Honor Your Father and Mother
In God’s great (and concise!)
directions of how to live a faithful life – also known as the 10 Commandments -
the Episcopal Church understands the first 4 commandments to be how to love God
and the other six of how we are to love our neighbor. (I find it interesting we need more direction
on how to love each other, but I digress).
The first thing we are instructed to do for our neighbors is to “honor
your father and mother.”
While in some ways this seems
obvious, we also have to think about a culture that needed everyone to
contribute in order to have the resources necessary to live. This included (perhaps) getting water,
tending livestock, hunting, gathering and a multitude of other jobs just to eat
and have some where to live. The only real health care was what one’s family
provided. What we might consider a
simple injury or infection might have been fatal. Caring for someone not contributing was a
drain on resources and caused extra work. From that standpoint, some might have
justified leaving the elderly behind to fend for themselves.
Fortunately, God, knowing human
nature, established this moral covenant to care for those that cared for
us. We can even think of it as the first
retirement plan! There would have been
no fear of doing all one could for as long as one could, because, when the day
came that one could no longer do those things, one was assured by God that she
or he would be cared for by the community. An added benefit is that the community
doesn’t rid itself of all the knowledge and life-experience of their elders, an
invaluable resource that might be overlooked.
Sharing stories and know-how with the following generations enables
survival and prosperity.
A society that values their
elders demonstrate both its faithfulness to God, as well as a deep respect for
those that helped the following generations succeed. As such, we should take a moment to honor and
give thanks for the elders in our lives for all they have done for us.
The Diocesan Ministry for Older
Adults started such a movement several years ago with an Evensong celebrating
the ministry of older adults. The truth
is many of our churches were established and supported by our elders, and it is
incumbent upon us to notice and celebrate all they have done – and continue to
do – in the lives of our churches.
Last year St. Barnabas nominate
Stephanie and Tom Carr for this recognition, for their numerous and dedicated
ministries. This year, we have nominated Dorothy
Hamby and Nick Hrinkevich. The Evensong honoring them and other honorees
will be at Trinity Cathedral on Saturday, September 30th at 2
PM. Please come and support these two
wonderful individuals. We will also
recognize them at our services on Sunday, October 1st.
There are many worthy people at
St. Barnabas for this honor, so if you have a suggestion for next year, please
let me know! We are blessed with a
wealth of experience and knowledge in this congregation. If you have never talked with one of our
elders (and, please, no one be offered if you are thought of as an elder!),
have some holy curiosity and ask them about their life and faith. I find it fascinating to hear about transformation
and perseverance in their faith stories.
Even then times were difficult, they knew Christ was with them. What more of a gift could we want!
Thank you to Dorothy and Nick for
all you have done and continue to do at St. Barnabas.
In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+
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