Today's Gospel in Art - There was a prophetess, Anna

Simeon and Anna praise the infant Jesus, by Arent de Gelder, 1700, © Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

Gospel of 30th December 2019 - Luke 2:36-40

There was a prophetess, 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 by 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.

When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God's favour was with him.

Reflection on the Painting

Today's Gospel reading of Luke says that 'in meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and He was filled with wisdom'… This sentence summarises 90% of the life of Jesus! Jesus spent 30, of his 33 years on earth, living an ordinary life in Nazareth. He was doing things probably most young men of his age were doing: working, playing, socialising, praying etc… These 'hidden years' were crucial for Jesus' ministry, as it is in those years that His mission matured and that He prepared for the day He would really start actively spreading the Word of God. Those thirty years Jesus spent with His parents in Nazareth, reveal to us the value of our ordinary day-to-day lives....

To read on see: www.christianart.today/daily-gospel-reading/280