Appallingly applied to Holocaust survivors and displaced Palestinians, I heard someone say that we would be better off if we just forgot the past and moved on.
While I get the problem of being stuck and paralyzed by the grip of a painful past, I actually don't think we are called to forget the past. Instead, we are called to learn from the past, to be released from its bitter and unrealistic grip and, more importantly, to remember and affirm a greater narrative about God's grace in the midst of that past. If we discount or forget the past, we fail to utilize one of God's great gifts – our ability to affirm "never again" as we call one another (ourselves included) to repent and trust God's resurrection power to bring new life out of death.
While I get the problem of being stuck and paralyzed by the grip of a painful past, I actually don't think we are called to forget the past. Instead, we are called to learn from the past, to be released from its bitter and unrealistic grip and, more importantly, to remember and affirm a greater narrative about God's grace in the midst of that past. If we discount or forget the past, we fail to utilize one of God's great gifts – our ability to affirm "never again" as we call one another (ourselves included) to repent and trust God's resurrection power to bring new life out of death.
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| Dachau Germany a memorial wall with the inscription, "never again" |
AMEN! Remember and learn from the past. Forgive as we have been forgiven. Move on. How liberating!
ReplyDeleteAmen!
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