we as a community of faith helping people grapple with their reality?