The Incredible Witness Of Elders

One of my friends is a nature photographer and she has gotten some amazing pictures over the years – pictures of owls, hawks, foxes and so many other animals that aren’t always easy to catch on film.  One time I was asking her about her photography and she said, “People see the final product on the day I actually caught the image. What they don’t see are the countless hours I went to those same places day after day and didn’t get anything on those days…”

Doing something day after day without always seeing the results is not easy. I’m guessing that many of us can relate to this. We keep showing up somewhere or doing some practice but can’t always see that it is producing any result – until, one day, it does!

Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord where Jesus is brought into the temple for the Jewish ritual of consecration 40 days after his birth (part of Mosaic law). During the course of this ritual two elders are present who play an important role in the story.

Luke 2 tells us that Mary and Joseph bring their son to the temple and, while there, encounter two figures who prophesy over Jesus. Simeon, we are told, was a “righteous and devout man” who had been told by God that he would meet the Christ child before he died. Simeon was in the temple that day when Jesus arrived and recognized Jesus as the promised child.

Anna was a prophetess who had been widowed many years before and worshipped in the temple day and night with fasting and prayer. She, too, was present when the holy family came in and also recognized Jesus.

There is so much that we could say about this reading (and the other readings of the day), but I will focus on just a few points today.

First, both Simeon and Anna were (as the bible so euphemistically puts it) “advanced in years”. In short, they were elders. Both no longer worked formal jobs and now made themselves available to God’s work in the world in whatever ways they wanted to.

Secondly, both were in the right place at the right time. But, in full transparency, they had been going to these places for a long time before it was the “right” time.

Thirdly, both Simeon and Ann recognized Jesus when he was in their midst.

With this in mind, here’s what I take from today’s gospel.

Many of you know that I am involved in a lot of progressive/activist spaces. I can’t tell you the number of people over 70 who are some of the most involved, visible and active members of change-movements. One of my friends is a 90 year old powerhouse who contacts her elected officials every day, is out at most protests and remains active in progressive leadership circles.

This is all to say that we need to seriously respect and lift up the contributions that our “elders” make to this world. So many people I know who are retired from formal work have taken up different kinds of work – spending time with grandkids, praying for folks, visiting people, giving people rides to appointments, delivering meals, volunteering, serving on committees, etc. And the list goes on and on. 

It really amazes me how much our elders hold together and contribute to our community. So if you are an elder, THANK YOU. And if you are someone who appreciates the work of our elders, please thank them.

And while I know that age itself does not define who an elder is in any community, I just want to lift up the people who are in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s who support and carry on so much good work in this world!

Secondly, these elders knew a thing or two about prayer/prayer practices.  Simeon and Anna were seasoned enough to know that not everytime we pray or do some spiritual practice something amazing is going to happen. Yet they knew that persistence and discipline were essential to the spiritual life.

Simeon and Anna were probably a lot like my photographer friend who had to go day-after-day to the same place – and on most days nothing significant happened. We do the things that we do, in faith, hoping that they contribute to our call and God’s plan. But we may not get a lot of confirmation signs. Today’s reading might encourage us to keep showing up in the ways that we feel moved – knowing that we may not always fully understand or get validation that what we are doing is making a difference.

Finally, Simeon and Anna are able to recognize both who and what is in front of them. This is no easy task.

I am sure that many of us have had experiences where we only realized AFTER the fact what was going on in an experience that we had. Simeon and Anna had developed the ability, however, to recognize God’s presence while it was happening. This is an important skill to cultivate.

This skill has a lot to do with what we are looking for in this world. If we’re looking for signs of how messed up things are, we will find them. If we’re looking for signs of hope, we will find them. Clearly, Simeon and Anna knew what they were looking for and were able to see it when it appeared in their midst. Moreover, they might have even had to let go of what they thought it was going to look like in order to see it for what it was. And so I would just want to highlight their radical openness in order to recognize the moment that they were in.

And so for today, we honor our elders and those who keep teaching us the value of showing up (even when we do not see immediate results). We pray for the ability to see and feel the grace and blessing that is right in front of us. And we ask for the strength to recognize Jesus – especially when he comes in an unexpected form or at an unexpected time.