Introduction

        I was flattered no end when Pastor Ruth designated me as the preacher today until I read my assigned topic: Abundant Life Among the Elderly.  The implication is obvious.  However, I considered it a challenge.  Indeed, it gave me the exposure and the opportunity to explore a subject that is less than appealing for most people.

         When I shared this story to my cell group mates last Friday, it was like a punch line creatively delivered by Eddie Murphy.  Everybody laughed.  It was more than a punch line, in fact.  It was like a right hook that went straight to my jaw.  The word elderly is obviously associated with “old” or “old age.”

 Old Age

       What is old age?  Is it a state of mind?  Does it start at 45, 55 or the compulsory retirement age of 65 years.

       A social scientist suggested a way of classifying old age.  I read this some years back and I am no longer certain of the exact intervals, but it is something like this:

 45 to 50 years                -        new old

51 to 60 years                -        young old

61 to 70 years                -        near old

71 to 80 years                -        mature old

81 and above                 -        who cares?

        Isn’t that nice! Instead of just being branded as old when you reach 45, you can fit into any of these nicely worded classifications.  In this definition, people 81 years and above get to be marginalized.  They become a cost or an economic burden.  Is that a valid social rule?  The universal retirement age is 65 years.  How did we arrive at that figure?

        Lawrence Whalley in his book Brain Ageing narrates the following historical context of retirement: from antiquity to the industrial age, retirement at a particular age was an option open only to affluent Europeans. Everyone else worked until they were no longer able to do so. The retirement age of sixty-five years is usually attributed to Germany’s Chancellor Bismarck who, when pressed to pay pensions to war veterans, reluctantly agreed. His advisers then queried when these veterans might become eligible for their pension.  ‘How old are they when they die?’ Bismarck is reputed to have demanded. ‘Around sisty-six,’ came the reply. ‘Then they get the pension at sixty-five,’ he retorted. [p38].

        One distinguished professor devoted his life to the study of dementia. In his early writings he divided dementia into a ‘pre-senile’ type (before age sixty-five) and a ‘senile’ type (after that age). Later on, at age 65, he decided that ‘early’ dementia occurred up to the age of seventy, and in even later publications, seventy-five became the dividing line. As he passed his own retirement age and continued his research, he chose to divide the two types of dementia at age eighty. Like beauty, the question of who is an old person can lie in the eye of the beholder [Lawrence Whalley, p.38]. 

         In the Bible, old age takes a different meaning.  In Genesis, we are introduced to some extraordinary ages: Adam, 930 years. Seth, 912 years. Enos, 905 years. Cainan, 910 years. Mahalaleel, 895 years. Enoch, 365 years. Methuselah, 969 years. Lamech, 777 years. And Noah, 950 years.

        Whatever it means and whatever context it takes, there are social realities that we have to face, regarding old age.  For example, insurance companies do not insure people for health services starting at age 60, an age when people start feeling the need for it.  When an average worker hits the age of 45, it is difficult for that person to find a job.  Professional basketball players start losing their value when they hit the age of 35.  They are considered old.  Showbiz personalities lose their star value at a much younger age.  Skin starts to wrinkle.  Hair drops or loses its original color.  Voice becomes less flexible.  Stamina becomes a problem.  Isn’t that depressing.

Age in its Spiritual Context

        When taken from its physical dimensions and out of its spiritual context, ‘old age’ or ‘growing old’ can definitely be very depressing.  Fortunately, there is a spiritual dimension of ‘old age.’ Let us take some verses in the Bible.

        In Leviticus 19:32, the Lord says, “rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord.” God commanded the Israelites to honor the elderly [NIVLA, 1997]

        In Joshua 13:1, the Lord said to Joshua, who was old and well advanced in years, “you are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.”  Joshua was getting old – he was between 85 and 100 years of age at this time. God, however, still had work for him to do. Believers are never allowed to retire from God’s service. Those past retirement age should not assume that age alone disqualifies or excuses them from serving God. [NIVLA, 1997].

