Let me share with you some lines from a forwarded email entitled “You Know You’re Getting Old When…”
· Your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes and you’re barefoot.
· You’re suffering from Mallzheimer’s disease. You go to the mall and forget where you parked your car.
· When you find yourself in the middle of the stairs and you can’t remember whether you’re going up or down.
· Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can’t remember them either.
In today’s first reading (Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11), Sirach remembers the old figures of the former covenant, particularly Elijah. Elijah is considered to be one of the greatest prophets of old. It was said that every pious Jewish family still reserves a seat in the dinner table in case Elijah suddenly comes back. This sentiment is echoed in today’s Gospel when the disciples question Jesus as to why the people seem to equate Him with the coming of Elijah. But what I find heart-warming is the deep affection and reverence with which Sirach remembers his ancestor Elijah. The whole reading is virtually an ode of tribute to the place Elijah occupies in the hearts and collective consciousness of the Jewish people.
Do we look at the senior members of our family, community or Church with the same reverence? Admit it, most of the times, we relate to them simply with a respectful silence that is actually a masked indifference. The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen calls it “the chronological arrogance of the present times.” This is an attitude which considers everything and everyone that is old as old-fashioned, useless and irrelevant, and conversely, everything new, modern and chic as significant. But think of the wealth of knowledge that the old has and still can contribute. An old Chinese proverb reminds us aptly, “If you want to know what lies ahead up the road, ask those who are already on their way back.”
Reflection Question:
In what ways do I manifest in my attitude the “chronological arrogance” of the young?
Lord Jesus, it was the old man Simeon with Anna that recognized You even as a baby in the temple. Help me see the treasures in the Simeons and Annas in our midst. Amen.
Blessed Julia Merida, pray for us.
