During Advent the scripture readings have shown parallels between the Old and New Testament. For the evangelists to understand what was happening in their time, they looked to salvation history to see how God had acted in the past. Hannah was an antecedent for Mary, Samson for John the Baptist, the prophecies of Isaiah for Jesus. The gospel stories are a continuation of God’s ongoing encounter with the world. We read the Bible to continue this process — to see how what we are going through is illuminated by salvation history. The ancestors have made us who we are today. One of the pernicious myths in American culture is that of the rugged individual who needs no one else. Whether we like it or not we are all deeply connected with one another. Isaac Newton once wrote: If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. That is our story as well.
