These Days and Those Days

Christ the Redeemer Parish discovered last weekend that there is more to June than brides. At our many receptions after each of the Masses we could delight that the month is shared with priests who celebrated their ordination to the priesthood. With lots of cake, coffee, juices and exchange of good wishes we were able to remember the good things which God had done through the shared ministry of our priests. In keeping the anniversaries we learned something about ourselves as a community of believers.

Anniversaries of all kinds, whether for priests, married couples, individuals, and institutions, situate us in a present moment of celebration. Conversations during the receptions often shared that wedding anniversary years were shared, birthdays were passing rapidly, for the priests and people marked how long they had been members of the parish community. Anniversaries are times to remember, which brings stories, shares some laughter, and even some memories of how things have changed.

The theme song of the past television series Archie Bunker could have echoed around the hundreds of people who celebrated this past weekend. As stories were swapped and laughter over the old photos, a hum of several verses of Those Were the Days might well have been heard. “Those were the days, my friends, We thought they’d never end” brought us back with some nostalgia to the past. But, like all anniversaries, we realize that, in a real sense, the days had ended, even as they continued in our memories and relationships.

Remembering Today
Anniversaries, birthdays, and all kinds of parties are good excuses for bringing us together. The past is surely a blessing for all of us. We remember “those days” and then we are able to enjoy and appreciate “these days”. As a matter of fact, those days make these days possible.

Within our liturgical tradition, our spirituality is fed by remembering. In our worship and prayer, as well as our celebrations, we constantly recall the action of God in the past; in that, we know him in the present, and we hope for the future. Christian remembrance is not nostalgia. Nostalgia longs for the past. Nostalgia grieves what might have been. Real remembrance is amazed at where God has brought us in our lives. We have not only survived but we have received life in

overflowing measure. Life looks and was great as we view it in the rearview mirror. What we discover is that we have been richly blessed and continue in that graced life.

Priesthood and Church
As we laughed at the long hair, the mustache, the ebb and flow of the scale, and the religious habit or lack there of, we see that we have changed, our community has changed. One of the marvels of the past weekend is not only the number of years the priests had served, but the diversity of their age, experience, and personality. Priesthood in that sense is the mirror of human life and history.

As members of the Church we get a glimpse that the Church has changed as well. Again, those photos tell us something about our community. It’s about different people, various ministries, multiple locales and cultures. Amazingly, God has made himself present not so much in the sameness of experience, but in the diversity. It’s not a past or golden age that is grieved, but it is a rich blessed past brought into the present. In our coming together, we are given new hope for today and tomorrow.

Just like each priest went through different training and formation, and ministered in various local communities and ministries, we can expect continued faces of God’s presence among us. Amazing and gratifying was the newness of the parish community. After thirty-five years, the parish has some original members, who are in the minority today. We heard their stories of the traveling CTR in Sterling Middle School and Park View in the early days. Gratifying was to see the children grow from the days of baptism in the “old” church” into the “new” church.

Christ the Redeemer continues to have a new face after it’s thirty-five years: new languages, new cultures, new development in our areas. The challenges continue as does God’s actions among us, both priests and people. We remember into a new today and tomorrow.

Anniversaries are people. Celebrations are about everyone. All that cake, all that coffee, all those juice boxes needed many hands to serve us. Better yet, thanks to all of you for the cards, the laughter, the stories, and for taking time with each other. Once again we learned about ourselves in the celebration. We learned another song: Thanks for the Memories.

CDH