Hello In There,Hello! - Lee Shelnutt

The late and great country singer, John Prine, passed away this past year, another one of the sad Covid-19 statistics. Each number in the tally represents so much more than a number. Prine was rightly called a master singer-songwriter. One of my Prine favorites is, “Hello in There.” 

We had an apartment in the city
Me and Loretta liked living there
Well, it'd been years since the kids had grown
A life of their own, left us alone
John and Linda live in Omaha
And Joe is somewhere on the road
We lost Davy in the Korean war
And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore

You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"

Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more
She sits and stares through the back door screen
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen
Someday I'll go and call up Rudy
We worked together at the factory
But what could I say if he asks "What's new?"
"Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do"

You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes
Please don't just pass 'em by and stare
As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"

Right after the birth narrative of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is a passage in the Gospel of Luke that presents us with two sets of hollow ancient eyes whom the crowds likely passed by, maybe even without a stare. Like many with hollow ancient eyes, they could have been just waiting for a, “Hello in there, hello” but they were waiting for much more – so much more. And when He, even as a tiny baby, was in their presence, they knew, and their hollow ancient eyes lit up. And they sang, they blessed, they gave thanks, and they witnessed. The One who would do so much more than say “Hello in there, hello” was there – in their very presence. 

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
   according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31   that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
   and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping withfasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Prine’s vocal cords were affected by age and disease. The years can be rough on them. I suspect that was the case with Simeon, but no matter how well or strongly he sang, Simeon sang true. He sang of the baby Jesus. He sang of the Messiah. He sang of the Savior in his arms, the LORD’s salvation and the sword he would bring. 

Don’t pass Simeon by. Don’t so much say, “hello in there,” but instead, listen and meditate on his blessing God in his song, his blessing Joseph and Mary, and his warning Mary about a sword. Of the many truths of the passage to understand, it’s clear Luke wanted his readers to see that Simeon’s Song is a Song for all ages!

When you read these opening chapters of Luke, don’t miss that you go from a teenage girl to these elderly two, Simeon and Anna. There’s a point to be made. God the Son had taken on flesh for all ages. There is salvation found in Jesus Christ! No matter what age you are, Jesus is the Savior, the King you need,and He offers himself to you! No matter the age of those you meet – for there are no insignificant people – they are all image-bearers of God and they are all in need of the Gospel, in need of Jesus.

Among the annual Christmas traditions my family observes is that we watch an old BBC version of Dylan Thomas’ poem, A Child’s Christmas in Wales. It’s a poem-story of an older mantelling a boy of the Christmases of his youth. The grandfather begins and the little boy asks questions along the way. One such exchange goes like this:

"Were there Uncles like in our house?"

"There are always Uncles at Christmas. The same Uncles. And on Christmas morning, with dog-disturbing whistle I would scour the swatched town for the news of the little world and find always a dead bird by the Post Office or by the white deserted swings; perhaps a robin, all but one of his fires out. Men and women wading or scooping back from chapel, with taproom noses and wind-bussed cheeks, all albinos, huddle their stiff black jarring feathers against the irreligious snow. Mistletoe hung from the gas brackets in all the front parlors; there was sherry and walnuts and bottled beer and crackers by the dessertspoons; and cats in their fur-abouts watched the fires; and the high-heaped fire spat, all ready for the chestnuts and the mulling pokers. Some few large men sat in the front parlors, without their collars, Uncles almost certainly, trying their new cigars, holding them out judiciously at arms' length, returning them to their mouths, coughing, then holding them out again as though waiting for the explosion; and some few small aunts, not wanted in the kitchen, nor anywhere else for that matter, sat on the very edge of their chairs, poised and brittle, afraid to break, like faded cups and saucers."

Those last lines about the small aunts not wanted in the kitchen have always struck the saddest of chords with me. Yet, they are sadly too often true. But notice the beauty of our passage – not so with Jesus – he came to be held by old Simeon and adored by old and brittle Anna. You see the Simeons and Annas of the world are so truly important.

Don’t overlook the Gospel faithfulness of elderly brothers and sisters and don’t give up on that elderly unbeliever you love.

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes
Please don't just pass 'em by and stare
As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"

Say Hello in there, hello! There are many out there alone – all the more so in the midst of this pestilence and the restrictions of hospitals, nursing homes, and concerned family members. Saying, Hello in there, hello! will take more effort and responsible ingenuity on all of our parts (letters, phone calls, emails, children’s coloring pages, waving in from outside of their doors and windows, care-packages, dropping off meals on porch stoops, etc.). It will also take guarding our tongues when speaking of Covid-19 vulnerability. Lines like, “Well, it’s only dangerous for old folk anyway,” are helpful to no one. To say, Hello in there, hello!, will take effort, ingenuity, and loving words and actions, but it is needed now more than ever. 

But Jesus didn’t merely look in and say, Hello in there, hello! He came not only to be held by Simeon and proclaimed by Anna. He came to live and die and be resurrected for them. So, with our hellos, let us share the great Gospel truths of Jesus and His love with those with our elderly brothers and sisters. Some are ready to depart in the peace of that Gospel, and some have others to tell and in either case, Jesus-lovers love to hear that old, old story. 

And there are others with ancient and truly hollow eyes who have yet to hear. 

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes
Please don't just pass 'em by and stare
As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"

And say, there is salvation found in my Savior and King, dear one. Believe in His name!