Salvation and Aging

Christmas 2A 2019

Fr. Dale Matson

Generally, when we use the term “Salvation” we are talking about our eternal destiny. “Are you saved?” Meaning, have you turned your life over to Jesus Christ. Will you go to Heaven when you die? In this sense then, the word Salvation refers to eternally saved, eternal life.

Not only are there several meanings for the word salvation, there is the idea of past, present and future salvation. We were saved, we are being saved and we will be fully saved. The word "sodzo" is primarily used in the "present" tense, to describe our being presently preserved, kept safe from harm, and delivered from fears, doubts, and the power and domination of sin in our life.

Let’s go back to the angel speaking to Joseph in Matthew’s Gospel used for the fourth Sunday in Advent. “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (1:20b-21) Have you ever puzzled over this statement? “…You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The name Jesus is an Anglicized name for the Hebrew and Aramaic name “Yeshua”. Yeshua means Savior.

Do you ever think how radical an idea this was? We read in the Gospel of Luke that Jesus healed a man by pronouncing forgiveness. “And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Unfortunately, they didn’t choose the correct answer, “B”. Christ forgave sins because He was in fact God.

So, it is our savior Jesus who protects, preserves, heals, delivers, helps us to become whole and keeps us safe. If only…if only we went beyond reading this to inwardly digesting it. If only…if only we went from agreeing with it in principle to truly believing it in our hearts. As it states in part of our Epistle lesson today, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:11-14).

When you are old, it’s hard to make plans. Sharon and I planned a New Year’s Eve with another couple from church. About mid-morning I began to show signs of another G.I. bleed. I visited with Kathy Willson and communed her but by afternoon I had to call our friends to say we had to cancel our evening together and drove to the emergency room at St. Agnes. I was logged in to an emergency room around 2pm with about 40 other people. If you want time to stand still. Check into an emergency room.

I was filled with both envy and pity for those around me. I envied the young people and pitied the old people. At least I could walk on my own. I thanked God that I could walk and was in little physical pain but I sat near the examining area because of my poor hearing, so I could hear my name if it was called. After I was called and talked to a doctor and nurse, I sat back down and waited to be called for tests. I was called to a back room and sat in a chair and awaited the tests. Then I was sent to waiting room #1. It is very cold in the hospital and I asked for a blanket while I waited. Finally, I called Sharon and asked her to bring my down jacket and some food. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She arrived and at about 8:30pm I was summoned to another area and talked to the emergency room doctor. He prescribed some meds and told me the blood loss this time was minimal. At 9pm after 7 hours, I drove home, thankful that I would not have to be hospitalized.  

The problem is that we are often carried away by the tsunami wave of the cares of this world. It is not just us who are aging. Everyone around us is aging also. It seems as if the weight of concern for others gets heavier every year.

If God has blessed your marriage with children, you worry about their health, who they chose for friends. With grandchildren you worry that the parents will find the level of discipline that will curb their craziness without breaking their sprit. I said to Sharon recently that I was already feeling the pain of one grandson, knowing that he will be the target of bullies.

My older sister Nancy never married and now lives in a nursing home. She will be 85 years old in April. Like many elderly folks with dementia, she is both suspicious and gullible. She used to forward emails to me warning against viruses. Unfortunately, the emails she sent me contained viruses. Now, she can no longer be trusted with a phone and mail. My younger sister Verna has Nancy’s mail delivered to her house and she presorts it before taking it to Nancy. Nancy sent lots of money to scam artists before this. She has no phone either. I try and write to her every couple of weeks with attached photographs. She really likes the photos. I’m not sure she knows me anymore but she still knows Jesus.

How many people here are over 30 years old? How many people here know what Sarcopenia is? This is muscle loss due to aging. You can lose up to 5% of your muscle mass per decade after age 30. That means you could lose up to 20% of your muscle mass by age 70. After 70 the rate of loss could be even greater. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: One in four Americans aged 65+ falls each year. Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall. https://www.ncoa.org/news/resources-for-reporters/get-the-facts/falls-prevention-facts/

We need to be strong enough to perform the activities of daily living or the ADL’s as they are referred to. Being old is one thing. Being old and feeble is another. And there is something you can do about this. When you are elderly like me, aerobic fitness is less important than strength. That does not mean that I no longer walk. However, I hired a trainer at George Browns Fitness who works with my posture, balance and strength. Some Medicare plans cover the cost of a fitness club membership. I see it as an investment in my health. And here is the good news. You can recover much of the strength you had at a younger age through progressive resistance training. With progressive resistance training your bones are stronger, your balance is improved and your brain is better also. Most fitness clubs have people to help you. By the way, you will be surprised how many younger folks have tattoos. I was surprised. I don’t want to delay death. I want to prolong a healthy life. 

There are so many things out of our control including relationships with our children and relatives that have gone sour. In this case there is nothing we can do or say that will help. It is a dance where we are continually stepping on their feet. What can we do? St. Paul offers us this wonderful counsel. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) Before eating a meal, Sharon and I say a prayer and put these things in the Lord’s hands. We also remember the thanksgiving part. It is only too easy for me to get caught up in the pain, and loss of vigor that comes with age. It is only too easy to close the doors of our minds to the threat of change, to no longer have a teachable heart. It is all too easy to be only focused on yourself.

“Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So, when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought You anxiously." And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:46-49) This passage always reminds me of a version of the movie “Home Alone”

Here we see Mary attempting to pull the ‘guilt card’. Mothers are professionals at using the guilt card and giving the skunk eye. (I can’t do the skunk eye because I’m a dad.) I suspect Mary was doing both, and Jesus was not buying into it. In fact, like so many children, He turned the tables on his mother. I think Mary and Joseph had gone from worry to anger.

Thursday, I met with my weekly group of old men for coffee. I asked one man why he had a cut on his forehead. He said, “I fell into the TV on New Year’s Eve.” After a slight pause, he said, “I got drunk and when I got up, I lost my balance.” I said, “This is your first New Years alone isn’t it?” He said, “Yes”. Getting old is difficult. Getting old without Jesus is an impossible task.   

If I could end near where I began. The word for salvation "sodzo" is primarily used in the "present" tense, to describe our being presently preserved, kept safe from harm, and delivered from fears, doubts, and the power and domination of sin in our life. Amen