Psalm 72
Are we what we do? When we can no longer do are we worth less? Several years ago a famous London conductor and his wife entered a clinic and without ceremony ended their lives by injection. Their reasoning was that they were now a burden to their children and a drain on the system responsible for attending their infirmities. The news journal in which I read this article presented this as a noble act. For, is it not better to finish it all when our usefulness has ended and we require more than we can contribute?
Jesus began his Sermon on the Mount with the words, "Blessed are the poor, Blessed are the hungry, Blessed are they that mourn [who have lost everything], Blessed are those who are rejected and hated [and don't we reject being old, and the elderly as they remind us of our own destiny?] In other words, those on the very bottom of the rung are blessed. Why? Because it is in their vulnerability that God is able to act. Our Psalm declares: "For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight." Jesus saw those at the bottom as having great worth not because of what they were able to do or produce, but because in them and for them he was able to do great things. Those who are healthy and active don't seem to need others to do for them--not even God! After all, they have it all together. They can do it themselves thank you very much! God is seldom seen or given any credit for what they accomplish.
It is in the poor that one may see the loving and compassionate care of God. It is in the old lady who embraces her poverty with a glowing sweetness and trust that one sees the provision of God. It is in those who have lost husbands and wives of many years and still continue on, that one sees the strength of God. It is in the lives of those who bravely face difficult treatments that one sees the courage of God. It is in those whose minds are fading that one sees the depth of God. When they have lost all else, they still remember "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound."
It may be true that our elders can no longer produce and that they cost us in dollars and cents. they also require an unselfishness that many are loathe to put forth. But, if we were to take these saints from our midst, where would we so plainly see the face of God?
