1492.  It's one of the most pivotal years in human history.  Humans of two hemispheres, neither of whom had been aware of the other, suddenly were, almost overnight, finding themselves confronting worlds that literally blew their collective minds.  No one would ever be the same.

    Sadly, however, although 1492 may have been a momentous and lucrative year for many Europeans, it was a terrible one for the natives of the Americas.  1492 marked the beginning of a lengthy pattern of European oppression and exploitation of the peoples of the Americas, a run of centuries of difficulty and pain, pain which, in some cases, continues to this day.

    The worse of it is that in too many instances this exploitation was justified in the name of the Christian God.  It was an awful stain on the love of God.

    Historian Erna Paris once observed that, "Attaching God to history is the most powerful nationalism of all."  Whenever we try to juxtapose God and the history we are trying to create, we blur a line we cannot possibly cross:  the boundary between what is here and what is not, the difference between the visible speculations of finitude and the hidden certitudes of infinity.  We're thoroughly arrogant.

    Happily, God is bigger than our human ambitions.  He doesn't need us to give the planet's history purpose or meaning.  He does not want us to try to bend history to our will, but strive to step into a history we can all share.

    Love Columbus or hate him; either way, use this Columbus Day (or Indigenous Peoples Day) to remind yourself of your so very limited view of what is real and true.