This is an edited version of the sermon. It’s a basic understanding of what I said, with some embellishments and retractions for the sake of, well, it being better than the sermon (hopefully). Besides my family, senior citizens accounted for the entirety of the audience.
Before I got started on the sermon, I did some research. Here are the links I read.
And here’s an additional link given to me by a dear friend.
The scripture I read and based this on was Acts 17:22-31 (Paul preaching to the Athenians).
When I was at a family function, my uncle and I got into an argument. I don’t remember what it was about or why it was important, but it must have annoyed the people around us enough to merit an interruption because my dad leaned in and said “He hasn’t changed his mind in 60 years, what makes you think he’s going to now?” Truth be told, Dad was just poking fun at my uncle, yet I accepted this answer not just because my uncle can be obstinate but because he is old.
My uncle and I didn’t argue because of...whatever we were arguing about. We argued because he thought I was too young to know what I was talking about, and I thought he was too old to ever change his mind.
It’s that kind of mindset that I want to address, because let’s face it: there’s an elephant in the room. I’m a 26 year old man preaching to a well experienced audience. What nuggets of wisdom do I really have to offer? What have I experienced that you have not already seen yourself? Well, maybe this is where a change in mindset comes in.
For my part, I need to realize two things:
1) That all of you being so experienced means there really are very few things I can talk about that you’ve never heard of before, and more importantly
2) Perhaps that shouldn’t be my goal
Maybe, I should be the one trying to understand where you’re coming from, and from there try to understand how scripture has such an impact on both your, and my, understanding of our relationship. So before this sermon I did some research on ageism, or discrimination based on age, and I have a couple of questions for you. How many of you have been insulted because of your age? How many of you have been ignored or not taken seriously? According to the American Psychological Association, most of you.
And this is to say nothing of people over 60 looking for a job, and older patients receiving less attention in health care. In psychiatry, older patients are often not given the full benefits of mental health care because the psychiatrist believes they are “set in their ways” and too old to make meaningful changes to their lives.
You might currently experience this in the workplace right now. One time, we wanted to institute a major design change to our panel, and a field engineer was absolutely against it. I’m ashamed to say, the response of my colleagues and I was “Well, he’s older.” And this happens in both directions. When we had a meeting about new safety policies, people started throwing around terms like “younger guys” and “older guys,” each of them blaming the other for the concerns all of them had.
I wonder if the council Paul addressed experienced the same problems.
While reading this scripture, I decided to read about the Athenian council that met on the Areopagus (or Mars Hill), and I found something very interesting. The minimum age of the council was a surprisingly low 30 years (for the Spartans, it was 60), and unlike the councils of other cities people for this one were chosen at random. In other words, this governing body had both older and younger citizens working together. Did the older members discount the younger ones because of their inexperience? Did the younger members discount the older ones as “set in their ways”? Reading the scripture again, does Paul seem to care?
And that’s what interested me most here: not what the Bible said, but what it didn’t say. The Bible can be oddly specific about when it does and does not mention age, and when it does we find difficulty pinpointing the Bible’s view of it.
A couple examples of a bad outlook:
- 1 Kings 1:11ff
When David gets very old, he gets tricked into putting Solomon as king. (For any naysayers, read everything before 1 Kings 1:17 including the stuff in 2 Samuel. David never said Solomon would succeed him until after Nathan and Bathsheba trick him into thinking he already said it.)
- 1 Samuel 8:1ff
When Samuel gets very old, he abuses his power and appoints his sons as judges over Israel. If you’re familiar with stories like that of Gideon or, you know, Samuel himself, then you know that appointing judges is God’s job. Not a prophet’s. Not dear old dad’s. God’s.
A couple examples of a good outlook:
- 1 Kings 12:1ff
When Rehoboam lost the Northern Kingdom, it was because he listened to the young advisors who told him what he wanted to hear instead of the older advisors who knew what they were talking about. Had he listened to the older advisors, the kingdom would not have split under his rule (or at all).
- Proverbs 16:31
Speaks for itself. “Gray hair is a crown of glory; It is found on the path of righteousness.” (CEB)
So what does today’s scripture have to say about age? Well, nothing…
This is what I really want to focus on. Often, what’s just as significant as what’s on the page is what’s not on the page. Let’s go back to the council on Mars Hill. From an age perspective, Paul’s audience was quite diverse. And yet, when Paul preached to them, he didn’t focus on the younger members or the older members. He talked to all of them. After he preached, some of the council dismissed him, some laughed at him, and some approached him, saying “tell us more.” We don’t know if the curious ones were young or old. We only know that they heard what Paul was saying, and thirsted for more.
For those of you who were there, this is where my notes ran out. I don’t remember too much of what I said, so hopefully I capture it. If I don’t, well then too bad because this is what I’m writing now.
So now, we finally ask the question “what is the point of what I’m saying?” Well, it’s that we are all called by God. None of us are closer or further away. Paul never said Jesus came for the old, and Jesus never said only the young could follow him. Jesus took people as they were, and said “follow me. You want to see God’s kingdom? Come and see.”
I want to honor your past because it has value. I want to honor the lives you’re living, because they have depth and meaning. I want to hear what you have to say, because I want to learn from you. And I want you to respect me as I learn, because I’m called by God, too. If we can work together, then we (both young and old) can move towards God’s kingdom and worship the one who gives us life, and life abundantly.
Peace and Joy.
