The Rosetta Stone

"For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the Lord; so shall your descendants and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me," says the Lord. - Isaiah 66:18-19a, 22-23

Underneath the single roof of the British Museum you will find examples of culturally relevant artifacts from every single major era in history. While some cultures do indeed want their history back, the fact that all these things can be observed and experienced in one place makes an excellent argument for keeping them exactly where they are. Some of these things are so fabled that once you're actually able to come face-to-face with it, you can hardly believe your eyes.

For me, one of these things is the Rosetta Stone. As a kid, I was fascinated with all sorts of ancient cultures and myths, so of course I spent some time with the Egyptians. Their mysterious hieroglyphics and the single stone inscription that finally led to their translation, completely enthralled me. In fact, I suspect that some of my love for language stems back to this linguistic milestone. So it's pretty exciting that one of the first pieces of culture that you practically trip over is the Rosetta Stone itself.

It's not actually a terribly remarkable looking thing. It's only a couple of feet tall, and it's not even totally intact. Plus, since it's very prominent in the museum, it's always surrounded by a throng of tourists. But simply looking at it allows you to look back into history. It reminds you of the obscurity of ancient culture and the amazing fact that scholarship has slowly allowed us to understand our own history. In fact, the ability to read our own scriptures stems from the same kind of linguistic scholarship that opened up Egyptian culture to the world. In a way, the Rosetta Stone represents the partnership between piety and scholarship, language and worship, history and society, that makes faith such a remarkable thing.

While all of the world may not indeed be gathered together in this lifetime, at least there are places, people, and information that can help us better understand each other. Perhaps they can even help us better understand our God. Until then, we pray for enlightenment and patience.

God, our great teacher, through you we have all that makes us human. We are especially thankful for the intellect that you gave us, so that we can better understand each other, our histories, and most importantly you. Keep us from using our knowledge to oppress and condemn, but instead to celebrate and unite in your Son's name. Amen.