Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It was a July evening, 53 years ago. I was glued to a black and white TV, as were 100 million other Americans and many times more people around the world. Even criminals must have been so captivated as the crime rate dropped for a few hours. For those few hours, we were all side by side with two men, taking a walk on the moon.
Ten years later, I was a camp counselor, and the staff was honoring the anniversary and sharing the memory. One counselor observed that half the cabin kids were not even born yet. Suddenly, we felt old. There was a realization that what had been so central to us, was not shared by some of those around us.
I have come to grips that as I continue to work with youth in my Confirmation Classes, this is all history. It is still somewhat sobering, though to realize that something closer to the present, such as the countdown to a new millennium with the strange worry whether our electronics would work, is not only not in their memory – they were not even born yet.
In Psalm 78:5-7, we read:
He established a decree in Jacob,
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children;
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments.
God talks about the need for one generation to speak to another. All of us have lived events that are already fading as new generations rise. It is important that we relate what God has done for us in our lives that the experiences can live on. We need our own experiences and memories to live on. They live in our sharing.
One generation speaks to another, or memories become even less than memories. The wonders become less wonderful. But share – and once again wonders live, such as walking on the moon.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Martin Horn