Posted Tuesday 1 February 2011
From Christmas to Quinquagesima, the Gospel readings for Sundays weave a tapestry of epiphanies that demonstrate Jesus as the Messiah. He is revealed in the homage of the shepherds and the Magi; by the Holy Spirit at his Baptism; in the call of the first disciples; in miracles and in teaching; at the Transfiguration. At Candlemas, the sought-for Lord suddenly comes to his temple and is recognised by faithful Israel in the ancient figures of Simeon and Anna.
Last month was my fifty-ninth birthday, and I was feeling pretty aged myself – until I encountered The Senior Canon (82). “Ha!” quoth he without trace of sympathy, “You’re only a boy!” I’m not sure whether that cheered me up or not, but it did set me thinking about the extraordinary contribution of so many of our older members to the life of the Church. I think of my Lay Reader Emeritus, at ninety-two still a valued member of the ministry team; of the two ladies of similar vintage who host boozy (er – I think that should probably read therapeutic) lunches for young soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq; of the octogenarians who knit “healing blankets” for the comforting of others, who keep the altar linen pristine, who staff the coffee bar and act as honorary grannies for the crèche; of the many who act as readers, intercessors, sidespersons, Eucharistic ministers, in our services. And that’s only a small selection from within my own congregation. They are always around, faithful, diligent, reliable – and we have a terrible tendency to take them for granted. Worse, there is a kind of condescension that sees our oldest members as passive, to be ministered to, rather than ministering themselves.
So, in the month of Candlemas, let’s turn aside for a moment from the Church’s perpetual pursuit of “youth” to celebrate all the Annas and Simeons in our midst, who keep the faith in season and out, whose commitment is such an encouragement to others (even striplings of 59), without whom the Church simply could not function. Luke’s touching description of Simeon holding and blessing the infant Jesus is a wonderful metaphor for the way in which one generation nurtures another in the faith. Let’s rejoice in it.
The Revd Canon David Bayne
Category: Thought for the Month
