Simeon, Anna and what they remind me of the elderly
2 February 2010 by a chip off the old block
One of the gre
at benefits of following an orderly reading of the Scriptures round the Church Calendar is that it brings to our attention those parts of the Scriptures that we're not necessarily familiar with. I think highlighting a limited portion also helps one focus on that particular portion and thus improve understanding. Since becoming part of an Anglican church community here in Oxford that's exactly how I feel like many Sundays. This past Sunday was no exception.
at benefits of following an orderly reading of the Scriptures round the Church Calendar is that it brings to our attention those parts of the Scriptures that we're not necessarily familiar with. I think highlighting a limited portion also helps one focus on that particular portion and thus improve understanding. Since becoming part of an Anglican church community here in Oxford that's exactly how I feel like many Sundays. This past Sunday was no exception.The reading (for Candlemas) from Luke 2.22-38 reminded me of the place of the elderly in our communities. The text talks about Simeon and Anna, who have both been expecting the arrival of the Savour in the world. Luke tells us Simeon was a righteous and devout man who enjoyed a vibrant relationship with God in this old age. Anna also lived in the Temple daily worshipping in His presence.
The passage made me think of the important place and role of the elderly in our communities. To be honest when I think of them I usually see them as a "fragile" group of people who need to be cared for, treated with special kindness etc. With this mindset they're the ones who do moreof the taking from the church and the rest of the community do more of the giving. ...almost as if they need the church community more than the community need them. In a sense this might be true - we do need to show a special concern and care for the elderly.
However this is not the whole picture. They need not be the takers only, they do have a lot to give to the community. Simeon and Anna gave shared with the world words of faith, the value of faithful expectation from God and recognition of God's work in their midst. They lived as witnesses to God's faithfulness and God used their committment for long years as instruments of his grace and wisdom. Anna may have easily been seen as a public nuisance by many at the Temple. "This old woman who doesn't do anything but just talk!" I'm almost sure she didn't look as pretty as the Christian films and iconography's depiction her either. Yet both her and Simeon fulfilled an important role in and for the Jerusalem community.
It's a pity that we do not have a significant group of elderly in our churches in Turkey. The church is very young and many of even the oldest members are Christians for a few decades. Yet the church needs its own elderly today as signs of God's faithfulness and instruments of his wisdom. They give the church her recent history, which is actually God's history and milestones to remember and celebrate (or sometimes mourn) in the community. This also reminds me that God is still in the very early stages of forming his community of believers in Turkey. The church is not "complete" yet in the demographic sense. It is still not at that stage where there are significant faithful elderly who can contribute and point to God in a way that us younger one's can't. I should hope (and pray!) that it will most probably come to that stage in the next two to three decades. It will be interesting to see how the church will be blessed from their existence. It will definitely be a wiser and more balanced community, don't you think?
Therefore I pray a weird prayer today and say "God, mature us, give an increase to our days, age your church and make it a place that welcomes the contribution of the elderly. Amen."
The passage made me think of the important place and role of the elderly in our communities. To be honest when I think of them I usually see them as a "fragile" group of people who need to be cared for, treated with special kindness etc. With this mindset they're the ones who do moreof the taking from the church and the rest of the community do more of the giving. ...almost as if they need the church community more than the community need them. In a sense this might be true - we do need to show a special concern and care for the elderly.
However this is not the whole picture. They need not be the takers only, they do have a lot to give to the community. Simeon and Anna gave shared with the world words of faith, the value of faithful expectation from God and recognition of God's work in their midst. They lived as witnesses to God's faithfulness and God used their committment for long years as instruments of his grace and wisdom. Anna may have easily been seen as a public nuisance by many at the Temple. "This old woman who doesn't do anything but just talk!" I'm almost sure she didn't look as pretty as the Christian films and iconography's depiction her either. Yet both her and Simeon fulfilled an important role in and for the Jerusalem community.
It's a pity that we do not have a significant group of elderly in our churches in Turkey. The church is very young and many of even the oldest members are Christians for a few decades. Yet the church needs its own elderly today as signs of God's faithfulness and instruments of his wisdom. They give the church her recent history, which is actually God's history and milestones to remember and celebrate (or sometimes mourn) in the community. This also reminds me that God is still in the very early stages of forming his community of believers in Turkey. The church is not "complete" yet in the demographic sense. It is still not at that stage where there are significant faithful elderly who can contribute and point to God in a way that us younger one's can't. I should hope (and pray!) that it will most probably come to that stage in the next two to three decades. It will be interesting to see how the church will be blessed from their existence. It will definitely be a wiser and more balanced community, don't you think?
Therefore I pray a weird prayer today and say "God, mature us, give an increase to our days, age your church and make it a place that welcomes the contribution of the elderly. Amen."
