Religion Corner
Piedmont Post
May 23, 2007
by Rev. Lois Mueller

Happy Older Americans Month!  For over thirty years, May has been designated as the month to specifically honor the elders of our communities.  Almost everyone gives lip service to the concept of revering elders, but in our efficiency-driven, production-oriented culture, we continue to overlook the essential role older people fill, far beyond the tremendous social capital from the numerous volunteer hours they provide. 

It is often said that elders impart wisdom but we have difficulty in articulating how wisdom is passed from one generation to another.  It isn’t by giving advice -- anyone who has ever had children knows that isn’t very effective!

The biblical model for imparting wisdom is in the giving of a blessing.  The matriarchs and patriarchs formally blessed others to bestow a legacy and to affirm the next generation.  One biblical theologian defined a blessing as “the naming of something as good and as of God.  The one blessing gives something of his [or her] own soul.”

Being a “Blesser” is what I believe we are increasingly called to become as we age, and many elders fulfill this spiritual vocation without defining it at all.  When my youngest son, Elliot, was four years old, he looked up at me with a big sigh and said, “Grammy makes my heart feel better.”  That’s what the blessers of our lives do – to grow and heal our hearts and the heart of our earth.  It’s important to remember that this vital role isn’t dependent upon physical energy, material resources or being in step with popular culture – it is only dependent on an openhearted availability to others. 

Becoming a Blesser presents challenges.  It means that we attempt to let go of harsh judgments of others and deliberately look for the spark of the Divine in each one we meet.  We discern what is life giving and holy among us.  We become courageous in sharing the struggles and joys of our lives and consciously bless our memories.  We spend time absorbed in wonder and awe.  It also means that we enlarge our awareness to the long view – how will our decisions and practices affect our descendents and the earth to the seventh generation?

Many in “the third age” of life already provide a ministry of blessing, but elders themselves have internalized the stereotypes of our youth-oriented culture and doubt their own potential as agents of transformation.  They undervalue the need of other generations to receive their affirmation and blessing.  During this Older Americans Month, thank a Blesser of your life.  If you’re looking for a Blesser -- communities of faith of all kinds are filled with surrogate grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, ready to shower love and bestow a blessing.