The Stories of Our Ancestors

I can distinctly remember the mindset that I had when I was a teenager. My worldview was very small. Most of my thoughts and concerns were for myself and what I needed and wanted in any given moment. I have come to realize that this is part of the development of teenagers. Teens are trying to figure out who they are and where they fit into society and they are looking to others to learn what type of adult they want to be. These are all good and healthy things for teens to consider as they grow and mature into adulthood. Thankfully this is just a stage in our development as human beings. It is something we should mature through as we grow and gain more life experience, but sometimes we can end up getting stuck in this mentality and it can be a detriment to our overall worldview.

One of the problems with this narrow perspective of only seeking meaning and understanding in what is current is that we do not think it necessary to look back in history for discovery. Wisdom is our greatest teacher because it doesn’t simply look to the information at hand, it also remembers what has happened in the past, which helps us make right judgement for the future. While we may like to think that life today is new and modern and “better” than the days of old, our struggles and joys as human beings remain the same. While the particular circumstances of our modern society may be different than when Jesus walked the earth, the human condition has not changed or evolved. The stirrings of our hearts are the same as those of Moses’ time. Our relationship with God and with one another is the same as what was experienced by Abraham and Sarah. There are consistent patterns of behavior by all human beings, which cannot be forsaken or lost when discerning what God is calling us to today and what He may be calling us to in the future.

More and more today I am hearing a false rhetoric that tries to deny the history of the faith, which began in the garden with Adam and Eve. This rhetoric includes glossing over parts of the history of salvation that do not fit the God that has been constructed in our minds and hearts as my God. We tend to read a portion of what Jesus says and take to heart certain words, often leaving out others that do not fit our narrative. We see this in the protestant faith, as they have not only removed certain books of the bible that do not fit their narrative, but they also dismiss certain truths of the Tradition. By not accepting the full history of humanity and not accepting the fullness of the faith that has been handed down, we are placing ourselves as the arbitrator for God.

If we find ourselves being poked by a certain aspect of God depicted in the Old Testament, or something Jesus said in the Gospel, or even a specific teaching of the Church, we would do well to consider that it is in that exact place that God wants to meet us, so that He can lead us to even greater love. Think of the apostles during the passion and crucifixion of Jesus. Even though Jesus foretold that this was going to happen, none but John was able to accept it and remain with Him. Being stuck in our way of thinking, instead of relying on the Holy Spirit that has revealed and entrusted the Truth of Christ once and for all to the Church, can lead to a bottom up worldview. Many of Jesus’ followers must have thought that there had to be another way to save humanity, something less brutal, a way that looked and felt more loving. What the apostles eventually came to understand, was that the cross was a gift from God. It is actually the greatest act of love for humanity. The very thing that was the crux in God’s plan of salvation, is what humanity finds hardest to accept. It is not until we lean into the cross, instead of running away from it, that our hearts will expand to accept a deeper form of loving God, made possible through Jesus Christ.

It’s interesting to note that the person who was never open to accepting the cross was Judas. He could not accept this way of Jesus that seemed opposed to his view of how salvation was to come to humanity. What Judas missed out on was the incredible mercy and love of the Father that was being extended to him on the cross. He was closed off to it because it didn’t look like what he thought it should. We can fall into this same trap. We can construct our own idea of who Jesus is, which forms what we believe to be moral and just, which forms the mission we believe to have on this earth. The danger of this bottom up approach to thinking is that it starts with us and tries to make its way to God. In doing this we tend to close ourselves off from the incredible love of the cross. We run away from what pokes us instead of embracing it and letting it transform us. The truth is that God desires that we be made holy and this is possible, not because we are good, but because God is good.

It is good for us to consider the fact that our modern culture is no “better” or more enlightened that those who came before us. God made man in His image and likeness from the beginning and He continues to do so today. Humanity’s relationship with God and with one another has remained consistent from the beginning of time. The benefit of looking back on the history of humanity, is to notice the pattern of behaviors that reflect the very heart of our human condition. The stories of our ancestors are our story too. While we are a people who live in this ever changing world, that does not mean that our humanity changes. In fact it shouldn’t change because we are God’s children, we are not children of the world. Our humanity is rooted in God, not the world, and God is unchanging.

So while our world rushes forward onto bigger and better, we must not let this modern mentality curve our understanding of who God is and who we are in relation to Him. Our truest identity as human beings is revealed to us by God, not by the world. God comes first and any understanding we have about the world and ourselves comes from the truth revealed to us by God. Whatever God has asked of humanity from the beginning and all throughout history is possible because of His grace, which is freely given to us, so that we may do the impossible.

Therefore, it is truly wise for us to look to the past, to learn from our ancestors, to seek to understand more and more our human condition. God desires we as a people know Him in every generation. He is searching for each one of us in this very culture that we are living in today. He desires a personal relationship with you that lifts you up out of this world and places you into His Kingdom, “on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the joy of our life! To live in God’s Kingdom and to help build the Kingdom of God here on earth, in our own lives, in our own families and communities, and in the world. This mission of ours today is the same mission that existed for all of humanity from the very beginning. It is important for us to look back, to remember where we came from, to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of our ancestors, and to know that God’s love for us is unending.