在人類社會中，寡婦的身份是很曖昧的，令人既憐憫，卻又害怕。中國人會認為是她剋死了丈夫，最好是迫她守節，減少對其他男人的傷害。猶太人比中國人更務實，他們不願浪費寡婦的生殖能力。若有未亡的兄弟，梅瑟的法律規定要為兄立嗣；而且在猶太人的歷史中，這些不為人注意的寡婦，竟成了殺敵的女英雌（雅厄耳、友弟德等）！
始終，大部份的寡婦是坎坷的。出嫁的女子既已離開父家，在夫家始終是個外人，一旦丈夫死了，有誰為她出頭，保障她的地位呢？倘若丈夫不良，死後遺下欠債，還債的責任，非她莫屬。她們的苦況，可想而知。因此在聖經中，孤兒和寡婦經常相提並論。這些無依無靠的人，成了真實信徒的象徵─完全依賴天主慈悲的人。
路加沒有記載亞納守寡了多久，若按習俗推測，14歲出嫁，21歲開始守寡，不少於63年。63年來「齋戒祈禱，晝夜事奉天主，總不離開聖殿。」（路2:37）由聖殿供養，見証了天父對失去依靠的人的慈悲，同時亦見証了大黑落德花46年時間擴建聖殿的野心。路加冠她一個「女先知」的名銜。亞納不愧是女先知，她「向一切希望耶路撒冷得救贖的人，講論這孩子。」（2:38）亞納足以是教會的象徵。
教會是信靠天父慈悲，因而蒙恩得救的信徒所組成的團體。信徒應像寡婦一樣，沒有世俗上的權勢富貴可依靠，祗有在天大父作為他們唯一的依靠。像亞納一樣，講論救主耶穌的事蹟，宣講天父的慈悲。
天父，願我們能親眼看見祢的慈愛，把祢的寬恕顯示給我們。亞孟。
CHRISTIANS ARE WIDOWS (Luke 2:36-40)
The status of widows is ambiguous in all human societies. They are pitiful but scary. Chinese people think that their horoscopes are incompatible with their husbands', thus causing their deaths. It would be better to force them to remain single to prevent harms done to other men. Jews were more pragmatic. They would not waste the fertility of widows capable of bearing children. When there were surviving brothers, they had to follow the Levirate law to marry the widows. In Jewish history, some nemesis were killed by widows whom nobody had paid attention to, thus making them heroines, e.g. Jael and Judith.
But at the end of the day, the fate of most widows was pitiful. They had left their fathers behind after marriage. In the home which they married into, they were aliens. Once their husbands died, who would stand up for them and secure their status? If the husband left behind debts, who else if not the widow, should repay the debt? It is not difficult to imagine their plights. In the Bible, orphans and widows are usually mentioned in the same breath. These poor people without support became the symbols of true believers --- people who totally rely on the mercy of God.
Luke did not mention for how long Anna had been widowed. According to ancient Jewish customs, assuming that Anna married at 14 and became a widow at 21, at the age of 84, she must have been a widow for at least 63 years. For 63 years, Anna "departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." (Luke 2:37) She must have been supported by the Temple. She was a witness to God's mercy to the needy and at the same time, the ambition of Herod the Great who spent 46 years to expand the Temple. Luke calls her a "prophetess". Anna was truly a prophetess. She "spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." (2:38) Anna was good enough to be a symbol of the Church.
The Church trusts in the mercy of God. She is a community of believers who have received God's salvation. Christians should live like Anna. They should have no secular authorities to rely on. God the Father is their only dependence. Like Anna, the Church should talk about Jesus and proclaim God's mercy.
Heavenly Father, may we be able to see Your mercy with our own eyes. Show Your forgiveness to us. Amen.
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