SETTING THE CONTEXT

Long ago, at a time when kings were also seen as religious leaders and teachers, there was a particular king who devoted himself to the meaning of life in all matters. He was head and shoulders above those who went before him in both achievement and wisdom. His name was Qoheleth, meaning "King over Israel." He was a sage on a journey to find meaning in human existence. Qoheleth dedicated himself to the pursuit of wisdom. The scripture has been called an "obituary of life itself."Today's passage is probably the most well-known passage in all of Ecclesiastes. It's a poem about time and the polarities of human activity, revealing both disillusionment and awe. There's a subtle Eastern influence to it, that for every action in one direction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It's chronology without history Qoheleth tries to show that the world has an ordered structure and therefore has meaning.

Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The NT Gospel of Matthew has become so important to us as Christians because of the nature of its message. As a whole, it is the one that fuses the gospel with ethics, and faith with morality. It stresses the important message that only those who do God's will will enter the kingdom of heaven. Today's scripture is part of the activity of Jesus on his obedient way toward the time of his death. Our verses are the beginning of the 4^th of Matthew's 5 great discourses on the sayings of Jesus where he tells us to turn or change and become like children, which is interpreted to mean to become as teachable as children. We must, most of all, be learners.

Read Matthew 18:1-5

THE SERMON

"Growing Old." It bothers me to use those words; does it you? When you hear that phrase, what do the words bring to mind? Wearing out? Getting frail? Losing one's memory or eyesight or hearing or health? No longer useful? That word "old" has such negative connotations that we are uncomfortable using it, aren't we? What has our culture done to us?

A friend shared the following observation with me, and I'm sorry I don't know the author. Some of you have heard it, I'm sure. It goes:

"Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids?

If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!

And then the greatest day of your life . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away.

Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70!

After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.

And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

Hm-m-m-m-m-m… Friends, what are these not-so-subtle differences in thinking about age?

You know, this church has an "old" building right next door. I called it that once and got quickly in trouble by one of our dearest members. "Please don't call that building "old," she asked me-as if my words somehow reflected a lack of respect for all it had been through, or for its place in our lives… She made me think about that word and just how awful it can sound to use it--me, this aging, white-haired lady who just had a significant birthday! (I can't say "that word" to describe ME!) So-I apologize right now, if anybody here has been sensitive about what I've said so far…

We're in a culture that is so totally youth and "young" oriented. We're surrounded by advertising that always shows too much flesh, no wrinkles, perfect looks, great shapes, revealing fashions,; narrow pointy high-heeled shoes-that most of us can't wear, a full head of hair… and more.

So what has it done to us? We're getting Botox injections, silicone implants, face lifts, tummy tucks, nose jobs, hair implants, teeth whitening, spider vein removal, dye jobs, electrolysis--and more. Morrie, of the "Tuesdays with Morrie" book that we're discussing in this sermon series, reminds us that we live in a culture that worships youth!

And yet, the youth that I remember was not all that rosy and great. I remember being painfully shy when young, so much so that I could not speak in front of any kind of public group-even my college speech class-without my voice absolutely shaking. I had to wear a patch over one of my eyes for some time as a small girl due to weak muscles in my one eye. This also caused me to be somewhat uncoordinated, so I couldn't ride a bicycle until older than most, and I was not good in most sports if it required any kind of an aim-generally the last one picked for a team.

While I had a very loving family, my father worked out of town most of the time and I missed him so much that I cried myself to sleep a lot at night. It's known now that we need so many hugs a day, and I know I wanted more. That's probably why you all get so many hugs from me. Oh, there were the other usual growing pains of skin problems, conflicts with friends-relationship problems-, peer pressures, and later, break-ups with boyfriends that hurt so much, and never enough money for the things I wanted to do or for the clothes I wanted to wear. So many of those things seem so minor now… but they weren't then. In my opinion, youth is not for sissies. And yet-that's what we've all heard said about "old age."

Just what is it that causes such anxiety about the whole aging issue? Let's look at Morrie Schwartz, an "older" man with severe health problems-- Lou Gehrig's disease, that was increasingly disabling. Morrie, with this terrible, terminal disease that was gradually closing off his breathing, with a body that was losing all of its functioning. What did Morrie have to say about this business of "growing old?"

