Patrick Comerford
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me … ‘Six geese a laying, five golden rings, four colly birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree’.
This is the sixth day of Christmas, and, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 2: 36-40 (NRSVA):
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.
Today’s Reflections:
The Christian interpretation of the song ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ sometimes sees the Six Geese a-Laying as symbolising the six days of creation in Genesis, with their eggs signifying new life.
Today’s Gospel reading at the Eucharist introduces us to the otherwise unknown Prophet Anna (חַנָּה, Ḥana; Ἄννα, Ánna), who is mentioned only in Saint Luke’s Gospel. There she is seen an elderly woman of the Tribe of Asher who prophesied about Jesus during his presentation in the Temple in Jerusalem.
In this morning’s reading, Saint Luke tells us Anna was a prophet, she was a daughter of Phanuel, she was a member of the tribe of Asher, she was widowed after seven years of marriage, and she regularly practiced prayer and fasting. Although her father is named, we do not know her husband’s name, we do not know her exact age, nor do we know whether she once had any children.
Saint Luke says Anna was ‘of a great age’. Many translations and older commentaries interpret the text to state that she was 84 years old. The Greek text states καὶ αὐτὴ χήρα ὡς ἐτῶν ὀγδοηκοντατεσσάρων, generally translated as ‘she was a widow of 84 years’. But this is ambiguous: it could mean that she was 84 years old, or that she had been a widow for 84 years. If the latter option is true, then she could have been around 105 years old.
She is depicted in icons and images of the Presentation of Christ together with the Christ Child, the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Simeon.
But what lessons can we learn from the life of Anna?
The Hebrew name Hannah (חַנָּה) means favour or grace. The aged, perhaps childless, Anna, is a sharp contrast to the young, new mother Mary. Did Anna remind Mary of her own mother Anne. Or was Mary reminded of the long-childless Hannah, the mother of Samuel, who asked God in prayer for a son and promised in return to give the son back to God for God’s service (see I Samuel 1: 2 to 2: 21)?
At first reading, Anna seems insignificant, someone who would have considered a nobody. However, God saw her dedication, delighted in her worship, and listened to the cries of her heart. God sees, hears and understands the longings of those who are regarded in the world as insignificant, including the old, the widowed, and those outside what are regarded as ‘normal’ family structures.
A life lived in worship and prayer results in recognising the work of God. Anna spent hours, indeed years, in worship and prayer before this moment. As a result, when Christ enters the Temple she recognises him as the one who comes to redeem the people.
God sees the hours spent worshipping him, crying out to him on behalf of others, those pray in the middle of the night, the whispers of the heart of those not sure about how to pray, those who despite panic can give praise.
Age, gender or marital status do not determine or decide who is to serve God, are no barriers to true ministry. Mary is an insignificant teenager chosen to be the mother of Christ, Anna is elderly widow who presents God in Christ to the world and proclaims the Good News about Christ, which is true ministry priestly ministry of Word and Sacrament.
God uses insignificant people. A life of prayer and worship leads to recognising God at work, and no-one, no matter what their age, gender or relationship is, is disqualified from serving God.
Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 30 December 2025):
The theme this week (28 December 2025 to 3 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Mother and Child’ (pp 14-15). This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Imran Englefield, Individual Giving Manager, USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Tuesday 30 December 2025) invites us to pray:
Lord, we pray that you will be with each new doctor, strengthen his or her skills, and fill their hearts with courage, wisdom, and love for every patient in care.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image
and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son shared at Nazareth the life of an earthly home:
help your Church to live as one family,
united in love and obedience,
and bring us all at last to our home in heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
God in Trinity,
eternal unity of perfect love:
gather the nations to be one family,
and draw us into your holy life
through the birth of Emmanuel,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org