Fifty Years
“Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” - Leviticus 19:32-34 (King James Version)
Friends,
This summer seems to me to be a remembrance of events that happened fifty years ago.
On July 20 we remembered the first time a human being stepped on the moon. I was ten years old and lived with my family in Gulfport, Mississippi. The television was on all day with news about the landing and historical tidbits that led up to this eventful Sunday. I remember I was so tired trying to stay awake until Neil Armstrong stepped out of the Lunar Module.
Recently the movie “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” was released. It is set against the background of the Tate-LaBianca murders by members of the Charles Manson family. Those horrific events happened in August 1969. All I remember about the murders were the reports on ABC news by Howard K. Smith.
As I write this, the fiftieth anniversary of Woodstock is being celebrated. I really don’t remember much about Woodstock. It doesn’t come into my memory until 1970 when the album was released.
Maybe I don’t remember the news reports about Woodstock because my family was occupied by another event that weekend. From Sunday, August 17 through early Monday, August 18, Hurricane Camille battered the Mississippi Gulf Coast. My family and I all went to a shelter for protection. As the air pressure dropped substantially, parts of the roof of the building we were in began coming off. We had to move, along with many others, to the middle section of the building. I was never so scared in my life. The next morning, we went back to our home and there was no damage. However, we were the lucky ones.
All these events were fifty years ago.
I am sixty now. I will be sixty-one in November. I don’t think I am that old but some days I do move slower than I once did. Still, fifty years have passed since those events in 1969. I have grey hairs, wrinkles and a few medical issues. All part of being fifty years older than I was in 1969.
The passage above is from the King James Bible. The opening verse states: “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man.” I love that word “hoary”. It means gray or white with age; extremely old. Its etymology goes back to a northern European word meaning treasure.
God shares with the children of Israel the command to honor the elderly. The idea is that the older one becomes, the more treasures the old ones carry.
I would like to think that in these past fifty years through some of my scars and through many of my blessings, I have gained some wisdom.
I do know I have been blessed by my elders who have shown me their treasures.
May God bless each of you with more wisdom as you look ahead to the future years in your lives.
Peace,
Ricky Adams
Pastor
Peace Lutheran Church
Mill Valley, California