Salvation History
The meaning of “Salvation History” can be summarized as the revelation of God’s saving plan for humanity throughout history.[1] Others might think of “Salvation History” as the fulfillment of prophecies—not in an “end of the world” sort of way, but rather as the fulfillment of God’s promises made throughout history. These promises, and their fulfillment, reveal the Will of God.[2]
In this segment of the lesson, the reader will be challenged to think of the word “prophecy” in a less “peering into a crystal ball” way and more of a “keeping promises” sense.
God Never Abandons Us
Whichever way one defines “Salvation History,” it’s a very comforting thought that God has never and will never give up on humanity. Sometimes, this sort of comfort is all the evangelist needs to extend to others. It gives true hope and meaning to our lives.
There is a somewhat popular story about a father and a son that goes like this:[3]
On 7 December, 1988, an earthquake struck the northwestern section of Armenia, killing more than 25,000 people and leaving thousands more homeless. In one of the smaller villages, a father rushed to the school where he believed his son to be, but to his horror, he found the school had collapsed into rubble. There was no sign of life.
The father had no thought of turning back. He remembered what he often told his son, “No matter what, I’ll always be there for you!”
As tears welled up in his eyes, he rushed over to where he believed his son’s classroom to be and began to dig.
The people around him wailed in despair, “My son!” or “My daughter!” Other bystanders tried to tell the man that it was hopeless and to give up. To those words he replied, “Either help me, or leave me alone.”
Not one of them volunteered to help him. But he drew his strength from the promise he made to his son.
2 hours turned into 4, and 4 into 8. Before the man knew it, 36 straight hours had passed. He fought against his body wanting to buckle, and then in the 38th hour, as he moved a heavy slab of concrete, he heard very faint voices.
Filled with anticipation and frustration, he cried out his son’s name, “ARMAND!”
A child’s voice called back: “Yes Papa! I knew you’d save us. I never lost hope that you would keep your promise!”
The take-away from this story is that when sharing the faith with others, Catholics have something very distinct: God has said from the very beginning that He loves us and will always love us. He’s not some distant deity or unnamed “force” in the universe.
At times, it may seem that He reveals Himself and fulfills His promises very slowly and incrementally. Sometimes, in human weakness, we may feel like He has abandoned us—but we know that in the end, He always keeps His promises.
In doing the work of evangelization with people who are non-Christian believers in God, the evangelist can offer the fulfillment of prophecy, of God being faithful to his promises, as “One Good Reason” for believing in Jesus Christ.
How might this come up in a conversation, and what might it sound like, for a street evangelist?
Example Dialogue
Evangelist stands near a street corner with rosaries in hand. He smiles & says hello to passerby.
Evangelist (E): Hello! May I offer you a rosary? It’s a great way to grow in your relationship with God.
Passerby (P): Oh, um, hello! Thank you, but, to tell you the truth, I’m not into religion. While I’m mostly sure that there’s a God, or at the very least a higher power, I’m pretty sure religion doesn’t have a monopoly on the matter.
E: I understand. From what you said, may I ask if you would describe yourself as “agnostic” and looking for the truth?
P: Well, I’m not really into labels, but I guess that is fair to say.
E: I get that, labels can both hurt as well as help–depending upon how they are used, I think.
P: Yeah, I guess so.
E: Indeed. Again, if I may ask, if you are looking for the truth, what have you done to pursue it?
P: As a kid, I went to Sunday School, but as I grew up, I started to have questions about things. Then, … well … life came at me, you know? Things get busy and I don’t really have much time to think about things.
E: Yeah, life comes at us hard at times. I get that. What, then, makes you believe in God, but not in any particular religion?
P: There are so many people who say “God-this” and “God-that.” It isn’t easy to know who is right or wrong, there are so many conflicting views about God.
E: That’s true! There are many conflicting views and it is hard to figure out the truth. Do you mind if I give you one good reason for why I believe in the Catholic view of God?
P: Okay, I’m all ears.
E: For me, one of the things that the Catholic Church offers that no other non-Christian belief system can really rival is how we view family.
P: Wait, what? Are you saying that other belief systems don’t value family?
E: No, I am saying that how we view family is different. Have you ever really asked the question: “Why is family important?”
P: I don’t think I have.
E: Not many do. For the Catholic Church, however, family is the reason for our very being, and that reason was established from the beginning. For Catholics, not only are we made for relationships with each other here on earth, we’re made for an eternal, family-union with God.
P: What do you mean when you say that it was “established from the beginning”?
E: When I say “from the beginning,” I mean that God has promised to give Himself to us, not as a distant lawgiver or faceless, nameless force, but as Divine Family. In the Bible, for instance, St. Paul says that every family on earth gets its name from God the Father (see Eph 3:14-15). We can see that God promises Himself to be in relationship with us, beginning with Adam and Eve and in every age since. I can walk you through the various prophecies or promises later if you want. Ultimately, though, they all point to Jesus Christ who is both 100% God and 100% man, drawing us into the divine family of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
P: What’s the point you’re getting at??
E: The point is that there is no more loving act than for God to fulfill His promises by joining Himself to us and living like us, dying like us, and giving us something that we never could have gotten by ourselves, which is Eternal Life in Heaven with and in Him. Heaven, for us Catholics, is the presence of a Father who keeps His promises of loving us, and our wanting to be with Him. Does that make sense?
P: I think so, and it’s interesting. I haven’t heard any Christian talk about this before. And I can definitely see that you’re enthusiastic about it.
E: Would you be open hearing more, or possibly taking some reading material?
P: Sure, I don’t suppose it could hurt to look more into this.
E: That’s great. I sincerely believe that there’s so much more to this life than what we can see in front of us. If you’ve ever felt the same or wondered if you’re loved, please remember our conversation or read these [hands out material]. And, I’m always available to continue this conversation. Thank you!
Concluding Thoughts
The beautiful part is that these promises—these prophecies—were made early on, and were fulfilled at once in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, some groups, such as the Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), claim to have received a very late prophecy, after Jesus, in the Americas. Catholics don’t need to worry about such claims because everything necessary for salvation has been received in Jesus and since passed down to us through the millennia.
A word of caution: the major prophecies come from Sacred Scripture, which most non-Christian believers do not regard as authoritative. The reason to draw their attention to it will be to illustrate not only how long-held Christian beliefs are but that the prophesies are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Jews still await their messiah. The Muslims derive their origin from a mixture of pagan beliefs and Judeo-Christian influences several hundred years after the founding of Christianity. Hinduism is purely pagan with no centrality of authority and is so diverse with polytheism and differing doctrines that “truth” seems to be a foreign concept. The list goes on. But Catholics put their trust in the One and Triune God who promised, “I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 32:38), and then brought it into fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
[2] Cf. CCC 53-67. See also the Theological Commentary by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in The Message of Fatima (Vatican City, Italy: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000), 36.
[3] This story originally appeared in Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Amy Newmark, Chicken Soup for the Soul 20th Anniversary Edition (Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing LLC, 2012), 305ff. See also <https://armenianweekly.com/2011/06/21/vartabedian-are-you-going-to-help-me/>