I have learned much in my friendships with the elderly. I once knew a woman named Katherine in a retirement community in Richmond, VA in which I interned during seminary. She was 104 years old and quite well known throughout the United Methodist Church community in south-central Virginia for the clay figurines that she crafted there in the residential hobby room. Katherine's most notable creation was a little froggy orchestra. I learned from her that if life takes something away from you, your purpose so to speak, you be creative, move on, and find something else. Katherine had never done anything with clay until she left home and everything behind and moved into the Hermitage Home at age 96. Within eight years people were coming from all over south-central Virginia to view and purchase her art. There was just something special about her little creations. They spoke a silent message of hope, the gentle reminder that no matter what, be creative.
My grandmother, Grandma Cox, was in her seventies when she moved into a retirement community. At her home in Raphine, VA she lived a fairly isolated life making quilts and other sewing crafts. Then after having to leave her home for a retirement community, she became well known for her quilted and knitted things and beanbag monkeys. She also made the most of the opportunities available there at Sunnyside and even became a reigning shuffleboard champion. It takes a lot of courage to make the changes that she had to make. Yet, like Katherine she kept living and stayed creative and that's that. That’s what you got to do.
Another thing I have learned from my elder friends is that somewhere between the years of 80 and 85 we are suddenly gifted with the authority to say whatever we want to whomever we want no matter how off the wall it sounds and it will be called wise and people will heed it. Again I fall back on my Grandma Cox. She absolutely did not like the shredded beef salad that they served just a little too often in the cafeteria...and you have to understand that Grandma was an excellent cook herself and had even worked in a school cafeteria for a good bit of her life and so she understood institutional food. One evening for dinner there at Sunnyside they served her the typical ice cream scoop of shredded beef salad on lettuce. Grandma looked at it and said, “This looks like something the dog threw up in the yard and I'm not going to eat it.” Well, the servers immediately gave her something else to eat and the beef salad there after appeared with less frequency. Grandma’s earthy but wise observation brought about a much-desired change for all the residents.
So, there you have it. Just a couple of things I've learned from the elderly. One, strive to keep living and be creative as much as they are able. And two, at some point past the age of 80 we will suddenly be granted the gift of being able to say whatever we want to whomever we want and it will be dubbed wisdom and they will listen so just say it. It's with those lessons in mind that we turn to Simeon and Anna.
Simeon was a very devout man whom the Holy Spirit had told that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Simeon was moved by the Holy Spirit one day to go to the temple and there he found Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. I can imagine him taking Jesus with wrinkly, boney, shaking hands and with a raspy, joyful voice saying basically “Yes Lord, let me now die in peace for I have indeed seen your salvation.” Simeon had lived a very long life and since he had lived his life within the framework of faithfulness he did indeed know why he was so old and still alive. God had made him a promise and told him he would not die until he saw it fulfilled. There in his arms lay his answered promise - a tiny, weak, vulnerable baby. Simeon knows he can now die in peace. The Lord was indeed bringing about the deliverance of Israel and of all peoples from every form of oppression. He looked at Jesus and knew the prayer he was put here to pray was answered and he will die knowing God is faithful. Simeon is also well past the age of 80 and so he speaks bluntly to Mary concerning Jesus: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” I’m sure Mary was a bit befuddled and then up comes this old woman.
Anna the Prophetess was 84 years old. She had probably married at the age of 14 or fifteen and was widowed after seven years. She then went to live in the temple courtyards (probably as a beggar), never leaving, and worshipped by praying and fasting night and day. Her life's purpose also was waiting for God's Messiah. At the same moment that Simeon knows his life's purpose had been fulfilled, Anna comes and begins to tell those who had gathered in the temple to pray for God to send the Messiah that he had indeed come.
Well, to make a long sermon short, I think the obvious wisdom that Simeon and Anna have for us is that we will not know the Lord's purpose for us apart from knowing the Lord's Christ, apart from knowing Jesus. I've been around more than a few retirement communities and I've been asked more than a few times by people who have outlived most of their family and friends, "Why is the Lord keeping me here? Haven't I served my purpose yet?” They usually say that because they truly are reeling in the loss that life brings when due to the frailties of old age a transition must be made from the independence of one’s own home to “the home”. The only nutshell answer there can be to those questions is “You’ve lost much and I can see why you feel your life is pointless. I’d feel that way to. But you’re still alive. So, live. Keep praying. Indeed, pray more for everybody and everything and love and serve your neighbours while you wait. I suspect you will come to realize that’s why you’re still here. Our Lord has great plans for the healing and deliverance of the people he’s put in your life. So, pray for that and wait for it."
Many congregations today find themselves in the situation of needing to make a transition to something else due to the physical and spiritual reality of its members growing old. It is safe to say that just over 40% of the churches in North America have fewer than 50 people in worship on a Sunday. It is also safe to say that about 80% of the churches in North America have less than 100 people on a Sunday. Old age and dwindling in size have made anxiety in the face of the future and corporate low self-esteem a constant debilitating factor in the predominant church of North America which is the small church of which you are one. Small is normal. Many of these small and aging congregations are asking “Why are we still here? What could possibly be our purpose here?” These small churches are still very much alive (just as you folks) are and so must live (just as you must). Certainly, these smaller churches have some institutional baggage to deal with and doing so will help them transition into the future. There is nothing in the Bible that says a church of Jesus Christ must have a building, full-time paid clergy, and programs of ministry in order to be the real deal. The churches of the New Testament met in homes, were led by gifted and well-tutored disciples, and their only program for ministry was proclaiming the love of God in Jesus Christ and living accordingly. We need to take to heart the wisdom of my friend Katherine and my Grandma Cox. When being a church can no longer be done the way we’re accustomed to, well, let’s just find something new to do with the abilities that we still have and be creative about it. The church of twenty years from now is going to be dramatically different from the church of twenty years ago because North American culture has changed so dramatically. I predict that the church twenty years from now will be based in homes rather than buildings, led by trained lay people, full-time clergy will be fewer and far between and shared by a number of congregations, and Jesus Christ will be a neighbourhood reality.
