The Tangled Roots of “Who Am I?”

“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage – to know who we are and where we came from.” -Alex Haley, Roots: The Saga of an American Family

Roots

It is interesting to me how we use the word “root” in conversation. Trees and plants spread out roots for nourishment, moisture, and support. We set down roots in a neighborhood. We dig down to find the root of a problem. We root for the home team, though I’m not sure just how that relates. The Apostle Paul tells us that “the love of money is the root of all evil.”  The root is the heart, the life-source, the basis of  a thing. If the root is rotten, so eventually will be the thing those roots support.

Roots are a fascinating subject. I once heard a story told about the Biosphere 2 project, a scientific endeavor to build a self-contained bubble in the Arizona desert that would support human life for an extended period of time. As memory serves, among its many other troubles the story was that the trees that grew within the bubble provided little fruit and developed weak roots because they were not subjected to things typically faced by identical trees outside the bubble: winds, rains, drought, and the like. Trees in very rainy climates can sometimes have shallow roots and, as a result, in heavy winds they can be prone to be uprooted. Adversity is a necessary ingredient for healthy growth, thus the criticism of modern “helicopter parents.” The Joshua Tree in the deserts of the American West, by contrast, can grow in a rocky and dry climate because it not only has shallow roots to absorb rainfall, but reportedly has a deep root of up to 30 feet to reach any moisture that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Who am I?

The 1976 publication of Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize novel Roots and the airing of the blockbuster miniseries of the same name caused ordinary Americans to look at roots in an entirely different light. We became fascinated by the places and stories of our ancestors – who they were, where they came from, how they got there, their religious beliefs and their social and economic status, what they went through to survive – the “roots” of their family tree. By learning about our ancestors, we hope to learn about ourselves, and pass along that heritage to the generations that follow.

Who am I? Most of us have thought about this question and wondered how best to answer it. In our culture the question is often posed as “What do you do?” because so many of us find our identity in our titles or financial success; sometimes as “Where did you go to school” if the educational pedigree is important (witness the college decals we post on our rear windows for all to see). Seldom are we are ever asked, ‘Who is your father (or mother, or grandparents),” at least not any more.  The latest question at which we are instructed to take offense is  “What are you?” admittedly an awkward query when directed to a stranger, but what an opportunity to tell your story.

What do I believe?

The word religion has a basis in the Latin root “religare,” meaning “to tie up,” or “to bind together.” Even the irreligious have a religion or worldview, the belief system or “roots” from which a person bases his or her life. One of the men I most admire is philosopher, author, and speaker Ravi Zacharias. He contends that every worldview must answer four basic questions: Origin (Where did I come from?), Meaning (Why am I here?), Morality (What is right and what is wrong?), and Destiny (Where am I going after I die?). Sincere people seek a worldview that answers these and other questions rationally and  coherently, in a way that matches observable reality. Most importantly, though, the worldview must work, in that following its tenets brings peace and contentment in the lives of its adherents, even in the face of adversity.

If the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place and have come to share in the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. If you do boast, consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you. -Romans 11:16-18

And so we inspect our roots, the heritage handed down to us by our parents, and their parents before them. Our ethnic identity. Our family history. Our intellectual acumen. Our athletic prowess. Our political beliefs. Our spiritual roots. We graft in our worldview (increasingly not necessarily the faith of our fathers), our passions, our interests, what we do for a living, where we went to school, our bank account, our zip code, our family status. And again I ask, “Who are you?” “Where did you come from?” “Why are you here?” “What do you believe?” “Where are you going?”

I am a Christian and a Catholic, a husband and father, a brother and a friend, a catechist, a coach, and an amateur historian. I am not who I should be, but I am not who I used to be, praise be to God. I don’t know all the answers, but know I am loved by the one who does. You too are one of a kind, formed in the womb to make a difference in this world. What do you believe? Where have you sunk your roots? The fertile soil awaits, in which lies the life-giving nourishment and support through the droughts and the storms of life. The deep root is not ultimately a religion, but a relationship, and it leads to the more abundant life. It is important to know where you came from, but it is eternally more important to know where you are going. It is my prayer that like the Joshua tree, not only do your roots dig deeply for nourishment, but your branches reach out in praise and thanksgiving to the One who created you.