At that picnic at St. Ignatius, we also talked about generations.
I think people who were once young but are now so quickly old -- (and isn't it like that? One day we are young; but the next day, my goodness, 60 is just around the corner!) -- I think older people often talk about generations.
My friend said that she knew little about her grandparents.
And so, yes, we all confessed we didn't know much about our grandparents. I mean, really know about them: their aspirations, their vulnerabilities, the world in which they lived. We know little to nothing about any of it.
And that was just two generations ago.
So ... what would our grandchildren know about us?
It puts all of our causes into perspective, doesn't it? All of our passionate commitments, the pressing goals we have for our lives, our frustrations, angers, the people we do and do not like ...
In two generations, no one will know any of it.
And so as we ate our sandwiches on the grounds of St. Ignatius, my friend said that the only thing that matters is showing the love of God to others while we still can.
The Chinese culture has a saying: "sacrifice one generation for the next ..." This means that mom and dad, for example, would work menial jobs all their lives, and save penny after penny, so that their kids can go to Harvard or Oxford.
That is not a very welcome idea in our culture. Here, everybody goes for his or her own gusto.
But what does it all matter. Once I was strolling with a friend in a garden in China, and I remarked on the wonderful decorative stone pavements. My friend responded by saying that this was once a cemetery, but they just covered over all of it ...
Even graves are swept away.
In the Bible, the prophets of old searched intently and with the greatest care about salvation from God. And what did they find? Well, it was told them that this salvation they were searching earnestly for ...
... was not for them, but for us.
Logos2Go
1 Peter 1.10-12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven...
Jeremiah 1.5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you ...
1 Corinthians 13.12-13 ... Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
3 comments:
One of the many books I have to write is "The Intentional Grandparent."
Your comments also highlight how distinct each generation really is, and thus it only take two for a complete pendulum swing. Overall I think that's probably a good thing. The "generation gap" is a fact, a feature of creation, and perhaps just as much a result of the image of God as of the fall.
The Bible, especially in the OT, commented about a person "he served his generation". It's comforting to know that God did not require us to serve the next generation, but to our own. But strangely, it will likely be the next generation that remembers what one did. The effect of the work will linger a little. Yet, it's equally poignant to know that perhaps only one generation will remember.
Last time Camilla and I strode through the cemetery where we laid her parents to rest, we noticed that only headstones erected within last 20 years or so, have flowers set next to them. The ones that were there 50 or 60 years ago, show little sign of anyone's recent visit.
So, we focus on our own generation...
Post a Comment