We never forget
our best experiences…graduations…weddings…some
vacations…the birth of our children…the birth of our grandchildren.
We never forget our worst experiences either, try though we might. Major embarrassments…traumatic
events…anniversaries of deaths…national disasters…those we
remember. The events are long past, but we remember the feelings and the wounds
remain unhealed. Some of you in this room could tell us right where you were
when you heard the news about
I saw an article recently worrying about
9/11 burnout. It said people were tired of being reminded of something they
would like to forget. And we will probably be bombarded with press coverage
this week and see over and again those horrible images of airliners colliding
with buildings, of towers collapsing and people covered with the dust of what
once was mighty.
We might want to turn away, and at
some point enough is enough. But I also think it is important not to forget. It
is healthier to remember so that we might find some healing and learn from the
past and turn towards the future in hope. We saw a lot of regrettable reaction
to the events of September 11th - meeting violence with violence and
hatred with hatred … the deepening of the "us against them"
spirit that plagues the world. I am broken-hearted and afraid at the messages I
continue to hear that are xenophobic and war-mongering: hatred towards Arabs
and Muslims, a war that has killed more innocent than enemy. I am troubled by any self-focused moral
reflection lost in the rhetoric of civil religion which wraps God in the
American flag. Can we not be patriots and peacemakers?
The world is so much more dangerous now
than it was on September 10th 2001. But we have also seen
disciplined response … deeper compassion … people working harder to
understand the other and find peace. An
excellent example of this is the Nonviolence Conference sponsored by the
Wisconsin Council of Churches. This
conference is held every year in either
This week someone sent me this untitled,
anonymous poem to commemorate what has become our National Day of Mourning...9/11. I like to share it with you:
As the soot and dirt and ash rained down, We became
one color.
As we carried each other down the stairs of the burning building, We became one class.
As we lit candles of waiting and hoping, We became one
generation.
As the firefighters and police officers fought their way into the inferno,
We became one gender.
As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength, We
became one faith.
As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement, We
spoke one language.
As we gave our blood in lines a mile long, We became
one body.
As we mourned together the great loss, We became one
family.
As we cried tears of grief and loss, We became one
soul.
As we retell with pride the sacrifice of heroes - We become one people.
Can we remember that lesson?
"Remember"
is one of the most important words in the Bible. In English, it means literally to re-member, to
re-create, to put together again. "This shall be a day of remembrance for
you," God tells Moses about the Passover, and the ritual God commands has
been celebrated by God's people ever since. "Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (one of the big ten!). "Take
care that you do not forget the Lord," Deuteronomy says, "who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Deut. 6:12). "Seek
the Lord and his strength," the psalmist tells us. "Seek his presence
continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the
judgments he uttered" (Psalm 105:4-5). And again, "Bless the Lord, O
my soul, and do not forget all his benefits" (Psalm 103:2). And of,
course, we know how Jesus took up the ritual of the Passover and reinterpreted
it as "the new covenant in my blood." He said: "Do this in
remembrance of me," (Luke 22:19).
Events which change our lives for good
or ill become a part of who we are. Remembering, telling and re-telling our
story … it helps us put it all together … it helps us to put
everything in context … it helps us to understand why we are who we are.
Remembering gives us continuity. It reminds us not only of events, which
happened long ago and are done and gone, but of their meanings, which continue.
In the Bible, the rituals of remembrance are not simply an exercise in
memory. They are our means of
participating in the events ourselves. In Exodus 13, God tells Moses how
Israel's deliverance from Egypt will be celebrated after they reach the
promised land:
When in the future your child asks you,
"What does this mean?" you shall answer, "By strength of
hand the Lord brought us out of
Us! Not "our ancestors long
ago." Not "some ancient tribes from which we've descended." But "us." "The Lord brought us out of
In the same manner, when we come to
this table to remember the Christ, he says, "This is my body broken for you."
For you! He means not just, "you small group of disciples gathered with me
tonight in this upper room," but every person ever since who has obeyed
his call to "do this in remembrance of me." So today, when we
remember Jesus at this table, "This is my body broken for you" means
you and me. It happened so long ago … long before any of us were even
alive. But this is who we are, and we need to remember it.
All over my office and home I have
bric-a-brac which is relatively worthless as far as the world is concerned.
But they bring precious people to remembrance and remind me who I am. A faded
bookmark made in
This is a day for us to remember more
than anything else. Every day is a day for us to remember that more than
anything else. And perhaps that is the most important remembrance of all as we
move into this week of remembering…because it is a renewal of our deepest
identity. It is a foundation from which
we turn to the future in hope. The God who has been our help in ages past will
be our hope for years to come. Remembering tells us that God will get us
through the worst that's ahead. And that the best will come out of it. If we
react to the events in the world out of normal human emotion, there is no hope,
only more of the same: more hatred, more violence, more
terror. But if we respond as followers of Christ … out of his Spirit …
out of his love … then we have hope for a better world to leave to our
children and the generations who follow. Do we remember who Jesus was …
what he said … and what he did … and what he was like … and
how he responded to those who tried to damage him? I do, and I know you do too!
So let us join our Savior again
today as he gathers with his disciples in an upper room. Let us join again
today with the saints and martyrs who have blazed for us a trail of faith
through the ages. Let us join again today with the cloud of witnesses who have
gone before us in this world and in this place. Let us remember and so, let us
hope - in Jesus' name. Amen?!
May we pray?
Jesus, Savior, we would be your disciples. We would follow your path of peace
and life and love in the world. We would obey your call to love our enemies, to
work for the good off all humanity, to see in every face a child of God,
especially the faces of the despised and rejected, the poor and the hopeless.
Comfort our hearts this week as we remember. Encourage our souls. And help us
to remember above everything else, that we are your agents of mercy and grace.
We come then to this table in remembrance and in hope and in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.
Mary Anne Biggs, Pastor
Nekoosa United
Nekoosa