Celebrating Our Own Personal Heritage

Who are the most significant spiritual influences on you, and your family’s faith journey.  For me, this is a simple answer – my parents.

Today is my mum – Linde’s – birthday. When I ring her later this afternoon, to celebrate her entering her 87th year in reasonably good health, she will thank me and tell me that I am kind. Most times, she adds to her commentary about me and what I do and have done; these are moments when I become uncomfortable and feel the need to remind her of my shortcomings. Where did these habits come from?

My mum was born in Moravia (Moravia is the eastern region of the current country known as Czechia), displaced from the homelands of both her mother and father. It was early in the Second World War and her pre-school years would be spent in varying rhythms of fear, uncertainty and childhood play. It is likely that her mother shielded her in those days from the reality of a failing marriage, instead reminding my Mum of her talents and maybe even lessons on the goodness of God (in spite of the appearances wartime can present). They were Catholic in both tradition and practice.

Like many innocents in war zones over the last hundred or so years, when the war finished – because they were displaced persons – my Mum and her mum (my Oma) spent the best part of three and a half years getting back to the place they called home. They had to survive first, Oma had to earn money to provide shelter and food, and then they had to make their way across a hastily constructed East-West divide in Europe, with no identification papers of any value.

My Mum met my Dad Warren eight or so years after she immigrated to Australia – she arrived here in time to start Year 6. They went to the same university at the same time – initially in the same year together, both studying medicine. They didn’t start dating straight away, but there was an obvious bond developing in the earliest days they were “seeing each other”.  

A major hurdle they had to overcome was their personal Christian heritages – Mum had Catholic roots and Dad Protestant ones (Dad’s family could speak to generations of involvement in Brethren assemblies across the east coast of Australia) – in late 1950s Australia, this was a massive divide.

But, eventually, something very “Moravian” happened between them. As Mum and Dad spent time considering what their faith meant to them, personally, at its deepest, they found significant areas of overlap in their personal understandings of faith. Here are the key elements, as they described it to us (their eight children, eight spouses of their children, and their twenty-four grandchildren):

• They believe in the Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice. 
• They are convinced on the theology encapsulated in both the Apostles' and Nicene creeds, and love saying these statements of faith when attending church with fellow believers. 
• They know, and seek to live in a way that honours, their personal relationship with God; they focus on Jesus and His teachings and not the religiosity of the church they attend (this has always been the case for them, not just in the earliest of days together). 
• Their lived faith emphasises deep emotional expression and personal connection with God.
• Theirs is a deep emotional appreciation and spiritual connection to the sufferings of Christ on behalf of all mankind.
• They are passionate about seeking unity in the essentials of faith, freedom to express difference in the non-essentials, and generosity and grace in all things.

The Moravian Church is considered the oldest “protestant” church, originating out of the teachings of Jan Hus more than 550 years ago. In fact, it was a reformation movement that preceded the one led by Martin Luther!

The Moravians are known for their commitment to social justice and their efforts to address the needs of the disadvantaged. They are also known for their emphasis on community and fellowship, all within the context of a strong call to piety – living as God would have us live, imitating Christ himself in all we do. 

Mum and Dad discovered their shared passions in these areas, too. To them, being Catholic and Protestant was irrelevant. Being a follower of Jesus, living it out faithfully – that was what mattered.

Eventually, Mum and Dad were engaged, married and are now deep in the 61st year of their marriage. As they navigate the twilight years of their life together, I cannot but marvel at the way they love spending time together, reading Scripture, praying for all their family, trusting God as always, knowing their eternal rest in Him. In the meantime, they’ll keep living out their faith to build on the heritage we – the generations that follow them – inherit increasingly by witnessing their continued faithfulness.

As I celebrate my Mum’s birthday today, I cannot but pause and be thankful for the way God’s revelation of himself to her has deeply impacted me and my siblings. So many elements of the cultural norms of the church she was surrounded by (although she did not attend) in her infant and childhood years are key pillars of who we are as a family and how we express our followership of Jesus. Today, I thank God for His marvellous works in Linde (and of course, Warren!). 

Join me in giving thanks for those spiritual giants that have built into your faith journey over many years – may it be a great encouragement to you as you continue to build an ongoing heritage for the generations to come.

Shalom.