Active Waiting // Rev. Matt Kennedy // Nov 30 2025

The final book of the Old Testament was written around 400BC—words of the prophet Malachi. Following Malachi, we don’t have any prophetic Biblical writings for the next four centuries. Sometimes Christians will then describe John the Baptist as the prophet who breaks the 400 years of silence.But chronologically, the first person in the New Testament described as a prophet is actually Anna, a widow who spent her days worshipping, praying, and fasting in anticipation of the redemption of her people (Luke 2:36-38).Prophecy is not just good surveillance, skilled observation, or intuition. Prophecy is a ministry of the Holy Spirit speaking words of God that accomplish something in the lives of God’s people. Sometimes prophets call us to repentance or warn of condemnation. Other times prophets offer words of comfort or reminders of faithfulness. But the purpose of Prophecy is always in service of creating Holy People growing deeper in hope, peace, joy, and love.This Advent we give special attention to the women’s stories in the orbit of Jesus’ nativity, as well as women in the Hebrew scriptures that preceded them. Their lives and words bring us profound insight into the ways of God against despair, violence, sadness, and apathy. Like all good prophets, they teach us to look for Christ in the places we don’t often look first.