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Education Ministry

Posted on March 8, 2004 ...

As a student of history, I keep a mental timeline by which I understand the order of historical events and eras. I know that World War II occurred when my parents were young children and the Great Depression was an event my grandparents experienced. While an accurate chronology can be learned, we must keep in mind the effect our own point on the time-line has on the way in which we think about specific events and eras. For instance, I was born at the height of the Cold War. I grew up with all the ideas and perspectives that came from a world dominated by two superpowers. My son was born in 1996, seven years after one of those powers collapsed. For me, the U.S.S.R., its hammer and sickle flag, and communism held great significance. Today, they mean very little. My son will learn of them as images from a bygone era; much like the swastika, Hitler, and nazism are to me – images from a time before my own. My son is growing up in an era with its own images. Focus has shifted from Germany and Russia to the Middle East, and Hitler and Brezhnev have been replaced by Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. December 7 called one generation to greatness. And now September 11 has issued its own call to another generation. In time, these things too shall pass, giving way to new images as humanity continues its trek through history.

My point is this: We think of this present time as the starting place from which to view all other times. We say WWII happened about 60 years ago; Vietnam, 40 years ago; Martin Luther lived 500 years ago; and Jesus lived 2000 years ago. This may be accurate from our vantage point, but in the grand scheme, the 21st century is not the starting point of historical inquiry. Interestingly, we refer to the real starting point every day. We say it is the year 2004. But 2004 years after what? The time of Christ, of course. His life is the essential point in history by which all other events and eras find their place. Moses lived about 1500 B.C. (before Christ). I live about 2000 years after Christ. Jesus is the hinge of history.

It is somewhat misleading to think of the time of Jesus’ life as a time two thousand years in the past. Rather, we should think of this present era as two thousand years in that era’s future. The age in which Jesus lived on earth is the age in which God visited this planet. Thinking about it as an era of the past diminishes its significance, much like when my generation thinks of WWII as an era alive only in history books and the History Channel. Indeed, for many, the events of Jesus’ entire life are relegated to old books and Discovery Channel re-runs.

The Passion of the Christ helped me overcome my chrono-centric view of history. I know it is a modern movie with actors who are alive today, but the imagery transported me into the moment of my Lord’s suffering. Perhaps this is the purpose of the film, to challenge our thinking of Jesus’ death as an event of the distant past.

The death and resurrection of Jesus is the prime event of history. It is the only way for people of any generation to come to God. It is an event relevant, not only to the first century, but also for this remote time two thousand years in the future. We must not think of the Passion of Jesus as something that can be put on the shelf and pulled out at our convenience. We must remember it everyday. We must live with it fresh in our minds. Thank you Mel and Jim and the others who made this happen for me. But most of all, thank you Jesus for not abandoning us here so far from home.