A Few Things

You urge me, my brothers, to attempt a description of the virtues and works of Brigit of blessed and sacred memory, drawing upon both personal memories and written records in the manner of the learned…I am content only to obey and therefore propose to put before you without any ambiguity or obscurity a few from the many things which have been handed down by those who are greater and more learned that I, in order not to incur the guilt of disobedience.

  – Cogitosus, The Life of St. Brigit the Virgin

Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

  – Psalm 78.1-4

Curious about history
I would not describe this present generation of Christians as curious about history. Most Christians know almost nothing about the history of the Christian movement—its expansion over all the earth, the transformations it has wrought in culture and society, its strivings and struggles against opposition in various forms, heroes and heroines, lasting achievements in doctrine, the arts, science, and even economics and politics. Christians today are cut off from their past, and that not by coercion, but by choice.

This was not the case with Christians during the period of the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD). They relished—and embellished—the stories about those who had gone before, and they urged those who had a better grasp of their past to put its stories into writing, that they might be enjoyed in the present and preserved for future generations.

Cogitosus wrote his account of “a few from the many things” of the life and work of Brigit in the middle of the 7^th century, a hundred years after Brendan and Brigit would have died. That so many stories, records, and accounts, written and oral, could have survived for that long shows us just how important their history was to the Irish Christians of Cogitosus’ day. Those believers were more than merely curious about history: they hungered and thirsted for it.

A victorious history
The Scriptures, of course, urge believers to remember and celebrate the works of God in ages past. These include not only His works of creation but the many things He accomplished in, for, and through His covenant people. The apostle Paul wrote concerning these records, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15.4). While he was referring to the Scriptural accounts of God’s mighty works, that we should be careful and diligent to learn as much as we can from them, what he taught can be applied to the study of God’s works in every age.

You have perhaps heard the old saw that insists that history is written by the victors. Those whose views, influence, and priorities come to prevail in any age will tell the rest of us what of the past we need to know and how we ought to think about it.

Thus, every one of us passed through twelve years of schooling and perhaps another four to eight years of college and graduate school with scarcely a single word of instruction concerning our Christian past. 

Perhaps they didn’t receive the news that Jesus, not secularism, has won the victory over lies, sin, and death, and for nearly two thousand years His faithful followers have been doing a few amazing and wonderful things in every part of the earth.

But we must not lose sight of this victory, and we can rewrite the history of our world by paying more attention to those who have gone before us in the faith, working out the details of Jesus’ victory in every area of life.

Let’s get curious about our history, including people like Bigit, whose story we begin to unpack in our next installment.

For Reflection
1. Why would we think that some knowledge of Church history would be important?

2. What would it take for you to become more familiar with God’s works in history?

Psalm 78.1-4
(Foundation: How Firm a Foundation)
Give ear, O my people, attend to my word,
dark sayings and parables sent from the LORD,
things we have before by our Fathers been told,
which we would not dare from our children withhold.

T. M. Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we continue looking at ways the Law of God applies to our lives. This week our Read Moore podcast wraps up our consideration of the question, What in Heaven Is Jesus Doing on Earth?; and our Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.