Weekly Reflection – The Rest is History

23 November 2023

“We are living in historic times.”

That is an odd statement, isn’t it? “History” feels like something that happened in the distant past, but all times are historic. Future generations will look back on our day and see it as history. They will talk of war in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere. They will talk of Brexit, Prime Ministers, the death of a Queen and the crowning of a King.

Of course, some dates feel more significant. 1066. 1666. 1966. A famous battle, a famous fire and a famous football match. Some events are more important than others, of course. I’ll leave you to decide which one of those three is the most significant.

Some dates are important to us as individuals. Our birthday. Our family and friends’ birthdays. Anniversaries. Times to look back and give thanks. (Fun fact: Last week on the 15th November, it was exactly eight years since I became a Canon of Wakefield Cathedral.)

I don’t know about you, but I struggled with history at school. My excuse is that it was badly taught. A teenage boy can find it hard to be interested in dates and lists of kings. I’ve become quite fascinated with the subject more recently but there’s still a lot I don’t know, so I’ve been listening to the podcast “The Rest is History” and watching TV documentaries. I’ve noticed how often “external forces” influenced historical events. At Dunkirk, an unusually calm sea aided the evacuation, combined with a gentle easterly breeze blowing smoke over the beaches, preventing the Luftwaffe from bombing the evacuees. In 1066, William’s forces had to delay invading by several weeks due to difficult weather preventing his ships from sailing. Had they arrived earlier, Harold and his forces would not have been fatigued from fighting his brother and the Vikings up here in Yorkshire.

For Christians, there is a recognition that all of history – past, present and future – is in God’s hands. The Bible tells is in the very first verse, “In the beginning, God …”. In the last book of the Bible, we are told that he is “the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” As someone said, “History is His-story.” I often remind myself of this when I am about to pray. The God who made all of creation is also the God of all time. We may not always understand his ways, but he is almighty. As Advent approaches, we are reminded that he entered into history and that even in this modern, often disbelieving world, all our dates are reckoned from before or after that moment.

Blessings in Christ
Canon Derek: Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Vocations

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