Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness. They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. – Psalm 145:3-7
In biblical times, it was common practice in Jewish households and gatherings to recite the stories that told of how God performed great works and wonders for his people. You may recall that the first Christian martyr, Stephen, recited the whole salvation history of the Jewish people just before he was stoned to death. There is a German word, Heilsgeshichte, for what biblical scholars call Salvation History.
It is also important that we recite our Heilsgeshichte to each other, and particularly to our children. I would like to give you one example of what can happen if we neglect it. I recently wrote a paper on the migration of Mennonites to Upper Canada in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The main reason for the migration was because they had trouble dealing with conscription during the Revolutionary War. They had spent the previous sixty years clearing the forests, establishing farms, and other businesses in Pennsylvania. They neglected their history of non-resistance or defenselessness as practiced from their beginnings, two hundred-fifty years earlier. Now when war came again into their lives, they were not very well prepared to deal with this new problem, and so when some of their young men chose to serve in the continental army, they did what their ancestors did; they left their homes, and went to a new land.
I know that many of you do not come from an Anabaptist background, and I am not trying to press the concept of non-resistance on you, even though I believe in it very deeply. I simply use this story as an example of what can happen when we neglect the stories of our past. We want desperately to pass on our values and our faith to the next generation. What better way to do this than through the stories of our ancestors? I suppose that is why so many of us are hooked on genealogy. Through the study of our past, we make a connection to those who prepared the way for us, for indeed their story often becomes our story.
God has performed mighty acts in our personal lives, as well as in our congregations, our denominations, and in the church at large. Let's recite those stories to our children and to our grand children. We celebrate them by Praising God and passing on our Heilsgeshichte; From One Generation to Another.
Prayer: God of history, we praise you for all the mighty acts you have done for us as well as for our ancestors. Help us to remember our Heilsgeshichte and to find ways to keep it alive. Just as the Mennonites of old had to deal anew with their faith, so we are bound to relive our history over and over when we fail to remember it. As our nation tries to deal with new crises, remind our leaders of our past values and history, so that our mistakes in adventurism will not be repeated. We pray desperately for new insight into the solutions of old problems, so that peace may somehow be preserved. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.