Day 23
Each Person Contributes to Salvation History
Reflection By: Dan Gallagher

It's fun to think about our place in the long span of human history, " past ", " present ", and " future. "

Each of us has many ancestors. We usually think about how their actions in the past have determined our lives in the present. But another way to think about it is how our actions, in the present reflect back on their lives in the past. Our actions add meaning to their lives.

For example, the actions of Jesus gave dramatic meaning to the lives of Mary and Joseph. What Mary and Joseph did in following God's plan gave meaning to the lives of their parents, whose actions gave meaning to the lives of all of their ancestors, all the way back.

In less dramatic ways, each of us has a big responsibility to our ancestors. If and when our present actions bear fruit, we are adding to the meaning and value of their past struggles.

So in a way, the present determines the past.

Similarly, we usually think about how our actions in the present will determine the future. But another way to look at it is that the life which we hope to enjoy in the future should determine what actions we should take in the present.

So in a way, the future determines the present.

Thinking about it this way seems pretty weird, as though human history flows forward and also backward in a way. Philosophers say that God is not contained within time. So God can look forward and backward at all of human history with no problem! We can't do that, but it's still fun to think about it.

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It's also fun to think about two special roles that we carry out, as " family " and as friend ".

I attended a Christ Renews His Parish weekend at St. Raphael in 2005, and it was a great way to make "friends". But I remember being struck the first time one such friend closed his e-mail with the acronym "YBIC", which stands for "Your Brother In Christ".

"Brother"?? What was he saying? Are we in some sort of "family"? Family implies a special bond, maybe even a commitment. Then I realized that it's our commitment to follow Jesus which creates that special bond. In light of our common relationship to Christ, it now makes sense to me to think about these "friends in Christ" not merely as "friends" but also as "brothers and sisters in Christ", as "family".

Of course, I have always heard that we are all members of God's family. Being in God's family has comforted to me at times. But one time, while receiving the sacrament of reconciliation, the priest said something that sort of blew me away. He said, "You are a friend of the Lord".

"Friend"?? I'm a "friend" of Jesus? So, not only does Jesus "love" me, due to a sort of "family commitment", but maybe He actually "likes" me too, as a friend! To me, this sounded really good, to be considered both as a member of Jesus' family , and also as His friend .

From these two experiences, I took away the following thoughts:

With our friends in Christ, we can also try to be like family.

With members of our family, we can also try to be like friends.