9/18/66

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6: 1-13a.

Text: Deuteronomy 6: 12; "Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

On this "Heritage Sunday" I want to follow a suggestion of David Read in this matter of looking back. Dr. Read speaks out of experience and education in his native Scotland; out of his service as a war-time chaplain and long-time prisoner of war; out of his life as pastor of one of the leading Presbyterian churches of our country and a teacher of ministers in New York City.

He has observed that when we are invited to "have faith" most of us immediately think of the future. We somehow think of faith as the attitude that is demanded toward the life -- much of it yet unknown -- that stretches out ahead of us. We think of knowledge as our attitude to the present. We know a good deal of the present --- what is going on now --- but we feel that we can only have a "belief," a trust, a faith in what is going to happen. When a man says, "I have faith in the state of Wisconsin," or "I have faith in the United States of America," he is not talking only of the existence of the state or nation now; he is expressing confidence in the as yet unexperienced and unknown future. And when we are urged to "have faith in God," we usually take that to mean being confident that the future is in His hands and that He will see us through. Well enough! But that is not all!

Probably we are more obsessed with the future than most other generations of the people in human history. It is perfectly natural for the people of a nation, comparatively young in history, to think more about the future than about the past. This slant toward the future has been one of the reasons for the growth and vitality of our country. But it seems that, today, the future looms upon us in somewhat different shape and color. It has always been exciting, and unpredictable with both promise and threat in it. But today, we suspect that the threat has swelled immeasurably. We have swung into an age of far greater potential than that of several centuries ago when venturesome explorers opened up both the Atlantic and Pacific areas of our globe to new awareness and acquaintance and accomplishment. Our universe is bursting open with new possibilities which we contemplate with a mixture of eagerness and caution. What, for a long time, was mostly space fiction, is fast turning into fact.

No wonder we are obsessed with the future! When the last 50 years has brought more changes to the human race than the previous 500; when our rate of travel has shot up from hundreds of miles per hour to tens of thousands of miles per hour (our ancestors of a century and a half ago doubted that man could survive at speeds much more than 12 to 15 miles per hour!); when scientific research promises to uncover spectacular controls over human health and behavior; when enough power has been brought under human control to pulverize whole cities; annihilate vast areas of life; possibly explode the whole globe itself into something different from our present earth --- no wonder the future concerns us vastly more than the past! And we of our time, perhaps especially the young people, are bound to ask the question, "Is there any guidance for such an hour as this?" "Aren’t we separated from historical continuity?" "Is our generation like a kite soaring into the skies with its string cut off from the past?" "Aren’t we entirely on our own, for better or for worse?"

If we say, then, to the man or woman of today, "Have faith in God," is this just a blind kind of confidence in the future --- a sort of alternative to despair? It is true that we may say that God has not changed just because we people have gotten so clever. After all, God is the eternal goodness of the universe, and that goodness is not surprised by any of the discoveries that amaze us. We can say, further, that it should be no more difficult for an astronaut to trust in God than for Columbus.

But we really want some firmer ground for faith than a happy gamble on the future. Which brings us to the suggestion that we are not so isolated from the past as we sometimes feel. We have roots that are of vast importance as we contemplate the future. We are not just pawns of the future; we are products of our history -- our individual history and the history of our race. And when we speak of faith, it is not only the future to which we turn our attention. We may very well take a look over our shoulder to what has gone before. If there is any merit in this community emphasis of ours on "Heritage Sunday," this is it. What we want to become rests on a foundation of what we have been in the past --- we and our forebears, and their fathers.

Faith calls us up to an examination of the accomplishments of the past, the discoveries already made, the ethics by which mankind has lived, the quality of living that has made possible, or has hindered, the progress of mankind. So, we have opened the Bible this morning to an old story of a people with ancient roots. And, in that reading of a lesson, we have found this observation: "Beware," or "take heed lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And someone thinks, "Here we go. Traditional religion just can’t get away from these ancient tales. I finished reading the Sunday morning paper with its latest account of an orbit far outside the earth; of the prospect for a trip to the moon and perhaps, later, a trip to some other planet. And then I come to church, and I hear all about that stuff about ancient Egypt and early Israel, about Abraham and Moses; and perhaps about Peter and Paul and all those characters that are farther back in history than the moon is distant from me. What have the doings of an ancient tribe, or some old Palestinian fishermen got to do with me? I want a religion that’s up-to-date; I want a faith for the future!"

Not too many years ago a prominent industrialist was heard to say, "History is bunk!" and not a few shouted "Amen, isn’t that the truth!" And yet are there any of us who really feel that the experience, the adventures, the trials, the mistakes, the successes and triumphs, the vision of our predecessors and ancestors, have no meaning for our life today?

A few minutes ago, we observed that when a man says, "I have faith in this state" or "I have faith in this nation," he is thinking of the future. But it is equally true that he would not say that unless he had his faith rooted in the past. It is because we believe in certain things that have happened that we have confidence in what can happen. Faith doesn’t just "leap at us" from nowhere. It rests on what has happened. And what has happened is history. It is the past, made live in our understanding. This perception, because it is not always easy to define, sometimes springs forth in poetry and music. One of the Purcell songs which Anna Carol Dudley proposes to sing in her concert with us on October 11th is a musical setting for these words:

We sing to Him, whose wisdom form’d the ear,

Our songs, let Him who gave us voices, hear;

We joy in God, who is the Spring of mirth,

Who loves the harmony of Heav’n and Earth;

Our humble sonnets shall that praise rehearse,

Who is the music of the Universe.

And while we sing we consecrate our art,

And offer up with every tongue a heart.

