27 March 2026

‘O God, from my youth you have taught me

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and grey hairs,

O God, so not forsake me

until I proclaim your might

to all the generations to come.’

I read these words from Psalm 71 at a recent funeral. The deceased was 101 years old – and when I last saw her she looked thirty years younger than her age. She loved to dance. I am sure that helped but she also loved to worship God. And did so from her youth.

There is something very noble about someone who has quietly dedicated their life to God in simple things like regular attendance at her local parish church for she witnesses to  a faithfulness which has nourished her inner life  from youth to old age.

There must be something very satisfying about reaching old age and grey hairs and sharing a faith which spans a century and more. For even in old age, the Psalmist has a ministry to proclaim God’s might to all the generations to come. The proclamation is in the quietness of the deed done.

A long life is rarely without what the Psalmist calls ‘troubles and calamities’. For here he demonstrates the paradox of praising God despite all the loss which he has endured throughout his long life. It’s the life of a younger St. Paul rejoicing in the Lord always, even in a Roman prison.

Old age is characterised by loss – loss of hair, eyesight, mobility, kith and kin. Each loss  a preparation for the final loss we all experience. But when our strength is spent, we become more creative about achieving our goals in more limited spaces and find joy in trusting God in our  increasing frailty and self-forgetfulness.