Thought for Today
Psalm 48:12 Walk about Zion, go all around it, count its towers, 13 consider well its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may tell the next generation 14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
Matthew 11:16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
Luke 1:47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
Our congregation will celebrate Youth Sunday this coming week. Admittedly, ours is generally not a youthful assembly; however, the youth who are a part of the congregation will play an important role in worship this coming Sunday.
The word ‘generation’ appears about 100 times in the Bible. Sometimes the connotations are positive, sometimes negative. I suspect that the understanding of how many years constitute a ‘generation’ has varied greatly over the timespan of the Bible and even to today. “A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It also is ‘the average period, generally considered to be about 20–30 years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and begin to have children.’” (Wikipedia)
Many of us are familiar with the term ‘generation gap.’ If you are not, come visit with us Sunday, that’s the title of my (as yet unwritten) sermon. “A generation gap or generational gap is a difference of opinions and outlooks between one generation and another. These differences may relate to beliefs, politics, language, work, demographics and values.” (Wikipedia) I came across a slightly different approach to the idea of generational gaps in a novel I am reading. A teen asks her father, “Do you think that the day you stop listening to new music is the day you decide you’re on the path to old age?” (Below Zero, by C.J. Box).
We all have experienced generation gaps, either as youths ourselves, or certainly as parents. My son and I once happened to discuss ‘classic rock and roll.’ I was thinking of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Little Richard and Fats Domino. He was thinking about Eric Clapton, the groups Cream and Genesis. That was a defining moment of generation gap for me . . . and when I read that question this morning in that novel, my answer was “Yes.”
Many of my favorite stories in the Bible involve generation gaps. David first appears as the youngest son of Jesse, so young he was at first not considered when Samuel came to Bethlehem looking for a king. The future mighty king of Israel was left out in the field to tend the sheep. There was definitely a generation gap between Jesse and David.
When I was young, I was fascinated by the story in Luke 2:42-49 about Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem when he was 12. Jesus’ question if verse 49 demonstrates that even his family experienced a generation gap, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Mary had sung the Magnificat in Luke 1, recognizing God’s blessing of her. Twelve years later, a generation gap had resulted between the blessed and the blessing.
Are generation gaps inevitable? Are they good or bad? Tune in Sunday for my take on the answers. This morning, I am inclined to think that they are not unexpected, that they may be either good or bad, but mainly they are irrelevant to the most important issue. In that same fictional father/daughter conversation, as they discussed new music versus oldies, the daughter counters her father’s appeal of nostalgic memories evoked by the oldies with, “But then I’d be thinking backward and not forward. I’d be on the way to geezerhood.” Now I have to ask myself whether or not I am on the way to geezerhood!
Stay safe, look both ways, backward and forward, trust God,
Pastor Ray