Respect the Elders

 

Today is the Respect for the Aged Day service. Happy Day to all the senior members of Nishinasuno Church.

Some people say that the words "you have become old" is not to be praised, but that it makes them happy and makes them smile when they are told that they look younger than their age. When I was young, I wanted to grow old quickly, but as I get older, I feel that a year goes by very quickly. Today's scripture says, "Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly’’ To stand up means to respect. Those younger than 77years old, let us  stand up and applaud and congratulate the elderly.

Thank you very much. Now, it is time for worship. It is time to preach. We want to thank the Lord God for His grace and sing praises to His name. We need to thank God for protecting the elderly.  Therefore, today's Bible also tells us, "revere your God. I am the Lord.’’

I made a Respect-for-Aged Day Celebration card to prepare for today's service.  Since I did not have good photos, I asked church members to bring photos. I asked for photos from those who had set their own goals on the path of pilgrimage to the Holy Land and had successfully completed the walk. They showed me several photos. I selected good one and made a card to celebrate Respect-for-Aged Day. This is a photo of a single petal that fell to the ground. The petal was in the shape of a heart. The petal that fell on the ground seems to have no value. However, if we think there is value in it and cherish it, it will create great value. You will become valuable only when you think that there is great value in your existence on this Respect-for-Aged Day. I want you to remember that the fallen petals contain a desire to feel love and celebrate that we love you all.

God teaches us in the Bible that to respect and accept a gray-haired person is to fear God. Elder abuse is on the rise in today's society, and lonely deaths among the elderly are becoming an issue. We need to think about how we can strengthen the bond with the elderly as an issue for the church. We would like to discuss how we can create a system where we do not just gather at church on Sundays to praise and pray, and then leave afterwards, but rather how we can form bonds with each other and remember that we are not alone, but together.

I thought that what is written today’s scripture, Leviticus has been a problem from the past to the present. Whenever human beings start sinning, they become self-centered, and murder, fighting, envy, etc. arise. The only way to avoid committing such sins is to fear God. Let us listen to God's teachings and turn our eyes to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ so that we will be led to the right path.

When I was in charge of a elderly nursing home, I received a phone call from a person who asked for advice. Our facility was a nursing home for the elderly who had no relatives, so I replied to her that if the person had no relatives, we would accept him. And she brought an elderly man with dementia. I also greeted her, saying that I really appreciate that she consulted with me for this person and brought him here. A few days later I received a phone call from the daughter of the elderly with dementia.  It turned out that the person who brought him here was actually the woman who had remarried to him, and the daughter later came and took him home. I guess the reality is that when we are healthy and have money, there are people around us, but when we have nothing, there is no one around us like this person.

How can we, Nishinasuno Church　respect the elderly and live together with them with our heart? It is by remembering them.  By being actively involved, learning from them, and taking an interest in them, we can naturally protect them and live together with them as our own actions. I encourage you to look carefully at the backs that the elderly have walked on and to respect and honor them. These are not my words, but the words of the Bible today, words of life from the mouth of God.

I am a blessed person. I am a person who experienced being loved by my father and relatives. I am a blessed person who grew up filled with God's love and grace from church since childhood. But nowadays, many children are abandoned by their parents and do not know love from anyone.  Also, the number of parents who do not know how to raise their own children is increasing, and this is becoming a major issue. We are being asked how we can create bonds of human relationships and what is the role of the church. It is time to move away from self-centeredness and ask what it means to live together and what we can learn from the backs of today's elderly people. Please accept God's teaching to stand in front of the elderly and respect them. That is what God teaches us, to fear Him.

What does it mean that remembering the elderly is the fear of God? The situation we are in now is due to the fruit of the hard work of those who came before us.  We are here today because we have served God by protecting the lives He has given us. This is where the relationship between respecting the elderly and fearing God begins. It also leads us to the question of what kind of back we should show to future generations by serving God today. Let us recall the elderly people who are around us today. Let us remember their backs and think about what we appreciate and why we respect them. Remember what unforgettable lessons we can learn from them. Let us thank God for leading us to meet them. Let us remember the elderly members of Nishinasuno Church and those who are not here today and thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their service.

Our life is a kind of pilgrimage.  Let us ask for the Lord's guidance so that each of us can leave behind a wonderful back for future generations, just like pilgrims who seek the truth and quietly continue to walk the road ahead, asking ourselves how we can spend our time.

Let us ask the Lord to shower His grace and mercy abundantly on our seniors.