        Psalm 92:12-15 praise and rewards maturity saying “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

        Palm trees are known for their long life. To flourish like palm trees means to stand tall and to live long. The cedars of Lebanon grew to 120 feet in height and up to 30 feet in circumference; thus, they were solid, strong, and immovable. The psalmist saw believers as upright, strong, and unmoved by the winds of circumstance. Honoring God is not limited to young people who seem to have unlimited strength and energy. Even in old age, devoted believers can produce spiritual fruit. There are many faithful older people who continue to have a fresh outlook and can teach us from a lifetime experience of serving God. [NIVLA, 1997, p1007]

        There are lessons that we can learn from these verses.  In old age comes the wisdom that goes with experience.  We must carry that wisdom to bear spiritual fruits and experience God’s abundance.

       I came across a survey in the Internet.  When I joined the survey, I became respondent #6,523.  The question goes like this: “In general, the BEST YEARS of a person's life are one's pre-teens, teens, 20s, 30s and 40s, 50s and early 60s, and late 60s and older.  The respondent profile is not known.  Respondents come from different parts of the world.  Given the size of the sample, the assumptions that are normally required for the survey to be valid no longer apply.  The results should therefore have a high degree of statistical confidence.

       The results: THE BEST YEARS OF A PERSON’S LIFE? 5% say Pre-teens; 8% say Teens; 22% say 20s; 33% say in the 30s and 40s; 19% say in the 50s and early 60s; and 14% say in the late 60s and older.  More than one-third of respondents say that the best years of a person’s life are in the 50s and beyond. These are the “feeling good years.”  Isn’t that marvelous?

         That survey finding cuts deep into what God tells us about old age.  Maturity is a gateway for spiritual abundance.  God intends it to be that way.

“Feeling Good Years” Population

        That is great news for many of us.  You will notice that in this congregation, many belong to those “feeling good years.”  The average age of this worshiping congregation is 35 years. I will not be surprised if the average age at this time is in the range of 38 to 45 years.  This means that a big slice of this congregation belongs to the “feeling good years” when abundance flows freely and magnanimously from God.

        From a macro perspective, 18% of the Philippines’ population in 2002 (14 million) belong to the age range 45 years and up.  This is expected to increase to 19% in year 2005 (16 million).  It used to be 15% in 1995 (11 million).  What this suggests is that the future will see the expansion in the number and proportion of old persons in our population.

         What is the significance of this development?  A lot.  If it is a growing cluster in the population, if it is the “feeling good years”, and if it is an important gateway to spiritual abundance, should we not therefore witness, at this time, an explosion in the population of church goers? Should we not therefore see more believers shouting hossanas?  And should we not therefore see a growth in the number of worshippers in UCCP-EMC?

         Our statistics, however, show that attendance in our worship service and bible studies for adults, while relatively high compared to many other UCCP local churches, has been rather flat, without any substantial growth.  What is happening to people who belong to those “feeling good years?” Many of them are not feeling good.  Many of them want to spend the remaining years of their lives fully retired.  Many of them just opted not to use that gateway to spiritual abundance.

         I have many friends stuck in that limbo, belonging to the “feeling good years” but are not really feeling good, quick to anger, irritable and self-centered.  “I have done my bit for society and for the church, let the younger people carry on,” is a common remark.

        I have a good friend, now retired, who has grown bitter towards society and life in general.  He used to be vibrant, full of energy, and had a positive outlook in life.  When he retired, he took his money and put it in the bank and an investment company and lived on the interest.  Because of the material abundance and self-centered outlook in life, he became suspicious of the intentions of friends and colleagues. 

        He started withdrawing from public life and limited his interaction with very few close friends.  He lost his creativity, his craving for challenges and his willingness to share. One day, the investment company where he placed the bulk of his retirement money closed shop.  He lost the monthly interest that supported his lifestyle. Worst, he lost many of his friends whom he convinced to invest in this investment company.

        I have a colleague in the University who is now retired from his main job.  On retirement, he bought a new house and shares in the best golf courses.  He has an excellent tan because he plays golf almost everyday. He is successful in bringing down his handicap.  However, I noticed a change in attitude.  He lost his humility and displays an arrogance that is repulsive to the ordinary person.  Impatient.  Irritable.  In a sense, he appears lost.

Blessings of Old Age

        In Shakespeare’s King Lear, there is a dialogue that dramatizes the struggle of an old man, not with the material things that he lost, but with the vicissitudes that come with old age. 

