Throughout Scripture, there are spiritual inheritances that we can claim for our life in Christ
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“The Story We Carry In Our Bones” is a book about Ireland for Americans of Irish descent. But I think the concept is just as true if you’re of Italian, Polish, Mexican, Japanese or whatever descent: We all carry a cultural story in our bones.
There’s another, deeper story that we carry in our bones, too. The readings this week point us toward three spiritual inheritances that we have. Growth in discipleship is aided greatly by coming into deeper possession of all three.
The first one we hear from Genesis 3: how Eve became “the mother of all the living.” What that means, in context, is that all people are born into the heritage of sin and death that comes from Adam and Eve. That doesn’t seem like good news! But it’s healthy and helpful to know that there’s an element of brokenness in our family line. Knowing that helps us to admit and make sense of some of the fault lines in our own feelings, thoughts and actions. There’s a story of brokenness that we carry in our bones.
The second we hear from John 19: how Mary stood at the foot of the cross. We have this reading for the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. And the point here is that Mary became the Mother of the Church at the foot of the cross; you might say it’s where she went through a kind of spiritual labor pain. (As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “It is at the hour of the New Covenant, at the foot of the cross, that Mary is heard as the Woman, the new Eve, the true ‘Mother of all the living’.”) That’s a story we carry in our bones, too: a story of strength and fruitfulness in the face of suffering.
The third and last we hear from Psalm 87: how our “home” is in the heavenly Jerusalem. Regarding the heavenly Jerusalem, the redeemed hear: “One and all were born in her” and “My home is within you.” Most of us know what it is to remember — in our bones — where we come from. But this is a little different: Part of us knows — in our bones — what we were made for, where we are meant to belong. So when God calls us to some vocation, or some task, part of the way we recognize it is that it “feels like home” (even when it’s hard, on one level). God has written this into our bones, too, to help us listen for the deep call to heaven, and to help us recognize His voice when he calls us.
We carry all three of these stories in our bones. The more deeply we realize that, the more skillfully we can integrate each of them into our life of discipleship. When we own our brokenness, it doesn’t own us. When we own Mary as our spiritual mother, we can tap into a deep strength that brings life from suffering. When we own our heavenly home, we can let go of lesser goods because we long to be in the place of deepest belonging.
Friends, how deeply are you aware of the stories you carry in your bones? How can we all, more deeply, claim those stories for our life in Christ?