But for today, the average age of the members of our congregations is now approaching the age of Simeon and Anna, which means we are collectively able to be gifted with the authority to say whatever we want to whomever we want and they will listen and call it wise. So, let us proclaim God’s salvation of the world through the reconciling love of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and let us do so because our eyes have indeed beheld him. We Christians are the only people on earth who know that God is faithful. May we like Anna, a crazy old widow, shout it out. Amen.
So, there you have it. Just a couple of things I've learned from the elderly. One, strive to keep living and be creative as much as they are able. And two, at some point past the age of 80 we will suddenly be granted the gift of being able to say whatever we want to whomever we want and it will be dubbed wisdom and they will listen so just say it. It's with those lessons in mind that we turn to Simeon and Anna.
Simeon was a very devout man whom the Holy Spirit had told that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Simeon was moved by the Holy Spirit one day to go to the temple and there he found Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. I can imagine him taking Jesus with wrinkly, boney, shaking hands and with a raspy, joyful voice saying basically “Yes Lord, let me now die in peace for I have indeed seen your salvation.” Simeon had lived a very long life and since he had lived his life within the framework of faithfulness he did indeed know why he was so old and still alive. God had made him a promise and told him he would not die until he saw it fulfilled. There in his arms lay his answered promise - a tiny, weak, vulnerable baby. Simeon knows he can now die in peace. The Lord was indeed bringing about the deliverance of Israel and of all peoples from every form of oppression. He looked at Jesus and knew the prayer he was put here to pray was answered and he will die knowing God is faithful. Simeon is also well past the age of 80 and so he speaks bluntly to Mary concerning Jesus: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” I’m sure Mary was a bit befuddled and then up comes this old woman.
Anna the Prophetess was 84 years old. She had probably married at the age of 14 or fifteen and was widowed after seven years. She then went to live in the temple courtyards (probably as a beggar), never leaving, and worshipped by praying and fasting night and day. Her life's purpose also was waiting for God's Messiah. At the same moment that Simeon knows his life's purpose had been fulfilled, Anna comes and begins to tell those who had gathered in the temple to pray for God to send the Messiah that he had indeed come.
Well, to make a long sermon short, I think the obvious wisdom that Simeon and Anna have for us is that we will not know the Lord's purpose for us apart from knowing the Lord's Christ, apart from knowing Jesus. I've been around more than a few retirement communities and I've been asked more than a few times by people who have outlived most of their family and friends, "Why is the Lord keeping me here? Haven't I served my purpose yet?” They usually say that because they truly are reeling in the loss that life brings when due to the frailties of old age a transition must be made from the independence of one’s own home to “the home”. The only nutshell answer there can be to those questions is “You’ve lost much and I can see why you feel your life is pointless. I’d feel that way to. But you’re still alive. So, live. Keep praying. Indeed, pray more for everybody and everything and love and serve your neighbours while you wait. I suspect you will come to realize that’s why you’re still here. Our Lord has great plans for the healing and deliverance of the people he’s put in your life. So, pray for that and wait for it."
Many congregations today find themselves in the situation of needing to make a transition to something else due to the physical and spiritual reality of its members growing old. It is safe to say that just over 40% of the churches in North America have fewer than 50 people in worship on a Sunday. It is also safe to say that about 80% of the churches in North America have less than 100 people on a Sunday. Old age and dwindling in size have made anxiety in the face of the future and corporate low self-esteem a constant debilitating factor in the predominant church of North America which is the small church of which you are one. Small is normal. Many of these small and aging congregations are asking “Why are we still here? What could possibly be our purpose here?” These small churches are still very much alive (just as you folks) are and so must live (just as you must). Certainly, these smaller churches have some institutional baggage to deal with and doing so will help them transition into the future. There is nothing in the Bible that says a church of Jesus Christ must have a building, full-time paid clergy, and programs of ministry in order to be the real deal. The churches of the New Testament met in homes, were led by gifted and well-tutored disciples, and their only program for ministry was proclaiming the love of God in Jesus Christ and living accordingly. We need to take to heart the wisdom of my friend Katherine and my Grandma Cox. When being a church can no longer be done the way we’re accustomed to, well, let’s just find something new to do with the abilities that we still have and be creative about it. The church of twenty years from now is going to be dramatically different from the church of twenty years ago because North American culture has changed so dramatically. I predict that the church twenty years from now will be based in homes rather than buildings, led by trained lay people, full-time clergy will be fewer and far between and shared by a number of congregations, and Jesus Christ will be a neighbourhood reality.
But for today, the average age of the members of our congregations is now approaching the age of Simeon and Anna, which means we are collectively able to be gifted with the authority to say whatever we want to whomever we want and they will listen and call it wise. So, let us proclaim God’s salvation of the world through the reconciling love of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and let us do so because our eyes have indeed beheld him. We Christians are the only people on earth who know that God is faithful. May we like Anna, a crazy old widow, shout it out. Amen.
