Look Back to Look Forward

I am attending the Archdiocese of America Clergy Laity Congress in New York City this week, so I will be on and off the blog circuit. Our theme this year is “Legacy, Renewal, Unity” and we have already begun to look to our past to build our future. This is an exercise that every Christian must practice, not just for Church polity, but for personal spiritual growth. If we do not know where we have been as Christians, we will not know how to get to where we are going.

Where are we going? As I mentioned in my sermon this past Sunday, we are headed for a new world, a new existence, a place that will provide a better life for us. We are headed for heaven, but we must first look back to the Earth so understand where we have been up to this point. Just as any Church organization must look back and acknowledge moments in which our choices and priorities may not have always been ‘spot on’ in order to prepare a great future, we also must acknowledge those moments of sin in our past.

Looking forward to our journey to heaven, I invite you to reflect into your past this week and honestly assess where you have been, but don’t stop there. Merely acknowledging your past will only make you depressed or even self-righteous. Once fully grounded in your past, then you can look up to heaven with the words of the Saint Peter as he looked at Christ from the stormy waters, “Lord, save me!”

If your past has been anything like mine, there are moments you aren’t too proud of, and there are moments of great joy! BOTH moments brought you, to today. BOTH moments are part of your foundation, and by now with God’s grace you know where the weaknesses are in your foundation. He can help build a stronger future for you in heaven. It hasn’t always been easy, and it won’t always be difficult, but Christ is there to help.

The Lord said to his disciples, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew

Matthew 11.27-30

If we are going to take up the yolk of Christ, and allow Him to lead us to heaven, then it will help to know our path. It will help to look back to look forward.