The Lutheran, April 2008

A monthly column by Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson

 
Acting our age
God uses people in all stages of life

When are you going to start acting your age?” The question was on a large advertisement in an airport. Beneath it was a picture of four women who appeared to be my age. They were on a beach getting ready to run into the water with seeming delight.

I cannot remember the product or service being advertised, but I have not forgotten the question as I heard it: “Baby boomers, when are you going to start acting your age?”

A lot of people will answer that question since about one-fourth of the U.S. population—approximately 77 million people—are baby boomers. The answer is likely to be surprising since boomers consistently have resisted falling into any predictable pattern for any previous stage in life.

What does “acting our age” mean for boomers? What does it mean for any of us? ("Baby boomers: Where are they?") It is my hope that each of us, no matter our age, will have unquenchable curiosity about faith and life and a desire to make a difference in the lives of others.

I give thanks to God for a rich and full life. Although I wonder about this last period in my life’s journey, I know God has a remarkable record of calling forth unexpected witnesses in unlikely circumstances, even from those who already have lived long lives.

  • God promised descendants to Abraham and Sarah through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Despite her skepticism, God brought new purpose to Sarah’s life and, in old age, new life was born. God laughs at doubt; Sarah recognized this promised child as God’s laugh at the experiences of futility that fueled her doubts, and so she named him Isaac, “he laughs.”
  • New life also came in old age to Elizabeth and Zechariah with the birth of John, the forerunner of Jesus. Elizabeth testified to God’s compassionate faithfulness and, despite his initial disbelief, Zechariah’s tongue was released. Filled with the Spirit, he spoke prophetic words we still sing in the Benedictus: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.”
  • Simeon spent many years waiting for the Messiah. His expression of praise when the infant Jesus was brought to the temple is echoed in our worship centuries later. We sing his words, “Lord, let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled.”
  • Anna, 84 years old, at that same decisive moment in her life and the life of the world “began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

It was the same for all of them as the Spirit brought unlikely people in unexpected circumstances to the defining witness of their life’s journey. Their witness to God’s unfailing mercy — a name, a song, a single statement of praise — sounds through centuries and becomes a legacy and inheritance for future believers.

My wife, Ione, and I redid our will and estate plans recently. It became an important time to talk again about legacy: How might our last will and testament express not only our love and concern for our children and grandchildren but also our commitment to the ministries of this church? The defining moment of placing our signatures on these documents gave us a feeling that we had completed an important task.

I also wonder, however, about what surprising and unexpected encounters lie ahead, moments of incomprehensible grace in the unlikeliest of circumstances. Rather than worrying about acting our age, wouldn’t it be better to wonder about and be open to the ways the Spirit will still guide our lives—the words we will speak, the songs we will sing, the witness we will be. I wonder what defining witness the Spirit will create with your life and mine. In hope and confidence, let us receive the future as God’s gift, knowing that God will bless our words, our songs, our stories, our prayers and our lives to God’s glory.