First Reading:  Isaiah 43:16-21

Look to the Future

Tradition is important. It proclaims our past and defines our roots. But tradition for tradition's sake is as problematic as change for change's sake. Faith demands that we cling to the wisdom of tradition, while being open to possibilities change brings.

To a people that defined itself by the events of the Exodus [16-17], God called Israel to a new openness. "Forget the past," God chided the people. "Look what I am about to do."

Why did the savior of the Exodus tell the people to forget about the past and look to the future? Through the prophecy of Second Isaiah, God spoke to the exiles in Babylon, the descendants of those who were taken before the destruction of Jerusalem. The exiles clung to the stories of God's power in order to maintain their faith and their national identity. But, without a capitol or a nation or a temple for their God, the Jews in exile were without hope. Only tradition gave them a sense of who they were.

But God reminded his faithful that tradition alone does not make faith come alive. Faith means trust in God. God would create a way home through the desert with all necessary provisions (i.e., water from a river); the return home would be peaceful (i.e., wild animals honor the Lord) [19-21]. Just as God acted in the Exodus, he would act in the exiles' lives. What seemed impossible would come about; the exiles would return home.

Faith without hope clings to a religion stuck in the past. Faith that tries to be "relevant" to the present by rejecting the past drifts away without roots. Both need focus upon God, his will, and his power. Trust in God brings the past alive, gives the present meaning, and the future hope.

How are you trying to make tradition come alive in your life? How have you tried to pass a living tradition along to others?