What do you suppose Jesus called her? “Gran”, “Granny,” “Grandmother,”, “Grandma,”, “Ahmama” (as I called one of mine), “Grandmonny” (as our son calls one of his)?  It is pleasant to imagine Jesus calling his grandmother by such a term of endearment.  He was “like his brothers and sisters in every respect,” says Hebrews.

Now strict constructionists might object and say ‘we do not even know if he knew his grandmother’.  This is literally true I suppose; but literal truth can be terribly dry and lacking in humanity at times.

I am convinced that Jesus knew his grandmother and sat on her lap and at her feet.  You can clearly tell from the things he said when he grew up – things that one might learn best from a grandparent.

“Give us each day our daily bread.” (Luke 11:3).  Sounds like he had smelled that bread in a grandmother’s kitchen, and knew what to ask for.

“Her sins, which were many, have been forgiven…the one to whom little is forgiven loves little” (Luke 7:47).  Who is more forgiving than a grandmother?  As the saying goes, ‘what happens at grandmother’s house stays at grandmother’s house.’  I’ll bet Jesus knew about that.  Of all loves, perhaps grandparent love has the least strings attached to it.

“Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).  I do not doubt that this “golden rule” came from Jesus himself; but it sounds like something the gist of which he might well have learned at his granny’s knee.  My grandmothers often gave me such wise advice, especially about how to treat other people.  Only later did I discover how challenging it really is.

“Woe to you Pharisees” (Luke 11:42).  Grandmothers generally are the most down to earth of relatives.  They are old enough to be beyond much pretence and experienced enough to recognize self-righteousness and hypocrisy a mile away.  When the priggish Pharisees came after him Jesus had had enough warning from Grandma to know what he was dealing with!

“Do not be afraid” (too many texts to cite).  I don’t know about your Grandparents, but mine often told me such things as this. In the darkness of my bedroom in the old family house…in the midst of a thunderstorm…on my way to summer camp for the first time.  Grandmothers have a way of pushing us out there and teaching us to TRUST.  Jesus learned this from his heavenly Father, but I suspect Anne may have helped some.

“Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out” (Luke 12:33).  I used to watch my great-grandmother do crochet every time we visited her.  Her handwork is still used by our family and remains an enduring symbol of creativity and generosity for me.  One day, her work will wear out, but God’s love remains.  Where else would Jesus have gotten the idea for this metaphor but from a granny?

Finally, “let anyone who is thirsty come to me” (John 7:37).  I never remember being at my grandparent’s house without something to drink – coke (in the old small bottles), iced tea, lemonade, grape juice.  The message was ‘a person should never be thirsty.’  When Jesus spoke of himself as the only way to quench our deep spiritual thirst, he surely must have had his physical thirst generously quenched by someone on this side of eternity.  I’m betting on Anne.

So you see, legend or not, I believe in St. Anne.  Because I believe in grandmothers and thank God for them – and for those who reach out in grandparent love to the children of others.  In their lap and at their knee we, like Jesus, can learn much of what we need to know for life.

Thank God for Saint Anne and for all our grandparents.  Pray that in our loving we might be more like them. 

Your servant in Christ,