Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Have you been in an airport lately? I have come to know several airports rather well due to frequent work travel and I must say, an airport is a fascinating place. It is a city unto itself. It has restaurants, clothing stores, book stores, bars, and chiropractic kiosks. It has wifi and outlets to charge your devices. And Starbucks! It has seemingly everything a person would need to survive. (The 2004 Tom hanks movie, The Terminal explores just what it might mean to live in an airport, in fact.)

Amidst all of these amenities, do you know what an airport does not have? Do you know what I have come to miss most when I step into an airport for a day of air travel? 

Fresh air. 

Yes, you may have the convenience of a Starbucks next to your departure gate but no matter the vast stretch of amenities, airports deprive their travelers of fresh air. When I am in airports and on airplanes the better part of a day, I come to miss the fresh air, to consider its value and necessity to my well being. 

Today, Luke tells us of Anna whose orientation toward the worship of God is the necessity of her life, her fresh air. Anna, quite clearly, has heeded that the world and its enticement are passing away. The airport is a convenient microcosm of the world's enticement. It features in bright lights the materialism and distraction that can pervade our lives wherever we are, and in a particular way during the Christmas season. 

During this Octave of Christmas, let us take our cue from Anna. Jesus has been born in a manger. The King of Kings. Our fresh air. The necessity of our lives. Let us recognize that A holy day has dawned upon us and breathe in the fresh air that has entered our world with the birth of Christ.