|
The New Retirement
10-11 January 2004
Fr. George Smiga
Lk 3:15-16, 21-22
At Jesus' baptism the heavens opened and the spirit descended. A voice proclaimed, “You are my beloved son.” At Jesus' baptism his vocation was revealed to him. God made clear to Jesus how he should live and what was the purpose of his life.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if God could deal that clearly with us? As we are trying to decide what should we do with our lives, or who we should marry or whether we should make a change in our career, wouldn't it be wonderful if the skies would open and God would say, “Do this” or “Don't do that”? We know that God usually does not speak to us in this way. Nevertheless, even if the skies never open or the spirit never descends, we still believe that God is directing us. We are called to examine the patterns in our society. We believe that what we discover there is God's way of directing and guiding us. That is why today I want to direct your attention to a dramatic new pattern that is developing in our culture. I want to speak about this pattern from the perspective of faith, because I believe this development is a significant opportunity that God is offering to many of us.
Today our society is radically redefining the meaning of retirement. That's right. This homily addresses retirement from the perspective of faith. And before all of you in your teens and 20's and 40's tune me out, I want to promise that what I say applies to everyone in this church today. Because the development of retirement is changing the shape of all our lives. Today because of better nutrition and medicine Americans are living longer and better than any other people in the history of the world. Over the last fifty years the average American has gained ten years of productive life. That is an unheard of advancement in the length and quality of living. It changes the shape of what all of us are moving towards and how we need to prepare for it. The old pattern used to be this: You grew up; you raised a family; you worked hard; you retired; you played a little golf and perhaps moved to Florida ; and it was over. Today, people retiring in their 60's are facing 20 to 30 years of productive life. Now that is too long simply to play golf. (For some people! I don't want any emails on this!)
So what are we to do with all that time? How can it be made productive? Much research is being done on this new retirement . Already a few conclusions are coming into focus. I would like to highlight three qualities that research has shown typify people who are satisfied and happy in the new retirement. Those three qualities are: expansion, service and relationships.
Those who study retirement insist that those who are happy in these years are those who are willing to expand. Success in the new retirement involves developing new interests and abilities. Before retirement the task of life is to grow up and become productive. After retirement life's task is not to grow up but to grow out. When you are busy earning a living, your life by necessity has a narrow focus. After retirement there is more freedom to do things that are not tied to income. There is time to expand. And those who are happiest in retirement seem to be those who expand in a number of different areas and often in ways that are very different from what they used to do for a living. So you have brain surgeons learning to play the trumpet, and history teachers studying astronomy and homemakers starting businesses. The ability to stretch oneself, to broaden oneself, to enlarge oneself is the first quality for those who live the new retirement well.
The second quality is service. Those who are happy in retirement are people who have found someway of giving back. This orientation to service seems to be an essential component in assembling a new pattern of living. Spending some time volunteering in a hospital or teaching a child to read contributes to long-term satisfaction. Serving is the second quality of a happy new retirement.
The third quality is relationships. For those facing 20 to 30 years of retirement, nothing is more important than friendship. Because loss through death is a clear reality in the latter years of life, living the new retirement with one spouse or one friend is often not enough. People need a network of relationships, a group of people with whom life can be shared and sorrows carried. Good and varied relationships are crucial to retirement.
Now everything we are talking about pertains to the average American. It is tragically true that there are people here today who will never reach retirement and others who might not be able to retire at the normal time because of financial reasons. But for most of us the pattern of our society indicates that we will have 20 to 30 years of retired life. To live that retirement well, we must be willing to enlarge ourselves, to serve, to build relationships.
So here's the point. If the new retirement is as we have described, why not begin today? Even if you are in your 20's or 30's and certainly if you are in your 40's or 50's, now is the time to think ahead. What new interests, what new abilities should I develop? How can I serve and begin to discern what kind of service might benefit me and others when retirement gives me more freedom? How can I build a network of relationships. How can I connect with people who have similar interests, people with whom I can share life?
Although this may sound a little like a commercial, I need to point out to you that a parish community is a perfect place to develop such qualities. In a parish community you have the opportunity of Adult Enrichment which can expand your thinking and your interests beyond your work and your responsibilities. In a parish community you have opportunities to serve and to learn what kind of service would most compliment your future. In a parish community you can reach out to people beyond your family and form relationships that will last the rest of your life.
We should not wait for the heavens to open and the Holy Spirit to come down to tell us what to do. God is speaking to us today in the patterns of our society. The shape of our life is changing and God is preparing us for what lies ahead. Now is the time to enlarge our thinking, to serve others, to develop relationships so that God's gift of retirement will not be a burden to be endured, but a blessing to be lived.
|
