Today's Groundhog Day in the United States, but it's also an older and far more resonant holiday celebrated throughout the world: Candlemas. In this tradition Christians celebrate the presentation of Jesus at the temple after his birth, and his proclamation there by two elders: Simeon, and the prophetess Anna, one of only five women so titled in the entire Bible.
I'm not familiar with this holiday. We've never celebrated it in the churches I've attended. But the story behind the day is one I've heard my whole life. The Nativity story is often used to showcase how Christ came for all people: lower-tier workers like shepherds, ethnic and social outsiders like the Magi. But with the story of Simeon and Anna, we get a group of people often overlooked as needing salvation as well: the experienced, the aged, the very pillars of our community.
Traditional churches, especially smaller ones, have plenty of older congregants, but many newer contemporary ones look like a religious version of popular movie distopian demographics: only the young and enthused are present. I have nothing but good things to say about the work being done by these churches, but it's important in our evangelistic zeal not to forget that a new convert need not be a young one. The lost are not only to be found on college campuses: nursing homes house plenty of people who need renewal, and they're far more receptive to someone paying a visit.
But we shouldn't only consider how to "cast our nets wider" when reading this story. Mary and Joseph weren't seeking to spread the Good News when they came to the temple: they sought to obey the Law by offering a sacrifice and dedicating the infant Jesus as a member of the Jewish spiritual community. In so doing, they brought light and hope to two people already serving God. In fact, the quiet, long years of service Simeon and Anna had put them in the position God desired to offer a message to his people.
Who are the elders of the spiritual community around us? What can we learn from them, and how can we minister to them? Too often there's a disgruntled complaint of elder lay leadership, a resentment of their views and vision. They're told to make way for the new way, the right way, the one that's going to do more than anything they ever thought about.
The thing is, these elders were once young people too. Maybe they planted the church, or served as teachers, or established a program. Maybe they never did anything but attend and support the church. But their lives matter just as much in the Kingdom of Heaven as any of the younger set. Their service should not be forgotten, and their potential guidance (even if it's unasked for and unwelcome) should not be automatically scorned. If a person's views are not of God, opposition is called for no matter the age. If a person merely offers a difference of opinion, consideration and respect are called for, again, no matter the age.
One day, probably sooner than any of us think, the young restless leaders of this generation will be struggling with medication and reading glasses and arthritis. We will be forced to depend on those who come behind for the heavy lifting, the enthusiasm, even the leadership. This generation may make drastic changes: perhaps there'll be a swing back away from coffee and light shows, and the youth of tomorrow will look politely bored if an aging guitarist steps up to strum the chords of his day.
It behooves us all to teach these people to honor, respect, and minister to the older members of our families by example. We should not neglect those whose time is past. We should instead make them as much a priority in prayer and outreach as the young families with two plus kids. If your church is full of elders, maybe God wants you to minister to them. Maybe He wants to use them to minister to you.
Simeon and Anna waited decades for God to be revealed in their lives. Abraham and Sarah didn't conceive a child for nearly a century. Moses wasn't equipped to fulfill his life's mission until he was in his 80s. I'll be turning 29 this month, and it's tempting to think I'm approaching a plateau, a point past which I'll no longer be moving toward something, only farther away. But God continually proves that His ways are not our ways. American culture may seem to be stuck in a Logan's Run arms race toward making youth last as long as possible, but the giants of our faith often didn't really get going until well past anyone's current ideas of an expiration date. Christ our Lord didn't even begin public ministry until he'd gotten past 30.
This Candlemas, and this year, we should not only remember what God has done, but look forward to what He will do. We should strive to run the good race for as long as He allows, serving in whatever capacity we can, and looking to honor the faith of all our brothers and sisters, even the older ones. Anna and Mary may never have met each other again after the events of this one day, but each had a major impact on the other just in the simple nature of obeying God's will in her life.
Their example forces me to question: who might I encounter in the future, and what might I learn?
