TIME MARCHES ON

A SERMON FOR THE SUNDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

Forty days after our Lord’s birth, Mary and Joseph accompany the Divine Infant to the temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the law of Moses.  They are met by two old people, Simeon and Anna.  They both hold the Little Infant to their hearts and prophesy about him and his Mother, so that Joseph and Mary marveled at the things they spoke.

We should take note that both these people were of advanced age, senior citizens, if you like, of the chosen people.  Old age is an interesting thing, and in the natural way of things perhaps the closest we have to a picture of eternity.  On this earth, old age represents experience, wisdom, prudence, counsel.  In heaven, we are given a vision of Christ on his throne surrounded by twenty-four old men, with long, venerable white beards, who offer incense and their own golden crowns to the Ancient of Days himself.  Is it any wonder then that Mary and Joseph marveled at the things that Simeon and Anna said?

We are given various examples in Holy Scripture of what happens when we ignore the advice of our elders, or worse yet, mock them in their advanced age and the infirmities which accompany it.  The son of King Solomon, for example, chose to ignore the advice of his elderly counselors, and even derided them.  He ended up losing most of his kingdom, and the twelve tribes of Israel were divided forever. Then there’s the story of the old prophet Eliseus, whose legs weren’t quite what they used to be, and who was having a hard time walking up a hill.  He was surrounded by a bunch of little boys who mocked him, crying out “Get a move on, baldy!” or words to that effect.  Eliseus the Prophet was not a man to be trifled with, and he cursed the boys. Immediately, two bears came out of the woods and ripped 42 of the boys to pieces.  You children should think twice before making fun of dear old grandpa and granny!

These old people in our home are the ones who once looked after us when we were small and young.  Now it is our turn to look after them.  “Son, support the old age of your father,” says Holy Scripture.  Be good to your parents and grandparents, and make their last days happy and comfortable, repaying the debt you owe them out of love. Very few old people make it to their eternal reward without going through some physical or mental suffering, and they rely on us to help them through it.  I know a man over on the east coast who has declined marriage, travel, and full-time employment so that he can stay home to look after his aging mother who has alzheimer’s and his 99-year-old father, a veteran of World War II, who is now blind and can hardly walk.  He seeks no praise for this, but lovingly accepts it as his filial duty—he’s an example to us all.  Our old folks at home have many needs and infirmities, and they look to us for help and comfort, and above all, a little love, as their recompense for all their long years of labor and hardships.  We have no idea how much they appreciate a little sacrifice on our part so that we have the money to give them a little gift as they sit in the corner.

And if you are already “elderly”, an “old person,” please don’t think you can just sit back and enjoy your old age in peace and quiet.  Admittedly, you now wear the crown of dignity which Scripture speaks about.  But you’ve probably already experienced what another passage of Holy Scripture calls old age: “The years of which thou shalt say: They please me not!”  Oh yes, we know what that means: my aching joints please me not, the light of my eyes is dimmed, my ears refuse to hear, my hands and feet have lost their strength, I can’t even get a good night’s sleep any more…. Old age is not just a crown of dignity, but can also be a real crown of thorns.  And it’s not just the cross of our infirmities that weigh us down so heavily, is it?  Sometimes there’s the cross of abandonment that goes with it.  Former friends, many of our family members, are all dead now, our children must take care of their own families; how easy it is to feel deserted and forsaken.

A wise man once said: “I am never less alone than when I am alone.”  Our two old people in today’s Gospel must have felt this way.  They are in the evening of their lives, missing their friends and family.  They are alone, and yet they are not lonesome. Company was never missing because they always felt themselves to be in the company of God.  They paid him daily visits in his own house, the temple of Jerusalem, and God in his turn was the most welcome guest in their own soul.  If we have God for our friend, we will never be lonesome.  If we sanctify our old age as Simeon and Anna did, “who,” says the Gospel, “never left the Temple, worshiping with prayers night and day,” how divinely beautiful will be the sunset of our lives.

I remember one particular Christmas night as a child.  It was a white Christmas that year, and we trudged through the snow from our home to the church for Midnight Mass, my grandfather slowly taking each step and leaning on his walking stick.  He had converted to the Catholic faith relatively late in life, but seemed to love making up for his years outside the Church by visiting the Blessed Sacrament and being in God’s presence as often as he could.  What a wonderful opportunity the elderly have to give such a good example to their children and grandchildren.  And what a wonderful example we then have before us, as we see our old folks holding the rosary in their trembling hands, the chain that links them to Jesus and Mary as they slowly walk their way to the grave—as do we all.

The year is coming to an end.  Tomorrow, we will distract ourselves with vain amusements as the clock of life slowly ticks away, echoing our heartbeats.  Tomorrow, 2018 will end.  And as that clock keeps ticking, it’s just one day closer to the last day of our life. Let us pray that we will have the courage and the patience and the fortitude to use our old age to help others in that very special way that the good Lord gives us along with all those ailments in our latter years.  By good example and good advice based on experience and virtue, by having a great deal of patience for the foibles of others, and for own increasing aches and pains.  Sunset is often the most beautiful time of the day. Let’s act and prepare now to make sure the same can be said for the sunset of our own lives and the lives of others.  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  Amen!