I am often guilty of always wanting to move on to the next thing. If it's Sunday I'm thinking about Monday. If I'm on vacation I'm thinking about going home. I have a real difficulty living in the here and now.
When I began reading Deuteronomy tonight I realized that the first several chapters were just a rehash of Israel's past 40 years in the wilderness. Come on! Really?
With a more objective attitude I began looking for ways in which I could apply this brilliant summary that Moses was giving to his people. Though it's connections are loosely tied, I do think there is merit to celebrating the past when worshiping in the present. In fact, we did a little of that this weekend at South Side.
We spent some time telling stories of how leaders in our congregation have contributed to the life of our church and made it what it is today. Leaders like Joy McDonald, Walter Curzan, and Mary Blakely were all honored. Fitting for Memorial Day Weekend I guess. Even though my "eagerness to experience the future" probably wouldn't have led me to execute this idea, I'm glad we did.
In Deuteronomy Moses proclaimed the famous Shema - "Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all you soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children..."
I guess repeating the past sometimes is alright. It may even help us worship God more fully.
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