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| Statue of Eleanor Rigby, Liverpool |
'The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar in Lebanon...They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.' Psalm 92:12, 14
In the St Peter's Church Graveyard in Woolton, Liverpool, a gravestone bears the name Eleanor Rigby. Eleanor Rigby is the title of a familiar and catchy tune by the Beatles. Paul McCartney consistently denied that he took the name from the gravestone. It remains a favourite tune played over the airwaves and computer bytes to this day.
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window
Wearing a face which she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong
Father McKenzie
Writing the words of a sermon that no-one will hear
No-one comes near
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
Paul wrote that he lived in a housing estate in which there were lots of old ladies. He enjoyed sitting around with these dear ladies hearing their great stories. He surmised that these were lonely old ladies. Their loneliness connected him with them.
This song released in 1966, paints a pathetic picture of the elderly, especially of Christians, who spent their time in empty churches listening to sermons that nobody wants to hear. When they die, they depart into oblivion; nobody remembers and nobody cares. It is an unfortunate and sad commentary of old age.
Shakespeare in the play As You Like It, described this decline.
'Last scene of all, that ends this strange eventful history is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste and sans everything.'
But it need not and should not be this way. The back cover of Bishop Solomon's book Growing Old Gracefully (Ref 1) literally shouts, 'Growing old doesn't have to be about frailties, loneliness and loss of purpose.' In this book, Bishop Robert Solomon urges old men and women to take on old age realistically by balancing frailties with continued optimism of useful service and activities.
J I Packer in the book, Finishing Our Course With Joy (Ref 2) wrote, 'Some grow old gracefully, meaning, fully in the grip of the grace of God. Increasingly they display a well-developed understanding with a well formed character; firm, resilient and unyielding.' Packer calls this 'Spiritual Ripeness' which he opines to be worth far more than material wealth. As we age, Packer suggests, like runners in a distance race, we should try to keep something in reserve for the final sprint.
This final reserve lived with extreme poise and grace was well documented by Mitch Albom in his bestseller, Tuesdays with Morrie (Ref 3). Prof Morrie Swatch had ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a neurological condition affecting the muscles in slow progression and causing weakness and paralysis until it reaches the respiratory muscles; the victim dies of suffocation. Prof Swatch shared his wasting away, dying experience with Ted Koppel in ABC's Nightline and with his student, Mitch Albom. A reviewer, Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote, "A deeply moving account of courage and wisdom, shared by an inveterate mentor looking into the multi textured face of his own death. There is much to be learned by sitting in on this final class."
Morrie Swatch shared his view on Aging, "I embrace aging. It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."
Are we worried of the loneliness that comes with aging, leading to a death to which nobody would come? Reading Morrie's commentaries brings to mind another song written by a lesser known English duo Stuart Townend and Mark Edwards, 'There Is A Hope.' This song explores hope, Christian hope, instead of despair.
There is a hope that burns within my heart
That gives me strength for every passing day
A glimpse of glory now revealed in meagre part
Yet drives all doubt away
I stand in Christ with sins forgiven
And Christ in me the hope of heaven
My highest calling and my deepest joy
To make His will my home.
There is a hope that lifts my weary head
A consolation strong against despair
That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit
I find the Saviour there
Through present sufferings future's fear
He whispers courage in my ear
For I am safe in everlasting arms
And they will lead me home.
There is a hope that stands the test of time
That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave
To see the matchless beauty of a day divine
When I behold His face
When sufferings cease and sorrows die
And every longing satisfied
Then joy unspeakable will flood my soul
For I am truly home
In the story behind the song, Stuart Townend wrote, "When the Bible talks of hope, it talks of something that can be broken down into two certainties. The first is that no matter where we go and what we do in this life, God will be with us, and He will love us. The second is that when this life is over, we will not perish but will spend eternity at home with Christ. These certain hopes puts everything in our lives into perspective, and we can live by faith on the solid and certain hope that Christ gives us."
True, though it may be, we need to counterpoise the circumstances of Eleanor Rigby with the promise and expectation of There is a Hope. Then we may grow old gracefully.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19
Lionel
Ref 1: Robert Solomon. Growing Old Gracefully, Following Jesus to the End. Discovery House, 2019
Ref 2: J I Packer. Finishing Our Course With Joy, Crossway, 2014
Ref 3: Mitch Albom. Tuesdays with Morrie. Anchor Books, 1997
