Being Church in Strange Times – 103

 
HOMILY

'Hey, Alter'
Short Talk for Ecumenical Vesper Service
Nacht der Religionen, November 2021
Isaiah 46:3-4

Don't grow old!'

I heard this comment several times when I worked as a chaplain at a home for the elderly. Many of the residents would talk about how difficult old age was. They referred to aches and pains, various kinds of incapacity and lack of mobility which made life difficult. But they weren't only concerned with the physical constraints of old age. They also talked about their sense of feeling useless; they didn't feel valued and saw themselves as a burden on others with nothing to offer to those around them. This is sometimes the way old age is viewed in western cultures. The focus tends to be on the young; everyone wants to be young and to stay young, and, intentionally or unintentionally, old people can be disregarded.

This is not true in all cultures. In many African and Asian cultures, there is a deep respect for the elders in the community. They are considered wise and experienced in life and often they are the people with power to make decisions. In fact, in some cultures it tends to be the young whose voice is not heard. One of my sons worked for a time with a charity in a rural area of northern India which sought to empower young people to participate in the life and decision making of their local communities.

In all cultures, there can be be tensions between the generations. Sometimes this is simply due to incomprehension. Huge changes in social attitudes and technological advances can make communication between the generations difficult and both old and young can be somewhat mystified by a world they cannot recognize or understand. As one young person put it in a poem written to an older person: 'My old's your new, and your old my unknown.' There can also sometimes be a tendency for the old to look down on the young and the young to dismiss the old as irrelevant.

In our reading from Isaiah, God reminds the people of Israel that he is with them from birth to death. Indeed, God's knowledge and care for us begins even before our birth. As the Psalmist says: 'It was you who formed me in my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.' (Psalm 139: 13-14). God tells Jeremiah: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.' (Jeremiah 1:5). God is with us throughout our lives and the God who knows and loves us before we are born will not desert us in old age. 'Even to your old age I am he, even when you turn grey I will carry you.' (Isaiah 46:4).

We see God's concern with people of all generations throughout the Bible. In Jewish culture it was the old who were revered, but there are many striking examples in scripture of God's care for the young. God tells Jeremiah not to fear his message will be ignored because he is too young. 'Do not be afraid,' God says, 'for I am with you to deliver you.' (Jeremiah 1:8). Of course in western cultures, we highly value youth; the rights of children are protected and children are considered to be important and valued members of society, but children in Jesus' day had no status or rights. When children get too near to Jesus, the disciples see them simply as a nuisance and try to send them away. They are shocked that Jesus takes the young children in his arms and blesses them.

At the same time, the old in the early Christian communities continued to be revered and respected. They exercised leadership especially in teaching and counselling, and they were held up as role models, exemplifying faith, patience and hope, even when circumstances seem hopeless. The young are encouraged to learn from the wisdom, experience and patient faith of the old. Just as God worked with the young Jeremiah despite his youth, so God continues to work in the lives of the elderly, sometimes in surprising ways. They are never dismissed as useless or a burden on others, but held up as examples of fruitful life and faith.

Often young and old are brought together in God's purposes. Soon we will be celebrating Christmas and we will hear the story of God's Spirit working in the lives of the old couple Zechariah and Elizabeth whose son John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus. God's Spirit also works through the young woman Mary who gives birth to the Christ child. Young and old are involved in the new thing God is doing. As the prophet Joel declares, God's Spirit is poured out on old and young alike: 'I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions.' (Joel 2:28).

So we can all be encouraged: we are never beyond God's love and care, whether we are old or young, and whatever the emphasis of our particular culture.

This is also a challenge for the church. Do we express God's love for all generations within the church? Is everyone welcome? Does everyone have a part to play? Can we learn from one another?

I am reminded again of the home for the elderly where I worked. Occasionally we would have visits from school children. The older residents were brought alive by their engagement with the young students; at the same time the children learned many things from listening to the memories of the older people. Everyone benefited from such genuine encounters between old and young.

We all like to be with people like ourselves; to be with those of similar backgrounds and interests and perhaps also those of similar age to us. But the Church is certainly the poorer if it is not inter-generational. All barriers are to be broken down in Christ, including barriers between old and young. God's care for us continues throughout our lives, whatever our age may be, and we are called to model that care in our relationships with one another. So let us treasure the old and the young among us, learning together more of God's grace in Christ, knowing we are all held in God's love.

'Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
carried from the womb:
even to your old age I am he,
even when you turn grey I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.'
(Isaiah 46:3-4)