Jason Silver

Friday, August 3rd, 2018

Heavenly Heritage

In 1996, my wife and I left our one-year-old son to travel to Ireland. At that time, with Riverdance high-stepping for audiences, Enya releasing regular albums; the Titanic movie making a splash in theatres, and Celtic music playing a big part in church worship, Ireland was a popular destination!

We decided to visit after researching my genealogy. I was surprised and pleased to hear that two branches of my family tree came from the Emerald Isle!

It was a moving, emotional experience. The landscape alone seemed to beckon me to bring my family and settle down among the green hills. The constant drizzle of rain was like the tears of ancestors suffering through the pain of the potato famine. I climbed among the ruins of castles, feeling the mossy rock under my hand as if I could absorb the life and memory of that place.

I recall listening to a busker who was playing her cello on the cliffs of Moher. Her long red hair was blowing in the wind, and her gaze was fixed on some distant horizon! The waves battered the shore metres below! Dark clouds roiled on the horizon. Such mystical melancholy! I encountered thinkers and dreamers, so much like myself. I had an innate sense that I was among my own people, on my own land.

I believe this sense of familiarity is similar to how we all feel when we're in God's presence or among God's holy people. We become acquainted with our spiritual brothers and sisters, and find ourselves united by Christ's love. We sense in ourselves that we have finally returned to the land of our origin!

But unlike the castles of Ireland, our spiritual dwellings are not in ruins! The keeper is God himself, wide awake and watching to protect us from all evil; to keep us from slipping; to hold us safe from harm.

Are you part of this genealogy? If not, what are you waiting for? Your family awaits! Let our First Father set you apart and graft you into the family tree of God!

Amen.