For Simeon and Anna

LAST SATURDAY THEY came down the Strand in London in their thousands. Some walked with sticks, a few were in wheelchairs and, following the procession, came an ambulance not a police van.
It was the day of the national pensioners rally and the marchers were on their way to Trafalgar Square. There was plenty of indignation. One sign _Tad: "MPs join Fat Cats, Pensioners join Church Mice". Outrage about the salary increases which MPs have just voted for themselves was clear.
Other signs suggested that the 10 million pensioners of this country are a voting force to be reckoned with. But it was not clear which of the two major parties pensioners were to vote for. Labour's withdrawal from specific commitment to increase pensions has gone down very badly. So pensioners were being urged to vote on a constituency basis once they found out what promises prospective MPs were prepared to make.
There was no obvious Christian witness of a collective nature as part of the demonstration. Lord Donald Soper sent a warm message which was read out to loud applause. He is a much loved man and admired Christian pensioner. There could have been some very appropriate texts for Christian banners! Psalm 70 would have been right to the point: "Do not reject me now that I am old. When
my strength fails do not forsake me..."
Pensioners do feel forsaken. After a lifetime of work and tax paying they had been under the impression that, in old age, they would live, if not in luxury, at least with enough for basic necessities. As a result of political choice, it has not turned out like that. Out of the 10 million pensioners, nearly four million have had to turn to means-tested forms of help which soon took away the savings of a lifetime. It is calculated that nearly half a million pensioners do not claim such benefits because of the humiliations and complexities involved. "To beg I am ashamed" is not a sentiment which belongs only to St Paul.
Yet this is not a poor country. For too many people in our society today, the elderly are expendable. Without funds they have no significant place in the market! Scripture and Christian tradition tell us quite another story. Since its foundation the care shown for the elderly by the Church has given a wonderful witness. From the Alms Houses of earlier days to the Hospices, Homes and Nazareth Houses of today, there has been a wide ranging and loving response.
It was Simeon and Anna who, very much senior citizens, were on watch at the Temple. It was they who waited to give their welcome to Our Lord. The Church must give, in the party political field, the clearest support for the Simeons and Annas of today.