Tower and Town, September 2015 (view the full edition)Clergy Letter - Rabbi Ben EzraGrow old along with me!
The best is yet to be, The last of life for which the first was made; Our times are in His hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, Youth shows but half; trust God: See all, nor be afraid!' Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning
One of the features of life today is that it is so often seen as containing different compartments rather than a single whole. So it is that we have different categories of people mercilessly targeted by advertisers - children, students, the young, the single, the newly married, double income and no kids, single income and kids, middle aged, early retired, elderly, old, (exhausted?!) and so on. Faith, however, encourages us to see life as a whole and to see all its different phases as belonging together. And behind the notion that 'the best is yet to be' lies the conviction that life contains a destination and that we are therefore heading somewhere that we can look forward to. Although these words of Robert Browning are understandably associated with old age, the truth they contain can apply to all stages of life: For young people setting out, life is full of possibilities and the conviction that our endeavours will bear fruit; for those in middle age, with all the responsibilities entailed by this phase of life, there is the assurance of serenity when those responsibilities are relinquished; for those approaching old age (however that might be understood) there is the assurance of a depth of living and a maturity of relationships which allows them to see that the best is yet to be; while for those who are indeed old, faith can encourage a growing trust in God who sees the whole of life, whilst youth shows 'but half'. One of the paradoxes of Christianity is that although it is a faith based on specific events in history, located in a place and a time, the person of Jesus always encourages us to look forwards rather than back. It is true that Jesus himself never experienced old age, but we can still trust his companionship on our own journeys, knowing that just as Jesus touched the bottom of life, so he will be with us whenever we might do the same. We return to the life and ministry of Jesus, but this allows us to look forward and trust that the best is indeed yet to be. Andrew Studdert-Kennedy |