LEST WE FORGET
This past weekend, in schools on Friday and on Sunday at cenotaphs, places of worship and legion halls, hundreds of thousands of people engaged in acts of remembrance. As the number of Second World War vets declines, and the number of vets from Afghanistan increases, we as a nation show a resolve to remember the sacrifice people have made and still make for freedom and peace.
Even with this resolve, we still need memory aids; poppies and the legion volunteers selling them are foremost in my mind. To be remembered is to be honoured. That applies to birthdays and to the more mundane daily living.
Some may feel God has forgotten about them. "Never!" the Prophet Isaiah relates, "Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would never forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand..." (Isaiah 49: 13-16)
Just as the poppy worn on the lapel helps us to remember, it is as if God has written our name on God's hand. How many times have I done that! Jesus is God's primary reminder to us that God remembers. The empty tomb, or cenotaph, is another.
Jesus calls us to remember by coming together to celebrate The Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion. He said, "Whenever you eat this bread or drink this cup, you do it in memory of me." (See 1 Corinthians 11: 24-26).
This is our primary memory aid to remember Jesus, the prince of peace, the author of our salvation.
