Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel
Great Fast Day 32. According to liturgical prescriptions, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated today.
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Proverbs 16:17-17:17
You might agree with me if I said that our culture values youth. In the checkout line at the grocery store, you’ll see magazines that promise solutions to the physical effects of ageing: diet plans, workout plans, wardrobe changes, etc. The biblical view of ageing, however, is somewhat different. While physical prowess and beauty are certainly praised, there is equal regard in the Old Testament for the grey hairs of old age. Today’s reading includes not only a statement that “grandchildren are the crown of the aged,” but the affirmation that “grey hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”
What does grey hair signify? Clearly, both in ancient Israel and in our culture, it represents old age meant: health problems, from aches and pains to serious conditions; a slower life, with the advantages and disadvantages that include; and, for modern people, a creeping lack of purpose, as we leave the workforce, are less able to take care of others, and eventually, less able to care for ourselves. However, today’s verses remind us that there is no lack of purpose for the elderly Christian. Grey hair begins a time of thanksgiving for the lives one has touched, and prayer for those one is preparing to leave behind. Old age is a time to grow in righteousness, not flee from our mortality. In accepting old age, we join the righteous aged, from Abraham and Sarah to Joachim and Anna, who bear witness at the end of their lives to the incredible power and grace of God.