Well, you and I have a history. We do not begin the day as if we had just emerged from the womb. The long days and months and years of growing and experience, now behind us, form the foundation, the basis, upon which much in our future will emerge and take shape. Our attitude to the work at hand, to the people with whom we live, toward the questions of our own future, is very largely determined by our past. Probably you can think of a half-dozen incidents in your own life that were quite decisive in shaping the kind of person that you are, the work you are doing, and the kind of home you now live in.

Most of us know that, if we run into the kind of trouble that needs psychiatric help, a chief thing that we’ll be required to do is to delve into, and recall, and relive our past. If our own personal past has this importance, could it be less than likely that the history behind us has something important to say to us of today’s generation --- even if we do feel ourselves terribly isolated and alone? That is a good reason for listening, when we hear it said, "Look back in faith." There are moments of the past which are quite decisive for us. And if we see them in faith, we shall then have the basis for that forward-looking faith that we quite desperately need.

Look back in faith; for there are other ways of looking back. One of the plays that was written to express some of the frustration and irritation of the generation that grew up after World War II was titled "Look Back in Anger." It may be natural for each generation to be angry about its immediate predecessor; but the habit of generating indignation about the immediate past is one that should pass with maturity. It just generates more trouble when there are some who never quit the habit of looking back in anger. They fasten on the sore spots in their own family’s past, or in their neighbor’s past, or on their nation’s past, and more or less revel in their indignation and disgust. In that direction lies despair and hatred and self-pity --- which only breed further sore spots of the same kind.

To look back in faith should mean a reviewing of the past looking for the signs of God’s judgment and mercy, and finding thereby a base for trust and hope today. That is just what the Bible writer was doing when the leading character in his story called out to the people of his day: "Take heed lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." You were slaves down there -- remember? You toiled for nothing but the barest essentials for your own lives and for the affluence of your Egyptian owners. You had no recourse, whatever, against the injustices perpetrated against you. Your very life rested in the hands and whims of your oppressors. Don’t you forget it, now that you are free to build your own lives. Don’t you forget the goodness of God whose leading brought you out. Don’t you forget to fear and serve Him.

I don’t know, for certain, whether Moses is a completely historical character in the way he is described in the book of Deuteronomy or whether he may have been painted in vivid colors by the imagination and legends of grateful people. But the Biblical account of his work and teaching has about it the ring of authentically reported perception. The ten commandments which he enunciated to a people of short memory, and wayward ways, have the ring of God-given authority and man-tested experience. They were a reminder to the Israelite people to look back in faith, in order to look forward with faith. [Exodus 20: 1-17]. And the conscientious Jew does that to this day. The beginning of his worship is usually the well-remembered admonition: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" --- not just "yes, yes" with your mind and with your consent, but "get busy" about it! Wondrous things have been done for you! Remember that as you try to accomplish wondrous things in your future!

Most of the Old Testament writers seem to be saying this: "Look back in faith; remember what God has done for us in bringing us out of bondage and in making us a people." And the New Testament is like unto it in that the New Testament writers seem to be saying with one voice: "Look back in faith; remember what happened when God sent Jesus into the world to confront its evil and conquer it." We read how the Son of God’s goodness met our world and lived in it --- just the kind of world in which we live with the same kind of threats which we face -- disease, hunger, oppression, treachery, pain, violence and death in its most cruel form. He exemplified life’s best and endured its worst; and his spirit comes right back to live in the lives of all who will share with him. His spirit founded, and leads, his church. When we feel oppressed by the thought of the powers of evil, and of what could happen to us in our world, let us "Look back in faith to the life and the faith and the cross of Christ."

The worst that could happen -- the triumph of evil over perfect goodness --- happened there. And goodness won when His spirit came right back to be the conqueror in the hearts of people. When we look back at the event of his coming with faith and gratitude, we are given faith and confidence for the future --- even for the kind of future that rushes at us now. For we are not orphans. We are not a unique generation. We are human beings who face the same choice between good and evil that our ancestors had to make. Even if we raise up men who may land upon the moon or upon the more distant bodies out in space, the same questions that have haunted the human race from its beginning will be with us and we shall still need to look back to the rock from which we were hewn.

We of this church join with those of other churches in looking back, so that we may look forward with better understanding. We remember former homes, former leaders, the devotion and sacrifice and enthusiasm of former members, the accomplishment of their efforts that have brought us to the dedication of a new church home, new challenges and opportunities for service, new hope and determination. Our heritage is not just a decoration piece. It is the very stuff of our life. It helps to make us what we shall be.

The future of our life together, like the reaches of space, is yet unexperienced. But our faith in the past become our faith in the future for it is our guide in exploration. Take heed, therefore, and remember how the Lord redeemed thee. Take heed lest you forget Him. Respect and love and serve Him in the strength of His rightness and the power of His goodness. Give thanks that you are of His creation, and lay hold upon His leading.

[Let us pray]

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. We would not forget, O Father, what is provided for us - the daily food which we receive, the warmth by which we continue to live, the homes we have and know, the care of those we live, the parents and teachers who have offered us guidance, the heritage that we have in this church and community and in this fair land. Instill in us such gratitude that we may learn to praise Thee by new dedication of what we are and have, to Thy service among people, and to pass on to neighbors and friends and newcomers now, and to our children, what we have so wonderfully been given.

We pray for the generation growing up beside us. Inspire its youthful searching with great ideals, and with brave and generous spirit. Encourage those who strive for honesty and kindness. Banish from our souls the selfishness and neglect that degrades and corrupts.

Lord, we believe. Make our faith the channel of Thy healing love. Increase and multiply Thy mercy in us, that while living in the things of today we lose not the things that are lasting.

We ask this of Thee in the spirit of Jesus.

Amen.

--------------------------------

Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, September 18, 1966.