Harvesting Our Memories

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul shares with the church that on the night he was betrayed, Jesus took a loaf of bread, blessed and broke it, and said, “This is my body, that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me… And then he took the cup, and he also said: Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me…”

In other words, there is going to be something about this act, something about this ritual, that triggers a memory, that serves as a reminder… Remember me. Remember my way of life.  Remember my love for you.  Remember my promises to you… Remember my life poured out.

In so many ways, memory is a gift.  

Jesus said, “Do this – Do this – in remembrance of me…”

Sometimes we do need reminders, don’t we? I’ve gotten so I love my Remind App on my phone. I set it for all kinds of things…. Don’t forget to go by the store on your way home.  Don’t forget to give my daughter a hug at night. (It sounds silly, but if it reminds you every single night, you never forget to do it.)  Don’t forget to pray for Tim’s surgery on Monday morning. The little timer goes off. I get an alert… Oh yeah! I got to do that – now!

I also think about looking back over old journals I’ve written or pictures I’ve taken. You know when you are looking back at that, it stirs something deep inside! Ah, I remember when my girls were that age! Look at the mess she is making with that ice cream!  I remember that princess dress!  Sometimes it is in conversations with old friends: Remember that time…? Remember when we took that trip and he missed the plane? 

More and more I have come to see what a blessing it is to look back. 

The poet and philosopher John O’Donohue writes about the importance of what he calls “harvesting our memories.” He says, “Every human heart seeks meaning… and meaning is the sister of experience. Everything that happens to you is an act of sowing a seed of experience. (But) It is equally important to be able to harvest that experience. 

As T.S. Elliot said, many of us have, ‘had the experience, but missed the meaning.’”

It is true that a lot of the experiences that we have in the world are torn, broken, and hard. But what I’ve come to see is that we begin the process of healing, when we visit those places with compassion and with eyes of faith. 

Let us pray. We remember today, O God, how you have carried us through in the past. We remember the love and grace we’ve experienced over the years with friends and loved ones. Grant us the ability to look back with compassion even as we look forward in hope; through Jesus Christ. Amen.