Commentary on Luke 2:36-40

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of yesterday’s reading about the Presentation in the Temple. It deals with the second person who was present on that day. Her name was Anna and she is described as a prophetess, in other words, a person who was a spokesperson for God. One does not often meet women prophets in the Scriptures—most of them are men. She was also quite elderly:

…having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.

And, as we have said before, widows were at the lowest rung of the social ladder. They had very little chance of getting remarried, and as such, were very unlikely to have children after being widowed.

But Anna was a deeply spiritual person who spent her waking hours in the Temple, praying and fasting. She also came on the scene just as Jesus and his parents were in the Temple. She, too, must have realised the true identity of the Child, and gave thanks to God. She then began to speak about the Child to everyone, especially those awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

This short passage says a few important things: