Looking Backward, Looking Forward

Christian faith has intrinsically a dual orientation -- both backward and forward. We inherit this from our Jewish roots, in which the Jewish people look back to the establishment of the covenant and to the Exodus to understand themselves in the present and to prepare themselves for the future. For Christian faith, we look back particularly to the events and significance of the historical Jesus -- his incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. Yet our backward orientation is never for its own sake, to mire us in antiquarianism. It is to ground and shape us for today, and to look forward, in hope, for tomorrow. In our dual orientation, we gratefully recall the life of Jesus ("Christ has died") so that we can devotedly live in the life of Jesus ("Christ is risen") and boldly anticipate the life of Jesus in the tomorrow that he inaugurates and fulfills ("Christ will come again"). Hence, rooted in and stemming from our history in Jesus, we grow toward our future in Jesus.