Reflection
Reflection on Diarmuid O’Murchu’s ’ Book
Ancestral Grace: Finding God in Our Human Story
By: Carol Ludwig, November 9, 2009
I notice that sometimes things come to me in clusters. Several weeks ago, I began reading Diarmuid O’Murchu’s Ancestral Grace, and I marveled at his retelling of the story of the evolution of the human species over seven million years. Then I turned on the television one night last week, and found a three-part, PBS documentary, “Becoming Human,” the story of the evolution of our human species. Yesterday I picked up Spiritual Directors International’s September journal, Presence, to find the lead article was on “Spiritual Direction and the New Cosmology.” I couldn’t help but feel that something synchronistic and synergistic is happening as we move more deeply into the 21st century.
O’Murchu’s book describes the presence of God throughout all of creation from the beginning of time. He reminds us that the Spirit of God hovered over creation in Genesis, and was renewed at Pentecost. He muses on the spirituality of our early ancestors’ pre-historic spirituality. He calls for a reinterpretation of the concept of “incarnation,” noting that incarnation began with the first act of creation and was confirmed, affirmed and celebrated in the life of Jesus.
Has the spiritual world been turned on its head? Or is it being set right by looking further back in history for answers to the challenges facing us today? Have we been on a side road for 5-10,000 years? Are we finally coming home to our heritage as a collaborative species deeply enmeshed in a web of life dependent on many other species for equilibrium and sustenance? Is there still time for humanity to slow the environmental devastation caused by plundering natural resources and fouling the air and waterways with toxic substances?
These are questions that came to me from many directions this past week. These are questions we all need to ask ourselves. What is my role in the devastation? And what can I do to slow it? How do I walk with others in these uncertain times?
Hearing the retelling of the ancient story of humanity, I felt new energy to listen to the sacred stories of people all around me.
