In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

One of the many things that my classes are teaching me is that we are indebted to the past for most everything we think is modern. It seems to be the height of hubris (ego, self-centeredness) to believe that things begin with you or with your self. Our lives are built upon a whole string of past understandings or historical precedents. I have been learning this in preaching and worship studies. So much of who we are and what we do in the Church of God has its roots in the early eighteenth century actions of frontier settlers and preachers who carved out a new version of how to worship and preach (built, of course, on Scottish communion rites and those were built upon the principles of the Reformation which were an attempt to return to 1st century Christianity, etc.). It may be that nothing new is under the sun.
I have just finished my Latin class for the evening and I am finding out how much of what we do in English is based on Latin words, rules, and grammar. For instance, "in nomine" means "in the name". Patris (from which we get Padre) means Father. Filii is Son (OK, it doesn't always work). and Spiritus means (think for yourself) ... Spirit and Sancti (from which we get sanctify and sanctification, means holy (so it is Holy Spirit). So, the title of this article is a quote from the Latin Mass when they end their prayers saying, "In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." Everything we say is built on a language that is from the past.
Last weekend Joanie and I went back to Fresno and went to church there for the first time since we left in August. Following the service, I performed a wedding ceremony for a good friend. I realized how much of my life is built upon what happened there. What do I do with that? What do you do with your past? Do you continue to live it over and over again? Do you forget about it and leave it behind?
The best thing you can do with the past is appreciate it for what it has done. Even the bad times have been foundational for your future. In that there is hope. If you are in a bad time now, know that better times lie ahead that will be built upon the struggles of this moment. If you are celebrating your present then be reflective enough to know that the good times you experience now are based in the work you did in the past. The implications are astounding. What you do today forms the foundation for what you will do and be tomorrow. How you live this moment goes a long way toward accomplishing what will come to fruition in the future.
You see? Everything is connected. Even you and me. Through this blog our lives are now intermingled. We are building a future together. May it be joyous. In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.