On Memory and the Making of History

I often think of November as a month of remembrance. It begins with All Saints’ Day – a day to remember those persons who once lived and moved among us in body, but whose presences now grace our lives through memory. On Thanksgiving, despite family squabbles that may temporarily cloud our otherwise sound judgment, we attempt to recall those things for which we are thankful. In other words, we gather together our memories of blessings and abundance.

As a historian, I think about memory a lot. I examine records of the past to try to unearth what the past felt like when it was still the present. A hopeless task, ultimately. I have come to question whether or not we can ever really know anything about the past – even our own pasts. Memories, after all, are not accurate snapshots of what actually happened, but the impressions our minds create about the past. Historical records tend to tell us more about their authors than about the people and events they actually describe. Historical facts, ultimately, are statements made by someone who wants us to remember a person, place or event in a particular way.

Many of the books in the bible have been written in a historical style. In books such as Exodus, our ancestors in faith offer us their memories of their relationship with God. Is it possible that they got some of the “facts” wrong? Entirely. Did they have social and political agendas when creating their histories? Certainly. Does this make their writings any less valuable today? Not one bit. We also have our own histories of following, rejecting, wondering about and wrestling with God. These stories resonate with the spirit of our ancestors. Their God is our God, their flaws are our flaws, their triumphs ours. We claim these stories not because they present us with sterile facts, but because they are shot through with the joy and challenge and pain that we encounter as followers of God traveling through the wilderness. Memory alters and time distorts, but the Spirit of God still breathes through our past, present and future. Let us remember the old, old story even as we write a new one.