Let Young and Old Praise God

Let young and old praise God

This week has seen the celebration of the International Day of Older People, which we marked in Cambridge with a reception. It also sees the coming up and return of students to the Universities. Suddenly our city centre streets are crowded by the passing bikes and the animated voices of the young.

I want then for us to today to celebrate how God speaks to his people through the young and the old alike and what that means for our life together as a church from 0-100 years, focussing on the reading from Luke’s gospel.

 Mary and Joseph arrive at the Temple in Jerusalem 40 days after the birth of Jesus: because they were poor they offered the sacrifice permitted to poor people — a pair of pigeons or doves. But this visit wasn’t just about Mary, the mother — it was also about Jesus, the baby. The Jews of course regarded all first-born creatures as consecrated to God: this meant that all their first-born animals were sacrificed. But when it came to children, a payment was made instead. Jewish law didn’t actually require the child to be taken to the Temple, just the payment, but it seems that Mary and Joseph wanted to present Jesus in the Temple as a way of acknowledging him as belonging to God.

And here is Simeon in the Temple. He recognises the baby Jesus as the Christ, the one who is light, as glory being brought to God’s people Israel.  But, more than that, he recognises Christ as the light to reveal the truth about God to the Gentiles — to all the nations of the earth.

This is a significant story because, like most of Luke’s gospel, it overturns the usual expectations.  It’s not about the young and strong-headed — the innovators, the go-getters, the strong, the powerful, the sort of people who get to where they want to be through ruthless ambition.  This is about the old as well as the young. By the time Luke gets to the end of his first two chapters almost all his hearers will have been able to identify with someone in the story. We’ve met the older couple surprised to have a child at last. We’ve seen a young girl even more surprised to have a baby so soon. And she and her husband come to the Temple prepared to thank God and make the sacrifice. Now in this passage we have the old man and woman , waiting their turn to die, worshipping God night and day, praying for the salvation of God’s people. Luke wants to draw together all people, young and old, women and men, rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles. God’s love is for all. And it’s revealed in the young and the old. God’s light and glory comes through young and old alike.

Of course, old age can bring bitterness — old people can sometimes become very self-centred  and deaf to the needs and voices of others— but here in Simeon and Anna we have two old people to be respected, people to learn from: the old who are wise and gracious, those who are open to God’s revelation. They had kept their eyes focused on God — that is where their hope and confidence lay. And now they had their eyes opened and sang the song which told of God’s glory now revealed which changes everything.

It’s a reminder to us that whether we’re young or old — or indeed middle aged (!) — each day we are becoming the people we will be if we live to old age. If you’re old, what sort of old person are you? If you’re younger, what sort of old person might you become? The truth is that it all depends on where our hearts and minds are focused day by day. 

Simeon was an old man. We don’t know anything more about his life but he was clearly someone who’d clung on to the hope of the promised Messiah -the saviour — we are told of Simeon’s years of waiting. And in that I assume there had often been places of pain, questions, doubt — it must have been so hard clinging on to God’s promise week after week, month after month, year after year. And yet he was someone who had kept his heart and mind focused on God and lifted his eyes beyond life’s immediate noise and distractions to see and hear God, to be confident in God — and to worship. And now there’s joy. There’s promise fulfilled as Simeon recognises the glory of the Christ-child and gives thanks.  

And let’s look too at Anna, 84 years old. Again we don’t know much about her, but we know she has suffered the pain and grief of bereavement: there are hints here of tragedy in a young woman’s life — married for only 7 years before she was widowed — her security and happiness taken from her. And who knows what it had been like for her all those years in the Temple, fasting and praying. But in it all, like Simeon, her heart and mind have stayed focused on God. Confident — waiting in hope.

In a collection of essays gathered by MHA entitled Crying in the Wilderness, there is a chapter on ‘We have a ministry’, telling the stories of older members who have brought life to churches where to lack young people was expected to sound the death knell of that church. But through the hospitality and service offered to others of their age group in their communities, as well as the cycle of worship and prayer maintained regularly, they have ensured that the flame of Christian service burns bright where once its candles flickered. No doubt a similar audit of this congregation would reveal how much voluntary work is done here and elsewhere in the name of the church to serve the needs of others, far and wide. And that is a very Methodist focus, arising out of our reading of the Bible, to proclaim Christ’s name in social righteousness.

Simeon and Anna are two older people who are examples of ministries of prayer, prophecy and service. They pursue unspectacular ministries away from popular acclaim or notice. They offer a timely reminder of the ways in which older people have always exercised ministries. How do we as a church encourage and develop such ministries? One prayer once heard read: “we thank you Lord for older people, who have a given a lifetime of service” as if their time had now past. No way!

The spirituality fostered by older people speaks across the generations to all of us. It challenges the young people here this morning to patience and faithfulness in worship and service when all around there are temptations to give up on faith when the going gets too tough.

 But their mature years enable older people to reflect on those things which really matter. I offer just four for us to think about:

·        T he need to receive and give love – the challenge of the loneliness and social separation that many older people experience but some younger people too, especially when they are away from familiar surrounds. Let’s look out for such people and make sure the church fellowship is in touch.

·         The need to sustain hope – when so many hopes have been dashed and disappointments felt. Our pastoral care is so important especially at times of difficulty and anxiety.

·        The need for something to believe in when so many people have let them down or ignore their cries for help. The church offers opportunities through its  Christian Education programmes for open discussion, the raising of questions in honesty and compassion.  

·        The need for creativity, to develop skills and talents, to make something of oneself and the world. Life Long Learning includes taking up new opportunities, maybe learning to play a musical instrument or quilting or woodworking, for creative skills to be fostered.

Growing older can mean a journey into submissiveness. But it can also be a time of ripening and fruitfulness. Is that where the expression ‘the autumn of their life’ comes from? When dull leaves become glorious in their autumn hues? George MacDonald wrote:

“Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk” 

Just remember that Fred Pratt Green flourished as a Christian poet and hymn writer in retirement in an MHA home. Just remember that Sibelius and Vaughan Williams wrote some of their best symphonies when very elderly.

So let us value the gifts of older people and promote their active well-being. Let us make it part of our church life to encourage inter-generational work which brings young and old together to worship and learn, to share in outreach and service. Let us challenge ageism whenever and wherever we encounter it in our society.

For God’s glory is revealed through the infant Christ, through the children the adult Christ takes up, and through the elderly keeping faithful watch in the Temple, listening for the word of God for themselves and for their people.