Thoughts on Aging and Spirituality

The history of aging is a rather interesting and ever-changing topic. In ancient times, some cultures would consider the aged individual to be “already dead” or in their “sleeping period” (sleep was often used as a euphemism for death in antiquity). For others, old age was a crowning achievement, something to be celebrated and embraced. In early canonical Biblical texts, men lived to be in their 900s (Methuselah was 969 when he died, allegedly), which is also seen in Sumerian King lists and other ancient sources. Within the Biblical corpus, in the post-Flood world, individuals began to live less and less longer – Noah lived to be 950, living for 350 years after the Flood, and there is a progression in the aging from the time of Shem to Abraham - 600 to 175, and even to Moses - at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7). Moses was actually considerably old for the period he lived in, as he said (via attribution) in Psalm 90:10, "Our days come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."

The perception of age, then, has shifted throughout the centuries. If, even by the time that the aforementioned Psalm was written it was the norm to live to 70-80 years of age (perhaps due to nutrition – Jews would not eat pork, for example, which prevented them from getting trichinosis and other diseases), then clearly the average age has not remained constant. The age of 65 is considered “old” by most countries today, particularly in Germany and the United States. But when we think today on elders and the idea of older individuals, it may bring to mind images of an Indian shaman, an older Buddhist monk full of wisdom, the current Pope, a grandfather, among other things. Often age is associated with wisdom – although this is certainly not always the case.

In its connection to spirituality, consider the example of C.S. Lewis. Lewis (known as “Jack” to his friends) began his life praying as a small boy, yet after the death of his mother he practically abandoned his faith. As he grew older and entered into discussions with other learned men such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Roger Green, he began to move from his atheistic point of view into the Christian (Anglican) faith. After the death of his wife, however, he began to question God and his faith overall – until he one day began to use his pain to strengthen his faith. Through the example of Lewis, we can see how someone’s spirituality can change form, content, practice and strength as he or she ages. This is also clearly seen in the lives of men such as St. Augustine, St. Francis, Thomas Merton and many others. Our respect for those who are older than we are ought to be continually borne in mind, and as the ever-increasing older population grows, so too should our understanding, our relationship with them and hopefully lead to a more positive and helpful understanding of aging.

Examples of Dedication in the Church History

There are hundreds if not thousands of examples of famous martyrs (an unsung heroes), legendary tales, extraordinary acts of human kindness - and human cruelty, but more to the point: in the early church we find many examples of dedication. Here, we will focus on a few of these.

In the ancient Church, there was a growing group of monastics who would go out into the desert and live there. We often call these individuals the desert fathers. Although we see an example of the early Christian Thecla going out to live in caves to be with God (in the apocryphal Acts of Thecla from the mid-late 2nd century), these monastics became prominent around the 4th and 5th centuries. St. Paul of Thebes (AD 288-343) is considered the first Christian hermit (Greek eremita, meaning "of the desert"), although Simeon the Stylite (AD 390-459) is more well-known. He sparked the Christian ascetics known as the Stylites (from the Greek stylos meaning "pillar"), as he and other Christians would stand on top of pillars to preach, fast and pray. Simeon had climbed up and stayed on the pillar for nearly forty years. The Stylites are a good example of dedication.

There is a documentary that was released a few years ago called Into Great Silence, dealing with the Carthusian Order. The Carthusian Order was founded one thousand years ago by St. Bruno, and their main monastery is Le Grande Chartreuse. The documentary was a three hour look at how they live their lives - in silence. Except for Bible readings and a couple hours on Sunday after meals, they observe silence. In our world, we tend to shy away from silence. We are constantly engaged by technology, music, talking, texting, and other forms of distraction. As such, trying to imagine a life of silence with only a handful of hours to speak on Sundays is nearly impossible for many of us. The Carthusians are a good example of dedication, particularly in regard to quiet contemplation with God.

The next group to consider is a group of Irishmen (supposedly including St. Fionan) who, 1400-1500 years ago, got in a little boat and sailed to an island called Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland. At the time, it was the edge of the known world for them. The monks climbed to the top of this island (which is a large rocky cliff) and made little huts of stone and prayed to Jesus. This sheer dedication is inspirational.

Where I live, it gets very cold in the Winter months. While reflecting on the harshness of the cold one morning, another example of dedication crossed the mind. Some of us would complain about below zero weather, and call it suffering. But this is not suffering. Suffering would be not having a home or a warm meal in this weather. Suffering would be not only getting frostbite but passing on because of it. One is reminded of the famous 40 Martyrs of Sebaste.

Around AD 320, Emperor Licinius persecuted the Christians in the East. Forty soldiers professed their faith and were condemned to strip their clothes and stand naked on a frozen pond on a freezing night or renounce their faith. These men were faithful - until one man gave in and left, heading straight for a warm bath prepared nearby for those renouncing the faith. Yet one soldier keeping watch over the martyrs left his post, professed his faith and the number was again forty.

By the morning, the bodies were burned and the ashes were thrown in a river. Christians all around the world have long since held these brave men in high honor. We may complain about our food orders being messed up, stubbing our toe, getting a paper-cut, not looking good in our clothes, and getting an A- instead of an A+. In other words, some people (particularly in the American culture) rarely know true suffering. It took a lot for the Stylites who used to stand on pillars to do that. It takes a lot of dedication to observe silence for days and days on end. It takes dedication to climb high and build little rock huts for Jesus. It takes dedication to stay faithful to your beliefs even unto death. These inspirational examples may seem silly to some, but even the non-Christian should realize that dedication is key in many areas of life - whether it is work, family, education, achieving goals or staying faithful to others. Dedication is key.

We Are like Sea Glass

I have always found sea glass to be a great treasure but also a reminder. Sea glass - which was believed by early sailors to be the tears of mermaids - is glass (often a bottle) that has been lost in a lake or ocean that has broken and is refined by the water, the sand and other such forces. About this time every year, I go to a few beaches with my family, for us to be together and also take our bags to find and pick up sea glass along the beach. It comes in different colors: brown, green, clear, and sometimes you can even find blue, pink, red or orange, the rarer colors. 

What fascinates me the most, however, is how it relates to us. We may feel like we are a whole person, just like the glass bottle. Yet when the storm hits and the waves overcome us, we are broken. Over time God uses us in our broken state and refines us until we become smooth and covered by Him, just as the smooth sea glass covered in film. It is at this stage, when we feel so hopeless, that God reveals us as the treasure he has always seen us as - and sometimes, others see us as this too.

There are a number of passages in Scripture which refer to this process of refinement and purification; here are a select few:

• "For You, God, tested us; You refined us as silver is refined." (Psalm 66:10)
• "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10)
• "Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time" (Daniel 11:35).
• "I will refine them like silver and test them like gold" (Zechariah 13:9).
• so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1st Peter 1:7)"...

Therefore, we ought to bear in mind the example of the so-called "sea glass." Throughout the course of our life, we are refined as sea glass is. We go through stages, processes, trials and tribulations. Yet when we reach the end of the journey, we have become something even more beautiful, something even more wondrous and pure.