And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), the word which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses to all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest; not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Acts 10:34–43
No matter how far back we can trace our ancestors' line, we come to the point where there is no next name to add to the list. Beyond that last name where the search is stymied, lies a haze we cannot penetrate. Whoever they might have been, we cannot name them, nor can we journey with them to the places they knew, loved, and called home.
Among the myriad of sorrows that afflict our nation in these latter days is a rootlessness, no place to connect ourselves to the past. We can only define ourselves by the moment we happen to exist, always reassuring ourselves that we have meaning and purpose. But it is only a purpose of the moment, no cords of memory anchoring us in the tumultuous times of these days. It is no wonder that so many live in dread and anxiety that see no hope in the future, for it has no past.
Peter preached the history of the Messiah to Cornelius and his household. The new faith growing among the Gentiles who had bid Peter come to them needed the good soil of God's ancient promises. The fulness of God's purpose, which had come to fruition in Jesus, was built on generation after generation of hearts longing to see the day Cornelius had received.
We make two great mistakes when we seek to proclaim Jesus. We are tempted to look only at what has come before, longing for the 'good old days' we imagine were high points of our faith. We spend all our time trying to discover the path back to what has been. It is a frustrating and pointless exercise. Our past can help us understand today, but we cannot live there.
The other error is made by those who see only what lies ahead; in the future, we imagine will be the fulfillment of the Kingdom here on earth if we can only shed the fetters of ancient days. I encountered this in a young pastor who flatly declared that we should pay no attention to anything written over twenty-five years ago. As far they were concerned, the only Church is the one that is yet to be.
Both these places are barren ground in which nothing faith can grow. Like the apostles, we hear in Moses's promises and the Prophets an assurance of a future in which God will complete all things. We also see in the resurrection, an unbounded future rooted in the fulfilled Word of the Father. The One who holds all this in living harmony, past and day yet to come, is the living Lord Jesus.
He has undone sin and death, now the past and future of all things are bound up in Him. We live in Jesus, as we always have and always will.