(SHOW VIDEO CLIP)

We're reminded of the scriptures that we read earlier. The wisdom of our verses in Ecclesiastes tells us that everything has its time. Youth and old age, birth and death, weeping and laughing, even a time to keep silent and a time to speak. Everything has its season, and each of those seasons will touch all of us at some time in our life. For Morrie, he achieved the realization that we are to embrace each stage of life as it comes to us.

To embrace life does not mean that Morrie did not have pain, or that we will not have pain or challenges in our life. But it does mean that we can take the value of that pain and all that it represents and grow through any suffering that we must endure. For, in the midst of that pain, there was also joy. Joy in the relationships that existed in the middle of all the struggles and suffering, joy that was present with the tears in the very worst of times. In Morrie's struggle, he had good days and bad days, and all were a learning experience.

For Morrie, and for us, the world is a classroom, and life is the teacher. If we hone our listening skills and really pay attention to those around us, we can learn so much. Really listening, and really focusing, we each have something to teach others. That's why there is great value in listening to other people's stories, such as we are now doing on Wednesday nights in this very room. You're invited, as people share their deep struggles, that which they have learned, and their faith.

Morrie Schwartz became the recipient of a tremendous amount of caring, blessing others in the process--and yet he had given and continued to give blessings to those whose lives he touched. His dependency increased to the point that virtually everything he needed had to be done by another person. Yet he accepted the grace that was present in every comforting blot to his eyes, wipe of his nose, or massage of his foot. The touch of another human being, in a caring human movement, is what carried him through. It was a gift to Morrie, and the gift that he gave back to all those who helped him. It was in their service to him, that each person both gave and received love-the greatest gift of all.

That 2^nd scripture we read in Matthew reminds us that we all should be as little children. Children are so open and always growing, absorbing everything around them that they see, hear, touch, smell, or taste. They are in a world of discovery. As children, the message is for us to not hold back. We are to give out love and let it come in-whatever our own personal dependency is-- for love is the greatest gift of all. Growing in the discovery of love is our common purpose on this earth. It's what Jesus modeled throughout all the scriptures, it was the message of his journey to the cross, and it is the meaning in all of our lives. It is the greatest power of all.

Really growing old then becomes an achievement. If you ask me about my childhood and youth now, I will tell you it was a wonderful time. Those hurts and struggles I shared were minor compared to the learning that was done and the love I received. They have helped to prepare me for the person I am today, as did Morrie's. I may not be the teacher that he was, but I believe I understand how much he learned, the choices he had in life, and what he made out of those seemingly limited choices. He touched and changed so many lives in the process.

We're reminded of Jesus and the lives he so wonderfully touched, healed and changed as he lived and suffered on this earth. Jesus accepted the course that was set before him. He was on a journey that all of us could learn from, having experiences that all of us could emulate. The ultimate teacher, Jesus taught us all how to age at the ripe old age of 33. And then he used Morrie to teach us again.

If you look closely at the picture on the screens, you will see two people, with the pictures of them as younger inside the pictures of the older. Here we are reminded of the timeless nature of the wisdom of Jesus that is contained in Growing Old-remembering the "growing" part is much more important than the "old." Growing that indicates a constantly changing and expanding state of perception, insight, giving, loving-and acceptance of one's condition. Look closely, there is a chalice between the two people, reminding us of the timeless bond between them-a message for all ages, of the cup of blessing-the body of Christ--that is offered to all of us as we together become a community, as we together love. As one of us grows, we are all touched and grow. The love that spreads becomes something that will go on and on forever.

A final picture reveals the nature of the changed lives that come about as we mature with our God, for we grow not only in the physical ways that will come about, but also in the internal changes that result-changes of the heart--as this picture reveals. The real change is in the heart and that can happen at any age. Growing old becomes a timeless blessing.

Benediction:
Change our hearts, oh God. Help us to grow in love as we grow through life. May we go out to show the world that love that all may know the difference you make in all the lives you touch. Amen.

Sermon delived by Rev. Carol Mumford on March 18, 2007.