Living in the Spirit
September 23, 2020
Scripture Reading: Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
The question of what history to teach children has been debated at the state and local level for some time on many subjects. It has cropped up again at the federal level. The main driving factor for this emergence is the 1619 Project* regarding slavery in the USA.
I enjoy studying history and particularly how it applies to my genealogy. History is recorded subjectively from the eye of the beholder to the scribe of the script. It is also shaped by the translators. When I was in grade school, the indigenous peoples of Mexico and South American were described as regal and smart, while the indigenous peoples in the eastern part of the USA were savages to fear and kill or chase away. Current information indicates that the indigenous tribes in the USA were as advanced as those to the South. Planting the seeds of curiosity about history in children and youth is probably more important than wasting time trying to whitewash the stories we tell. History is organic, needing to be routinely updated with new findings and understandings of culture. The Psalmist above writes that dark sayings of old are essential to our development and the futures of generations to come.
The Hebrew Bible fits the description of being told and written as influenced by sources, but it does not avoid dark truths. We could have jumped right over Cain killing Abel, Abram telling a ruler his wife was his sister, kings that did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and those who did not, and Elijah’s being ready to give up and run away. These stories provide people of faith the opportunity to learn from their ancestors. We know we do not always apply what we learn from these records. History did and continues to repeat itself even when we know our ancestors’ successes and failures. But imagine what the world would be like if we never had any history from which to learn.
Prayer: Lord, help us learn from history and discern carefully how to apply those lessons to our work of developing your Kingdom. Amen.
*https://pulitzercenter.org/lesson-plan-grouping/1619-project-curriculum
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.