        Helen M. Luke, in her book “Old Age,” says that in all the poetry of the world, there could be no more profoundly beautiful, wise, and tender expression of the essence of old age, of the kind of life to which one may come in the last years if one has, like King Lear, lived through and accepted all the passion and suffering, the darkness and light, the beauty and horror of one’s experience of the world and of oneself. P. 46

         As a man grows old, his body weakens, his powers fail, his sight perhaps is dimmed, his hearing fades, or his power to move around is taken from him. In one way or another, he is “imprisoned,” and the moment of choice will come to him. Will he fight this confining process or will he go to meet it in the spirit of King Lear – embrace it with love, with eagerness even?

        Embracing this confining process allows us to free ourselves from the tensions of the past and present, and to make best use of the transformative process that goes with old age.  This transformation process is very much evident in the experience of Paul as narrated in our text.

         In Philippians 1: 12-14, Paul realizes that his current circumstances weren’t as important as what he did with them. Turning a bad situation into a good one, he reached out to the Roman soldiers who made up the palace guard and encouraged those Christians who were afraid of persecution.

        Paul is telling us that we face many challenges  –financial burdens, family conflict, church conflict, loss of our jobs, and aging.  How we act in such situations will reflect what we believe.

        Paul’s whole purpose in life was to speak out boldly for Christ and to become more like him. Thus Paul could confidently say that dying would be even better than living, because in death he would be removed from world troubles, and he would see Christ face to face (1 John 3:2, 3).

       Paul is telling us that if we’re not ready to die, then we’re not ready to live.  When we make certain of our eternal destiny, we will be free to serve – devoting our life to what really counts, without fear of death.

Spritual Alchemy

        This is perhaps one of the blessings of old age.  It is a gateway for a virtual transformation, for spiritual alchemy. The moment of choice naturally comes. The choice, is “whether we will let go of everything else so that a new person will be born.” For those who recognize the moment, who choose to let go, old age becomes freedom, and the opportunity to be born again in Christ and to embrace the abundance that God gives.

         The forum “Magtanong sa Pastor” started last Sunday.  Pastors present were Pastors Eman, Teh and Cesar.  Pastor Alampay was also there.  The UCM members, mostly senior citizens, were there.  And they all exhibited the enthusiasm of someone hungry for Christ.  They wanted to learn more, and develop a deeper understanding of Christian faith and governance in our church.  The gift of age allowed them to be less fearful of time, less conscious of the time (it was past 12:00 noon when we adjourned) and less conscious of material pursuits.

        It reminds me of a part in Alice in Wonderland that goes this way:

 “You are old, Father William,” the young man said,

“And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head –

Do you think, at your age, it is right?”

 

“In my youth,” Father William replied to his son,

“I feared it might injure the brain;

But now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again.”   P114

         Taking advantage of the enthusiasm of the UCM members, Pastor Alampay challenged the UCM members present in the forum to become theologians, to become the teachers instead of the students. 

        He narrated a story about a man who was conspicuously attending services in a Church in Mindoro.  I hope I do justice to this story.  I cannot narrate it in the same way that Pastor Alampay did.  I will do my best.

        One Sunday, the man finally had the courage to approach one of the elders and asked about redemption and Jesus Christ.  The elder, not confident enough about what he knows and not wanting to give the man the wrong doctrines and information, told the man to wait for the Administrative Pastor who will be arriving next Sunday.

        Sunday came and the elder immediately talked the Administrative Pastor.  He said, Pastor, do you remember that man who has been coming to Church but was hesitant to worship with us?  Finally, he approached and asked me questions about Christ.  I said, it is best to wait for you so you can give the proper message.

        So they looked for the man.  When they looked for him, they learned that the man died a few days earlier.

         The man missed the blessings through Gods word.  But perhaps, the desire itself was enough for him to be forgiven, to know Christ.  The elder also missed the blessing of sharing God’s word, the abundance that flows to everyone whenever we share the word of God.

        I would like to reiterate the challenge made by Pastor Alampay to the UCM members, this time to all those who consider themselves in the mature stages of their life.  Be theologians and accept the gift of sharing and the abundance that God shares for those who work in His name.