‘The past has much to teach us, if we approach it with reverence.’ So said Bishop Joseph Lightfoot in a sermon about St Oswald, given in 1883. 

Lightfoot is surely correct. We neglect our history at our peril, for there’s so much wisdom to learn from the past – from successes and failures, as well as the many things that are bit of both. But history is not only there to teach us. It’s also there to enable us to pray and to plan. To pray: asking God, amongst other things, to spare us from horrible mistakes and from being led down wrong paths (‘lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’); and to plan: that we will see the good things of the past happen again (‘Thy kingdom come’). The best of history should inspire us to pray like Habakkuk: ‘Lord, I have heard of your fame, I stand in awe of your deeds. Renew them in our day’ (Hab. 3:2-3). And it should cause us to work with passion and intent to see this happen. This is why leaders, especially spiritual leaders, really should be students of history.

But Lightfoot goes on to say how we should read history. He describes the manner. The approach. For the demeanour we take as we consider history is important. It’s why he says it should be approached ‘with reverence.’ I like that. It reminds me to come humbly, certainly with no sense of arrogance or superiority. To come respectfully, wanting to listen and honour my forebears. And to come gently, like someone opening a cherished ancient book, not wanting to damage, and genuinely curious about what might be discovered within. In many ways the way we approach history should reflect the attitude we take to people, especially those who are elderly and have seen much of life. Lightfoot is right – we must come in great reverence.

I’ve been seeking to do this while away for a few days break with Sam. Often when away I’ll read a novel but this time I brought a work of non-fiction, and a historical book. Both have been good. But it’s the history one that’s been really stimulating my mind. Not only have I found myself identifying with various characters and wondering how I would react in their situation, but I’ve also been discovering so many links to issues today, issues like: money and power; war and peace; politics and leadership; compassion and justice; forgiveness and kindness. 

Cultures change, but people are much the same. This means there really is much to discover from the past. So I agree with Bishop Lightfoot that we need to reverently learn from our history and let it shape how we act and react today. If we could do that prayerfully and intentionally in the present, then as well as leaving a lasting legacy, our lives would be writing the kind of helpful history from which future generations could also discover and learn. Not only would we be reverently learning from history but we’d be strategically shaping history. Now that’s a thought.