This past summer my husband installed a huge antenna on his radio tower. Although much of his summer was spent away from home, having radiation treatments, he managed to find time and energy to climb up the tower. Nothing was going to quench his passion for ham radio. Now each morning, as soon as he wakes up, he turns on his radio and points his antenna to somewhere in the world. Apparently morning is the best time for radio transmissions.
Recently one morning Tim approached me all excited about a conversation he had with a ham operator in the Galapagos Islands. I admit, from what I could hear, it was not exciting. I heard a lot of hiss, static and a few ordinary words. Frankly, if I want to learn about the Galapagos Islands I’d rather study about them in books, like the National Geographic. Tim would say, “Yes, but I talked to a real person from there.”
My husband is acutely in tune to the ham radio world. That reminds me of Anna, an elderly widow in the Christmas nativity story. Anna had her antenna tuned to God. Although she would not have studied from the Jewish teachers, since that was only for the males, she was connected to God through her life of prayer, fasting, and personal learning.
Thus it is not surprising that one day, when an ordinary Jewish baby boy arrived at the Temple (where she lived), she knew exactly what was happening. She knew that this baby wasn’t like the hundreds of other baby boys she had seen carried in for dedication.
Anna knew that God had come to visit humanity through this promised Messiah. This was a thrilling moment and Anna just had to tell everybody!
Imagine this elderly woman shuffling about, her wrinkly face aglow with excitement, and her arms waving in the air as she tells the good news to the staunch religious experts of the day – those who had spent their life studying the Torah, looking for clues of the coming Messiah. And here, of all people, Anna saw him before they did!
Do you see how bizarre the nativity story really is? God does the unexpected. He sends angels to shepherds, those who were considered so defiled that they were not allowed in the Temple; he sends a star to Gentile astrologers, who were also not allowed in the Temple. But to his chosen people, Israel, God sends an ordinary elderly woman – a prophetess in their midst who received the news directly from the Spirit.
It seems that Anna may have been the first preacher of the good news within the Judaic religious establishment. I wonder why our Christmas cards and songs don’t include her more often. Is she too ordinary? Is it because the message she received from heaven didn’t come with a spectacular sign in the heavens?
Being a student of the word, I appreciate the reminder that having academic knowledge is not the same as being in tune with God. Anna reminds us that God is not merely perceived through signs and knowledge, but through an ongoing spiritual relationship.
May God give us a passion for his quiet small voice, and may we learn to point our antennas towards God. After all, we do need to know what he has to say to us today, don’t we?
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Lk 2:36 There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having been married to her husband for seven years until his death. She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment, she came up to them and began to give thanks to God and to speak about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.NET