1 John 2 : 12-17
Luke 2 : 36-40
Have you ever wondered what you will be doing, or what you will look like when you are 84 years old?
Or can you ever imagine what I will look like when I am 84? Well, looks aside, I wonder what kind of a person I will be when I am 84. I wonder if I will be a grumpy and long-winded old man.
But going by the general attitude of our pragmatic society, we don't want to think something so far ahead, we may even want to avoid thinking about it.
Because in a society where the value of a person is measured in terms of productivity and efficiency, then an old person is a liability, a sort of weak link.
In fact one of the common lament of the aged is that they feel useless and are just waiting to die.
But as I reflect on the gospel and on the 84 year-old prophetess Anna, an image comes to my mind - the image of a glorious mellow sunset.
She was old, but nonetheless she was radiant and mellow, maybe even glorious in her own ways, just like the sun setting slowly and quietly over the horizon.
And we have among us many of these glorious mellow sunsets. When we look around we are sure to see those aunties, a bit bent, a bit slow in their steps, but yet coming everyday for Mass, with Rosary or a prayer book in their hands.
Their names may not be Anna, but they are very much like her. And like Anna, they also have gone through a lot, they also have seen a lot.
When we see them, let us acknowledge them, and say something loving and simple like :Aunty, God bless you. Pray for me ok. They will be glad, they will be very happy to pray for us too.
In these old aunties as well as old uncles, we see the wisdom and the enlightenment that the 1st reading talked about.
They know that the world and all it craves for is coming to an end. But anyone who does the will of God remains forever.
Let us learn from them, these radiant and mellow sunsets, and let us live life gracefully by always praising and thanking the Lord.