1. Throw away your idols
Today Japan celebrates the national holiday for elderly people. On this occasion I would like to contemplate the meaning of growing old, by reference to the Bible. In the Old Testament we find expressions which honor aged people, for example: “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life” (Proverbs 16:31). Or, “The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old” (Proverbs 20:29). Moreover the Bible compels us to respect the elderly: “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God” (Leviticus 19:32).

Those words show us Jewish wisdom which respects the elderly in a corresponding way as to worshipping God. I think it is a wonderful and thoughtful attitude. The Bible teaches that we must learn form aged peoples’ experiences. However there is a certain bitterness to growing old. One example is Ecclesiastics 12: 3-7: when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim;when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets.Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well,and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

This particular passage makes us face the fact that all humans grow old, and eventually die with a weakening body. Indeed, from that point of view, growing old is more or less painful. But the Bible gives heartening words to the aged in today’s text from Isaiah 46:3-4, “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

We will reflect today upon the meaning of growing old through Isaiah’s words. The book of Isaiah begins a new phase from chapter 40, of which the background is the period of the Babylonian captivity.*

Israel was defeated by Babylonia in about B.C. 587, and the Jewish leaders were brought to the victorious country, and kept there. The incident is now called the “Babylonian captivity.” At that time, the depressed Jewish people thought they were defeated because Yahweh, their God, was less powerful than Marduk,* a god worshiped by the Babylonians. There was a general tendency for the defeated people to try and worship their conquerors’ divine protector.

But militarily based countries loose dominance when the power of their armed forces become weak. Once Persia** became stronger, Babylonia could not maintain the status of the world-wide Empire, and was threatened by Persian armies. As that menace approached, the Babylonians began to take refuge with their gods. Isaiah’s verses describe the scene: “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden. The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary. They stoop and bow down together; unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity” (Isaiah 46:1-2).

Bel* is alternative name of Marduke and Nebo* is another god of the Bablynians’. Idolaters would carry their gods with them when they needed to flee. Isaiah described such gods as cult statues with no power and incapable of saving themselves without the help of humans.

2. Acceptance

The prophet speaks God’s words to the Jewish people, “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth” (Isaiah 46:3).

They have been attracted by the Babylonian gods, which could not move without being carried by humans or beasts. But, Isaiah tells them that now is the time to awake to the words of their own God, who upheld His people from their birth. Isaiah continues, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” ( Isaiah 46:4).

In the context of the book, the verse above indicates the emancipation of the Jewish people from Baylonian domination and their return to Jerusalem. For that purpose God will use Persian power, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand,and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do” ( Isaiah 46:10-11). Here, a “bird of prey” represents the King of Persia, Khallushu,*** who would defeat Babylonia and free the Jewish people.

Jewish people of that time worshiped the Babylonian gods because of the country’s hegemony which had prevailed in surrounding countries. So for us, who live in the modern world, what are our “idolatrous gods”? They might be earthly conditions which seem to guarantee a certain happiness of life, social status, money, or health, for example. Zeal for substantial privileges surround and tempt us. To some extent, we are controlled and dominated by such kinds of eagerness. Many sorts of greed play the role of idols. If we consider them to be indispensable for a happy life, the lack of them will distress and depresses us. So, when God compels us to get rid of those “idols” and attitudes which remain in our lives, it can be rather difficult for ordinary humans.

However, perhaps, we could think that by growing older is to approach that time when we can enjoy the abundant life under the realms of modern idolatry. Here I want to refer to the comment concerning old age made by professor Murata Hisayuki of Kyoto Notre Dame University. He divides the characteristics of ageing into 3 elements:

One is the shortage of time left before us, in consequence a diminishment of hope for the future. The next is reducing reverence from others, due to enfeeblement of body and intelligence. That might give the impression that our existence becomes vulnerable. The third is loss of physical autonomy. The old and worn body is not so flexible and strong as before. Therefore, many of the aged people become dependent upon others for their daily necessities.

Even though all of the elements seem negative, I think we can find a positive phase in aging. It is being free from idolatry, like Isaiah urged us to do. For the beginning we should accept those undesirable facts with a serene mind. We can do so because our Lord ‘carried us’ through painful and suffering days. He says “Even to your old age and gray hairs I will carry you.” So, it is by trusting our life to that same God that we arrive to accept ageing and death in a calm way.

