It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night… For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord: I sing for joy at the work of your hands.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock and there is no wickedness in him.”

(Ps 92.1&2,4&5,12-15)

Anna, the daughter of Phanuel.. was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to [Mary and Joseph, with Jesus] at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

(Lk 2.36-38)

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: ”Write….”

(Rev 1.9-11)

What kind of older person am I going to be? I don’t have much control over my future health – beyond the sensible stewardship of my physical body which is my responsibility. I don’t have any control over the circumstances which will unfold around me in the coming years. But I do have the gift of God’s spirit within me, and that enables me to ask for wisdom and strength to make good choices about my mind and attitudes. I was deeply challenged recently by a message at church where the preacher warned against cynicism and caution – the natural fruits of long experience of living in a sin-sick world where we are hurt by those we love and trust; where we are disappointed and frustrated, and seem to be baffled in all our good endeavours. It is understandable that we become reluctant to enthuse, to expect, to hope – we find ourselves saying those faithless words, “we tried that before, it doesn’t work”. We become characterised by a bitter, world-weary quality and have the effect of quashing joy and enthusiasm in others. It is not good, not healthy for the body of the church, and also I believe, not necessarily the inevitable outcome of growing old in the Christian life.

Consider the apostle John, called as a teenager by Jesus, and living on into old age in exile on Patmos. Consider John’s letters, which breathe the love of God so eloquently and tenderly; consider this brief phrase – ‘on the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit..’ : in spite of his years, his long experience of persecution, John continued to walk in hope and faith, to expect great things of God. He was always available, and so God used him to speak to the church.

Consider Anna, long widowed and in that culture, that meant long past her usefulness and significance. Consider her faithfulness and hope, as she remained attentive in worship and devoted in prayer to God. In spite of her plight, she loved and trusted the Lord, and so when the infant Messiah was brought to the temple, she was there – there to praise and worship and to spread the word.

These two saints show us what it looks like to remain free from bitterness and cynicism; to bear fruit and remain green in old age. That is what I want to be like, and I know that means I need to pay attention to the roots of caution and cynicism which are so readily established in my mind and heart.

I think that pride is at the root of our cynical thoughts – we don’t want to get our hopes up again only to see them dashed when God fails to do what we want or expect. But who am I to dictate to the Almighty?! We cloak our cynical disbelief under the cover of ‘wise experience’, but actually it is faithlessness. Who am I to say that God is not at work in a particular place, or through a particular ministry? I may not see it, but that has nothing to do with what I am called to do!

Almighty and merciful Father, thank you for your patience with me and your compassion for my weakness. I confess today my ready recourse to cynical self-protection, and recognise it as sin. I confess that I fear to encounter dashed hopes, to see expectations unfulfilled. But I also confess again that you are sovereign, all-powerful to achieve your purposes, and that I am merely mortal, limited in vision and comprehension and as dust before you, my God.

Cleanse me from the roots of cynicism, soften my heart to remain fresh and hopeful in you, because your promises never fail and you will establish your kingdom. May I age with grace and growing confidence in you, being a blessing and not a hindrance to your people in their walk with you. All this I ask for the sake of my saviour, Jesus, that he might be glorified in me, Amen.