Remember the Promises

In the Bible, time and time again, we are called on to remember what God has done for us. Remember how God walked with us. Remember how God has carried us in the past. And remember God’s promises to us for the future.  

And this is a gift to us.

I think about standing before a freshly dug grave, hearing the words: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want… Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me…

I think about at the very beginning of the Covid shutdown, reading the words of Psalm 46: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea…

It is a gift to remember how God has carried us… It is a gift to remember God’s promises. And it is a gift to remember how God has blessed us… 

We do need reminders sometimes…  

I think about how at Thanksgiving, one of the new rituals in our family is as we gather before dinner, we form a circle like many families. And I’ve invited us as we pause a moment, to consciously look around at each face, we silently recall the memories we share with each other – over the course of the decades. And in that reflection, we are able to recognize the beauty of the moment, the gift that it is. When we remember that we have a finite number of these gatherings, we remember the blessing of being together, the blessing of family, the blessing of God’s providence, and the blessing of life itself… 

On the eve of his own death, Jesus gathered with his disciples. He took the bread, blessed it, and broke it. He took the cup and gave it to them. And he said: Do this in remembrance of me…Remember my love for you… remember my life poured out… Remember how I’ve carried you in the past…  Remember how I’ve blessed you…  Remember I am with you in your struggles, even now. Remember.

This is key for people of faith. We come to the table again and again. We hold the memories for each other. We retell the stories. We hand them down from generation to generation. We remember to remember… 

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.