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, well then you just go be creative, move on, and find something else. Katherine had never done anything with clay until she left her 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. In the 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 made them and kept living and stayed creative and that's that. That’s what you got to do and how you do it.
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 might sound 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 after that the beef salad 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 we 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 people will listen; so speak up. Keep living, keep being creative, and speak up. 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. One day the Holy Spirit moved Simeon 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, now let me die in peace for I have indeed seen your salvation.” Simeon had lived a very long life and since he had lived his life faithfully, he did indeed know why the Lord had kept him alive so long. 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. God was keeping his promise and 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 God put him on earth to pray was answered and he could now 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. Instead of remarrying, she then went to live in the temple courtyards (probably as a beggar) for 60-some years, never leaving. There she worshipped by praying and fasting night and day. Like Simeon, 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. Pray 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."
Let’s talk about congregations for a minute. 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 their members growing old. It is safe to say that just over 60% of the churches in North America have fewer than 50 people in worship on a Sunday and the average age of those folks is over 70. Old age and dwindling in size have made anxiety in the face of the future and a corporate sense of low self-esteem a constant debilitating factor in the predominant church of North America which is the small church of which we are four. Small is now the norm for the church.
Like elderly people do, many of these small and aging congregations are asking “Why are we still here? What could possibly be our purpose?” These small churches are still very much alive (just as you folk are) and so must live (just as you must). Those questions are rooted in the (for lack of a better word) despair of having dwindled the last couple of decades from being the “big, program church” that bubbled onto the scene just after WWII. In the 20 years after WWII the church in North America experienced unprecedented growth due to the rise of the “Suburb”. But, bubbles pop and so the bubble of the “big, program church” started to noticeably pop in the ‘80’s.
But, you know, there is nothing in the Bible that says a church of Jesus Christ must have the “big, program church” bag of tricks to be the real deal – a building, full-time paid clergy, Sunday School, and other programs of ministry. The churches of the New Testament met in homes, were led by gifted and well-tutored disciples, ate together a lot, and their only program for ministry was proclaiming that in his love, God has saved his Creation in through and as Jesus Christ who was soon to return and so they lived accordingly inviting others to be his disciples…and…they virtually eliminated poverty amongst themselves.
We need to take to heart the wisdom of my friend Katherine and my Grandma Cox – continue living, be creative, and speak up. 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 even if it is just to pray fervently. 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 expect that the church twenty years from now will look more like the New Testament churches be based in homes rather than buildings; centered around potluck meals, Bible Study; and prayer; 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 household 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 and gifted with the authority to say whatever we want to whomever we want and they will listen and call it wise. So, like Simeon 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. May we, like Anna, a crazy old widow, shout it out. We have something to say! Amen.
