You’ve seen them in public, even in places where you thought you were alone. It’s likely that you’ve been kissed by one at least once in your life. We all know one. It’s possible there’s even one in your own family. For all you know, you might even be one. That’s right. I’m talking about the “old church lady.”
“Old church ladies” have been around for a long time. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, we are introduced to an “old church lady” named Anna. She is elderly, her husband has long since died, and she spends “night and day” praying and fasting in the Temple (Luke 2:37). Sound familiar? Anna fits the bill for an “old church lady.”
In this reading, Anna is described alongside an elderly man named Simeon. He first prophecies that the child Jesus is the Savior of Israel and that Mary will participate in God’s salvific plan in a mysterious and unique way. He knows this because he has been told so by the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:26). Similarly, Anna prophecies about Jesus being the Redeemer of Israel at the very end of the Gospel reading (Luke 2:38).
Upon first reading the passage, the importance of these two “old church people” may slip the mind of the reader; after all, Jesus and Mary are often the focus of this passage. We are left to wonder: what does the presence of Anna and Simeon mean?
Eastern Christian tradition regards Anna and Simeon as among the last of the Old Testament prophets. For centuries, the prophets had preached to the tribes of Israel, warning them to repent of their sins, to return to God’s law, and to prepare themselves for the coming of the Messiah—the word literally means “the anointed one.” Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Jonah (the list could go on for a while) all eagerly awaited the coming of the Messiah.
While the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of the Messiah that would come, Anna and Simeon received the perfection of prophecy in that they witnessed the fulfillment of God’s promises. Anna and Simeon may have seen a Jewish baby with their eyes, but they also saw with the eyes of their hearts the true Messiah of God.
These often forgotten “old church people” are some of the earliest recipients of the gift of faith that is given to all who will believe in this baby Messiah: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).
The fulfillment of the promised Messiah is greater than what devout Jews could have ever expected: Jesus, the Messiah, reveals that he will conquer death, grant eternal life, and dwell in the hearts of God’s chosen people by the gift of faith. In the Scriptures, Jesus makes clear that he and his Father will come and live in the souls of those who love him (John 14:23). Saint Thomas adds that it is by faith then that “eternal life is begun in us” (ST II-II, q. 4, a. 1).
“Wait, so you’re telling me that because of faith, eternal life—heaven—has begun in my soul today . . . right now?”
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
We enjoy the same gift of faith that allowed Anna to see the Lord without an exterior prompting—she received an interior light. The “old church lady” that Mary and Joseph ran into is a reminder and sign that God keeps his promises:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
An “old church lady” responds to Christ’s question with simple, unpresuming faith: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God” (John 11:27).
If to have faith means to become a bit like an “old church lady,” and if “old church people” really do enjoy a brief look of the eternal God in their hearts . . . then sign me up.
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Image: Carl d’Unker, Old Woman with a Rosary