Whereas the word “acceptance” stresses the inevitable stance of resignation, but on the other hand, to accept, (accipere in Latin) means to take something to oneself. To make one’s own decision. The original notion represents a positive and active attitude by facing the uncomfortable facts.

Therefore to age is to be free from earthly jokes, which attached us to secular desires. We know now our Lord, who caused us to live, is the God who will carry us through to our old age and gray hairs.

3 Ageing with Grace

I invite you now to reflect upon how to accept ageing, by presenting a book written by Mitch Albom****. Albom is a best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. He had been close during his college years to Morrie Schwartz, a sociology professor. After his retirement Schwartz was living and dying with a terminal disease, ALS. (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease), a desease which has symptoms of a progressive degeneration of the motor neurons of the central nervous system, leading to a wasting of the muscles and paralysis.

At the age of about 60, when Schwartz was teaching as a professor at the university, he began to suffer from asthma, caused by ALS. In his seventies he had difficulties walking, and then he became totally incapable of carrying himself at all. At 78, he commenced to spend all his time in bed, without any possibility of caring for himself.

When Albom visited the former professor, Albom was surprised because despite such a painful physical condition, Schwartz was not desperate nor depressed. Albom started to visit Schwartz on a regular basis every Tuesday, which continued for six months, during Schwartz’s last days. They discussed life and death, which are the most important themes and issues for humans. Albom has recorded their conversations and published it as a book, titled: “Tuesdays with Morrie.”

Morrie made Mitch share his ideas about death. In spite of his physical state, Morrie always possessed a clear and logical spirit. He says to Mitch: “One can only know how to live if they know how to die. We are too involved in material things, and they don¡Çt satisfy us. But what makes our life happy is the loving relationships, willing to be useful for the universe around us and creation of anything which could give us meaningful living”

He was ready to accept the worst stage of the disease, while he wa losing control of body wastes. He considered it as becoming again, a new born baby. So he thought, in that condition of life, there was nothing to be ashamed of. During his hospitalization many colleagues, students and volunteers came to console him but it was they who were encouraged and given advice about their problems.

Morrie said, “we can get force by giving courage to others.” Morrie’s words are filled with wisdom , some of which I mention here:

- To die with a serene mind we must concentrate on only the most meaningful matters in our life.
- To get old is to grow up, not to weaken.
- I accept what I am now, which make my life joyful.
-This sickness harms my body but not my spirit.

After 13 visits with Mitch, Morrie passed away, and each time Morries teaching changed Mitch Albom’s way of thinking and living. If only we, as Morrie did, can come to accept the reality of aging, by throwing off secondary matters, we too could experience wonderful days of ageing.

I chose 2 Corinthians 4:16 for today’s invocation verse, ” Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

This phrase was written by Paul in a letter addressed to the Corinthian church members, who had rejected his teachings. If we read it literally the phrase might mean: “though we are exhausted by earthly difficulties our internal power will be enforced by our faith”

However we can change our thinking by saying, “our body although weakened by age, our spiritual existence will be renewed day by day,” just as Morrie indicated. Ageing allows us to concentrate on essential matters by abandoning the secondary secular things. To grow old is to threw off what is superficial for a meaningful life. No baggage. We have no need for earthly ambitions because God promises us, “I will carry you to your old age and gray hairs.” So let us trust ourselves to the grace and mercy of God, throughout our life. By living such a life will make all our living days meaningful.

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*Babylonian captivity : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity
Marduke : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marduk
Bel : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel_(god)
Nebo :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebo_(god)

** Persia : a former country in southwestern Asia, now called Iran. The ancient kingdom of Persia became the domain of the Achaemenid
dynasty in the 6th century bc. Under Cyrus the Great, Persia became the center of a powerful empire that included western Asia, Egypt,
and parts of eastern Europe; it was eventually overthrown by Alexander the Great in 330 bc. The country was conquered by Muslim
Arabs between ad 633 and 651. It was renamed Iran in 1935. (American Oxford Dictionary)

*** Khallushu The Cambridge Ancient History P36
http://books.google.com/books?id=OGBGauNBK8kC&pg=RA1-PA36&lpg=RA1-
PA36&dq=Khallushu&source=web&ots=wll3Ot6QJp&sig=9gyWL610vRwOPUnj8A-vRcu-
iCY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PRA1-PA36,M1

**** Tuesdays with Morrie : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuesdays_with_Morrie