THE DAILY GOSPEL

December 30, 2013

Monday 6th Day in the Octave of Christmas

Psalter: Week 1 Ps 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice! 1st Reading: 1 Jn 2:12-17

My dear children, I write this to you: You have already received the forgiveness of your sins through the Name of Jesus. Fathers, I write this to you: You know him who is from the beginning. Young men, I write this to you: you have overcome the Evil One. My dear children, I write to you because you already know the Father.

Fathers, Iwrite to you because you know him who is from the beginning. Young men, I write to you because you are strong and the Word of God lives in you who have indeed overcome the Evil One.

Do not love the world or what is in it. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For everything in the world—the craving of the flesh, the greed of eyes and people boasting of their superiority—all this belongs to the world, not to the Father.

The world passes away with all its craving but those who do the will of God remain for ever. Gospel: Lk 2:36-40

There was a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father’s home, she had been seven years with her husband, and since then she had been continually about the Temple, serving God as a widow night and day in fasting and prayer. She was now 84. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God and spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There the child grew in stature and strength and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon him. Reflection:

The name Anna comes from the Hebrew word Hannah which means “grace.” Indeed, Anna was a woman full of grace, for she was able to see what generations had longed for. She spent her remaining years ever since she turned a widow—possibly 60—in singular devotion and adoration of God. Luke presents her as a prophetess, almost on par with Simeon. Like Simeon, she gives praise and thanks to God. She goes around and shares the news about the birth of the divine child with all those who had been longing for the deliverance of God’s people.

By bringing Anna onto the scene, Luke wants to present the universality of salvation brought through the person of Christ. Christ is not only for the rich and the learned, but for the poor, the widowed, the shepherds, and everyone else on the margins as well. God is the God of all. Luke also tells us that the child Jesus returned with his parents to his native village and lived there among his people. With God’s grace upon him, the Graced One lived in their midst as one of them.