Nearer, Younger

First Sunday of Advent

‘For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand’ (Rom. 13:12).

Getting older means getting closer to Jesus. The nearer we get to Him, the younger we become.

Youth springs eternal from those who draw daily from new mercies. New, as never before.

To be sure, we have all witnessed the unhappy growing unhappier with age. But we’ve also witnessed the docile getting sweeter. We become more of who we are as years progress. Time distills something of our essence.

I am not romanticizing the march of time. Aging is a diminishment, a decrease of sorts. We can only laugh at the frivolous way we consumers deny inevitable losses. 80 is the new 50. Frail celebrities boast of gymnastic sex, proceeding hairlines, and bulking up in all the right places. We dance as fast as we can until the knee or hip buckles.

But as the body fades, age frees us to rediscover what we most value. In the decrease, we may well let go of dumb stuff that no longer snags us. We can welcome these necessary losses. For example, I am disinclined today toward debating secondary issues for which I’ve little time or energy. Striving loses steam. It’s easier for me to declutter. What remains is a Who.

Jesus is nearer in my decrease. Bring on His increase. Mercies new daily are more simply sought and found. In this, I experience renewed chastity, a spiritual virginity and vitality springing from dependence.

Lingering longer before Him, I behold blessed ones whose value grows sweeter with time. That offsets losses that could tempt me to mistrust. Only Jesus transforms wounds into wonders of His love. Injustices slow me and become occasions for holy intimacy. He alone cleans the gash and glorifies Himself through it. In time. Over time.

I choose whether hardships harden or tenderize me. Jesus gave me that choice when He died for all the oppressed, releasing mercies new daily.

Strength and hope arise with each healing. He draws near and summons a youthful response. Time with Him here becomes more precious as I prepare for what awaits me there.

I see something of this in Annette. She spends a lot of time just praying. We talk, of course, but mostly she works out her life quietly with Him. I’ll walk in the room as she pours out in silence while He pours in. One morning in prep for an international trip, I interrupted her. She lay like a baby propped up before her mother. She looked slightly pained but resting. When asked, she replied: ‘I am just experiencing familiar warfare. Hope this trip hits the mark, cause it’s costly. I’ll pass through it.’ What a woman. She is more childlike today than yesterday.

Still with us, my mother, now just a month shy of 100 years old, is more with Him. She has suffered the loss of all her peers and some of her physical and mental acuity. But she is as sweet, maybe more so, in childlike trust in Jesus. She looks at times like a child waiting for parents. She is. She’s closer and younger than before.

Happy first Sunday in Advent and first day of the Church New Year. We begin again, His mercies new daily.