P. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.
What does Scripture proclaim to the elderly?
Scripture primarily proclaims the dignity of old age. Even the life stage of advanced age is part of God's design, having its value in God's plan for a specific person.
At the same time, Scripture hints at the appropriate content of old age. What it should be filled with. An elderly person should bear witness to the faithfulness of the Lord:
“... they will remain fresh and flourishing,
to declare that the Lord is upright,
he is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him” (Ps 92:16).
To praise God is indeed the task of humanity in general, the meaning of human life (cf. e.g., Ps 30). With the coming of salvation in Christ – the Son of God, this task of ours becomes even clearer.1
In a very understandable way, Scripture shows beautiful examples of elderly people. Let’s mention just three of them:
Eighty-year-old Barzillai (2 Sam 19:32–40) willingly renounces the offered position and wealth. He is an example of an old person who is humble and acknowledges his limitations, wanting to remain faithful to his environment and peacefully accept the approaching end of his life. He redirects tempting honors and advantages to others.
Ninety-year-old Eleazar (2 Macc 6:18–31) undergoes a martyr's death for his faithfulness to Jewish laws, refusing to set a bad example for the younger and wary to “bring a disgraceful stain upon his old age.”
The prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36–38) is also an amazing example:
“There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was of great age; and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
and she was a widow of about eighty-four years,
who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
Anna (similar to Simon, mentioned in the gospel shortly before her) exemplifies the posture of Israel at the end of times, waiting for the Messiah's coming. This is also evidenced by her widowhood (she did not remarry) and her constant presence in the temple. Her age of 84 years, thus 7 x 12 (both of these numbers are dear in the Bible), indicates that her life reaches its peak with the meeting with the Messiah. Upon closer contemplation we observe:
- Anna experienced a beautiful marriage; even as a widow, she remains faithful to her husband, which held great significance in Judaism;
- her marriage, however, is a chapter long closed, followed by another stage of life, and a very long one,
- that is characterized by intense piety (constant presence in the temple), a direct focus on God; Anna is increasingly and clearly for Him, belongs to Him...
- at the same time, Anna has a lively participation in the lives of others (she notices the arrival of the Holy Family), she lives the faith of God's people, awaits the Messiah (only for this will she be able to “speak of that child to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem”),
- she was rewarded!
It is noteworthy here: late Judaism and along with it Christianity have a distinctive relationship with history and the flow of time. They believe that history will ultimately culminate in a great divine intervention, an era of the Messiah, the kingdom of God.
Pagan thinkers look longingly to the past (Platonic conception understands truth as a "remembrance" of the world of ideas), Hellenistic mysteries strive to transport man out of the flow of time somewhere "beyond" (ecstasy, myth), while others find such transport and momentary forgetfulness through pleasure. All of them perceive the flow of time as something malevolent, hostile. But Jews and we Christians are convinced that time works in our favor! The future that God has promised and is preparing for us is approaching, and it far surpasses anything we could ever experience. (The Second Vatican Council emphasized that this does not mean we hesitate to contribute to good works here on earth!)
Scripture also provides the elderly with specific advice, for example, not to speak long at a feast and ruin others' enjoyment (Sir 32:3n.).2 A very instructive passage is from the Letter to Titus:
“Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.
Likewise, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine; they are to teach what is good;
and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,
to be self-controlled, pure, managing their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands,
that the word of God may not be reviled.” (Titus 2:2–5.)
This certainly concerns especially that first phase of old age, as we mentioned at the beginning of the article. It is clear that – although often generally overlooked – old age also has its temptations, which are not as blatant as those of young people, but are no less dangerous and adverse.
Scripture offers the elderly encouragement as well. It describes salvation as the Lord's care for His people into old age (Isa 46:4). St. Paul, in the hardships of the apostolic ministry, comforts himself by stating that outwardly we are wasting away, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day, and thus we are maturing for eternal life (2 Cor 4:16–18). Advanced age prompts the elderly person to personally relate these words of Scripture to themselves, and they then become a comfort to him. But here too applies: only where the word of Scripture is received in faith, does it infuse life, hope, strength, and dispel fear.
