Prayer of the Week: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in Anna the Prophetess which your Son came to visit us in great humility; :36-40 (NRSV) that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious November 29th majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Source: Book of Common 2019, Collects of the Christian Year, The First Sunday In Advent) Intro This week we begin a different kind of Advent series. Prayer of Thanksgiving: The series is called "Her Story." Almighty God, Father of all mercies, give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us The purpose of this series is to elevate the stories of and to all whom you have made. women who have done important work for the We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the and whose lives are a faithful witness to blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable Christianity. For too long portions of the Christian love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus church have held down the stories of women or have Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. relegated women to corners of the kingdom when, in fact, women have always played a key role in And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth furthering the good news of Jesus. your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before During this series, we'll look at stories of women you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through found in the scriptures as well as women throughout Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy history who have embodied the Good News found in Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. the scriptures. Amen.

We begin, with Anna the prophetess.

The Prophetess Tradition No Age Discrimination The first thing we are told about Anna is that she was a We are told that Anna is a widow of great age. The . This should not be overlooked. structure of vss. 36-37 is unclear. It could mean she was 84 at the time of this story, or it could mean she had been a The role of a prophet was (and is) to point out the activity of widow for 84 years which would likely make her over 100 God in the world; to speak truth to those in power, and to years old! speak a timely word from God for the people of God. Despite her age, she was in the temple doing the work of Women are fully capable to carry the word of God to men prophetess. She knew what it was to suffer and wait in and women. Women are fully competent to speak on behalf hope. of the vulnerable to those in positions of power. Women are especially adept at noticing the movement of God in the Some scholars have said Anna was old in age, but young in world. Women were and are skilled . hope. It turns out that Christian hope does not discriminate based on age. Anna is a prophetess in the line of Miriam, Deborah and others. Her Story -An appears to Mary announcing a mysterious pregnancy - and Mary believes. Faithful Through Generations -Elizabeth encourages Mary and also believes. The second thing we are told about Anna is that she is from -Anna recognizes the Christ-child at the temple and shares the . This tells us something about her the Good News with others. patience and faithfulness in spite of adversity. -Years later is the first witness to the resurrection. In 722 BCE, the tribe of Asher was crushed by the Assyrians. Those that survived relocated to Jerusalem to In very real and tangible ways, the story of Jesus hinges on seek after the One True God. the stories of women.

"How an identifiable descendant of Asher ended up in city May her story inspire us that we can learn to see the divine dozens of miles away and centuries later with her faith in the ordinary. Isn't that what Advent is all about? Seeing intact is thought-provoking.” that even in the midst of the ordinary there is the divine; in -Theresa Doyle-Nelson the midst of suffering, there is hope.

Anna, in a very real way, represents the faithfulness of the One she held in her arms in the temple.