For those of us (a group which includes, I hate to say it, me) who read AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) Magazine, we know that this month's issue featured a lengthy interview with one of the elder statesmen of rock and roll, Bob Dylan.  At 73, Dylan finally decided to sit down with AARP and talk.
     We all have varying opinions about Bob Dylan, and I won't spend time talking about those (except to say that one member of my family is very passionate about his admiration of him!).  I do want to highlight one thing Dylan mentions in the interview, which is that, "Passion is a young man's game.  Young people can be passionate.  Older people gotta be more wise."
     Of course, Dylan doesn't mean eschewing any kind of passion.  He'd be denying who we all are.  He's referring to the wild passions (and perhaps debauchery) that seem to accompany rock bands that tour in their twenties, thirties, and forties.  Such things have become rock and roll legend, and have filled countless books.
     Dylan has a good point. Those of us who have lived past the midpoint of their life understand that as we grow older, things change.  We look at life and time differently. How can we not?  We all hope we are growing in wisdom; we all hope we are becoming more balanced people.
     As Ecclesiastes advises the young person (chapter eleven), follow the impulses of your heart and pursue the desires of your eyes.  Yet remember this:  when all all else is said and done, reverence God.  Remember your creator.
     Passion may assume different forms, yes, but it remains essentially the same: reminders and reflections of our journey before, I trust, God.  We all see existence differently, but we all exist the same.  We may not do everything we once did, but we do what we do now.  And that's enough.  Life is a cacophony of possibility.  It's always new.
     So did Jesus say, don't put new wine in old wine skins.  Put new wine in new wine skins and, whether you're young or old, see your life unfold in the eternality of God.