J. Hřebík, at the conclusion of his study, shows that the negative aspects of old age are – similar to Abraham's barrenness and Jesus' death on the cross – a void space for God's action: “The victory of life over death cannot be achieved by a person driven by a desire for self-sufficiency, trying to penetrate the divine realm and gain a means to prolong life; life that does not end in death, life that surpasses all dreams and desires, is, however, granted by the free initiative of divine love when one completely surrenders to it in total weakness.”3 And precisely those positive aspects of old age elevate the mind of the believer to God as the source of every blessing (cf. James 1:17).
And at the end of this paragraph, I will add a somewhat provocative thought that somewhat “discredits” our entire discussion about old age: after all, Scripture proclaims salvation in which old age does not play any role! Christ came for all without distinction, so among those who believed in him, it holds: “there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female (we can add: neither old nor young); for you are all one in Christ Jesus...” (Gal 3:28–29). Let us definitely believe: old age neither significantly privileges nor disqualifies. There is no reason to take it too seriously on the journey to the kingdom of God.
What does Scripture proclaim to those who help the elderly?
For those who care for the elderly, it is crucial to first accept the fundamental message of Scripture and believe in the dignity of old age in God's eyes. To view old age in the same way as God does.
When the Decalogue commands to have a proper relationship with parents (and thus with the elderly in general), the imperative is used: “Honor...” (Ex 20:12). Similar messages are also present in the previously mentioned verse Lev 19:32 and Sir 3:1–11. To honor means more than just serving them. Honor excludes the possibility of a person’s approach to the elderly – now dependent on their help – being satisfied only with “technical” precision, or even yielding to the low impulses of animality: aggression, laziness, revenge (sometimes as a result of long-suppressed envy), etc.
The word of Scripture commits us in many ways:
“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers” (Prov 17:6).
In various ways, Scripture also encourages a practical attitude: “Honor your father in deed and word” (Sir 3:8). “Take care of..., do not grieve him..., have regard for him” (ibid., vv. 12–13). Thus, do not abandon elderly parents, take care of them, have compassion for them, do not distress them, do not belittle them, do not get angry with them, etc.
In relation to the elderly, a more general advice given by St. Paul to Timothy is also relevant when he encourages him to treat others as relatives: “Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but encourage him as you would a father, (...) the older women as mothers...” (1 Tim 5:1–2.)
A different lesson can be derived from a brief reflection when we turn the previously mentioned admonition to young people (Eccl 12:1) upside down, that they should not allow themselves to be intoxicated by their youth and remember that their own lives will change, and that old age awaits them. Similarly, it will benefit to strive in the interaction with the elderly to not see only the present, but to remind oneself of what they have done good in the past, what they have experienced that was difficult. It struck me: the staff at the relevant Prague hospital was very surprised at how many people personally or by phone followed the health status of a rather unassuming elderly patient, Fr. Jan Machač, as he approached the end of his life. For those of us who knew him (and at least partly understood how much he did for many families, people seeking faith, the sick, the elderly, the young, and also priests and how much he meant to them), it was a great joy, and it seemed entirely fitting when the Prague Cathedral was quite filled during the funeral of this ninety-year-old retired priest...
The Letter to the Ephesians (Eph 6:2) also points out that with the commandment to honor parents, Scripture immediately promises a reward: “that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Ex 20:12, etc.) This is said to the Israelites in regard to their future settlement in the Promised Land, and to us concerning the future of our earthly lives. Such a promise does not leave us indifferent: “for we too will become elders” (cf. Sir 8:6b). And even if this promise of reward does not come to fruition in the life of an individual (and God allows that someone who valued the elderly and served them finds no one to help him in his old age), this promise will still be fulfilled on society as a whole. Disrespect, ingratitude, and heartlessness towards the elderly and the weak always undercuts the very branch upon which it sits.
And finally, let us allow only God's voice to speak through His word:
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, (...):previous
Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you”
(Isa 46:3–4).
