Aug 1st, 2020: Heritage Long Weekend

 

 

This weekend is a long weekend in Alberta. It is "Heritage Long Weekend". Heritage is a challenging term nowadays as we witness many destructions of our past. It is hard to talk about heritage when we don't have the needed honesty to appreciate history in its proper context. Here is one of its definitions:

"Heritage is often used to discuss a cultural aspect or tradition that has been passed down through generations."

 

As we cherish our own culture, history, and heritage, we might want to be aware that no cultural group is free from what we perceive as "corporate sins". We can do wrong to one another as a group of people, a culture, or a nation. We cannot deal with that effectively without having the desire to look deeper into the impact of sin and how it has destroyed and distorted God's beauty and goodness in the world. That is why it is hard to know the solution for what we are dealing with without the freedom to acknowledge sin.

When we decide to take a stand against corporate sins, we might want to take the first step to examine our own cultural heritage.  There is plenty to cherish, and there is more than enough to make us solemn. It is not about condemning our historical heritage. It is about knowing where we came from with honesty and humility so that we might have a better idea about where we need to go with hope and restoration in the future. When we have the freedom to ask God for forgiveness as a nation, we might be ready to navigate through the complexity of the world.

Technology has also had an immense impact on what we see as heritage. Many social media platforms have created an integrating process in different cultural heritages. We can learn about various cultures by accessing these platforms. We can get to know people, join groups, have a conversation, and share our daily experience as if we do that with a neighbour next door. Young people can play games against peers who live on the other side of the world today. They can scream and cheer as if they are in the same room. We very soon cannot talk about heritage as where we grew up but where we spent our time together virtually. Yet, it is important to realize the virtual world is also not free from human brokenness. I guess the world that Jesus died for is now including the virtual one.

Luke 10: 30-37

"Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ..."