"There was a prophetess, too, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. .She came up just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem." Lk 2: 36-38
If God really gave Mary freedom to respond yes
When he asked her about carrying Jesus
What if God had asked before
And that person, let’s call her Anna
Had said,
‘No. Thank you, but no.
It sounds mad, and I am not up for it
Certainly not now, perhaps another time…’
And that other time never came
Or what if it did
And the God of many chances gave Anna another chance
And she said
‘You know, I’ve thought about it and yes, it’s mad
But feck it I’ll give it a go
I’m going to trust you, and believe you when you say
this child will be part of how it will all be different
And what if,
That conception took and held in Anna’s womb
And she felt the signs of this new life for her and for the world inside her
Until that life stopped
Her womb bled out the new life nestled into it
And with it her hope
And her hope for people
And God wept
For this was not part of his plan
But he could not stop it
(For if he can’t stop miscarriage now, then he may not have been to stop it then?)
And so what might have happened to that woman, to Anna?
Maybe things went from bad to worse,
Maybe, she lost her husband too,
A child, her hope, her love, all lost
What if God whispered to her,
I will do all I can to show you that child
And so she waited in the Temple
Trusting, hoping, praying
Seeing mother after mother come with their new borns
Finding it within herself to mother them a little
To hold the baby as the mother rested
Offering cool water and a little food to refresh and revive
Those who had made the journey in heat and not many weeks after giving birth
And maybe she found common ground with Simeon.
Approached as part of another attempt that went awry
-His intended matched with another man-
Or maybe not willing to take on the risk of a sword through her heart, that they realised would be part of this
And so for Simeon too
A promise from God that he would also see this child
That might have been his
Who would be a light for the Gentiles and fulfil the long held hopes of Israel.
Two people, drawn, called, invited and responsive
Into plans favoured by God
Plans that just for one reason or another, did not work out
But years later finding some closure, some still point
After years of longing and waiting
Not having been able to bring the child into the world, but able to recognise it instead
Perceiving who this baby was and knowing what he would become
Announcing that
Not in a hidden stable, like the wise men
But in the Holy Temple, the very heart of their tradition
The home of their shared belief.
Photo by Philippe Leone on Unsplash