Turning Fifty

Keeping eyes on heaven and taking another step on earth

07/12/2019

Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30 Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, "Jacob! Jacob!" He answered, "Here I am." Then he said: "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes." Israel had sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that he might meet him in Goshen. On his arrival in the region of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck and wept a long time in his arms. And Israel said to Joseph, "At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive."

Here’s a little humor to help me as I turn fifty. I hope it may help you, too, no matter what your age. Here’s a poetic perspective: “I get up each morning and dust off my wits, then I pick up the paper and read the ‘o-bits.’ If my name isn’t there, then I know I’m not dead. I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed.” Here’s a more romantic reflection: “Dear husband, congrats on turning 50! What do you want for your birthday? Please do not say a tie that matches the hue of your eyes, cause it’s exceedingly difficult to find a bloodshot tie.”

Here’s a biological blunder: “First you forget names, then you forget facts, then you forget to pull your zipper up, then you forget to pull your zipper down.” I wasn’t sure I could use that one in church, but I guess I just did. When you turn fifty, you can get away with things like that. George Orwell, the brilliant British novelist and essayist, said: “At age 50, everyone has the face he deserves.” By the way, Orwell ironically died at age 46, so he never saw that face that he deserved. Let’s hope God’s mercy allows us all to avoid getting what we deserve.

Now, fifty is also a noteworthy number is the bible. Let me share two significant instances of the occurrence of fifty in scripture. First, we read in Leviticus 25:10, “You shall treat this fiftieth year as sacred. You shall proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to your own property, each of you to your own family.” What an extraordinary provision to protect the family property of the twelve tribes of Israel. Every fifty years – the jubilee year – debts were forgiven and the children of Israel returned to their patrimonial property. It was in this same jubilee spirit that in the year 2000 (a great jubilee year), Pope St. John Paul II urged first world countries to forgive the debts of third world countries. I don’t think too many people took him up on the offer. Nonetheless, that’s the bible’s teaching on the fiftieth year, a jubilee to celebrate.

The second occurrence of fifty, of course, is one we are all familiar with: “fifty days” after Jesus’ glorious resurrection. Do you remember what transpired? Pentecost – the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Blessed Virgin Mary and the holy apostles gathered in the upper room. Catholic Christians consider Pentecost the birthday of the Church, where the Holy Spirit, the soul, infuses Mary and the apostles, the body, of the Church. Pentecost, therefore, is the equivalent of the Incarnation, when Jesus, the divine Person, became flesh with a human nature. The word “Pentecost” literally means “day fifty,” and in Christian thought it has become synonymous with the Holy Spirit. Would you please pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire me as I turn fifty? Please pray that I will be more and more docile (obedient) to his peaceful promptings, like the whole Church should be.

But do you know what personally helps me not to fret or fear as I turn fifty? It is my hope that I am one step closer to heaven, our true home. Every year that passes, we take a sort of spiritual step closer to our home. In Genesis 46 (today’s first reading), God speaks to Jacob, who is about to depart for Egypt, saying: “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt…Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes.” Do you recall where Jacob settled his family in Egypt? It was in the rich, fertile area called Goshen, the best land in all Egypt. But as beautiful as that land was, though, God reminded Jacob to return to the Promised Land of Palestine.

My friends, we Americans live in one of the most picturesque, peaceful and plentiful places on earth, the United States of America. If the whole world were Egypt, then the United States would be modern-day Goshen. But we should not forget God’s command to Jacob that this is not out true home, but rather, heaven, the real Promised Land. In 1 Peter 2:11, we read that we are merely “strangers and sojourners” on earth, slowly making our pilgrimage, year after year, step by step, back to the Promised Land of heaven.

Every birthday we celebrate is one step closer to home, to heaven. And some of you look like you’re a little closer to home than me. A little bit of humor and a whole lot of heaven is how I deal with turning fifty.

Praised be Jesus Christ!