Remembering

He could make a guess that they were young soldiers on the way to WWI and were victims of the great flu epidemic in 1918... but that was only a guess.

50 graves, a marker “We will never forget.”,... but in the passage of years... all was forgotten.

It is hard work to remember.

We are plagued with so much information these days that it is harder than ever to sort out what is important to remember, things that we know where to find the answer when we need it, and things that can simply drift away.

There are the little practical things like --quickly subtracting any number from 100, so that one can make change, --petunia seed needs light in order to germinate, while calendulas need darkness, and

--being very cautious about washing dark and light colored fabrics in the same load.

But tonight we are thinking about and experiencing

things of greater importance than those,

things beyond mere practicality,

indeed, things of ultimate importance.

And we're stepping beyond little religious facts, too.

The catechetical classes always work at learning and trying to remember the Creed, The Lord's Prayer, and the 10 Commandments.

I keep suggesting that struggling with Luther's explanations for all of those things is a good and salutary exercise, but our theme tonight is bigger even than that.

No matter how diligently we work at learning and remembering those things,

no matter how diligently we try to apply them in day to day life,

we still are always forgetting, and failing, and drifting in a dozen directions.

In case we are not aware of all the problems, the scriptures are forever presenting stories to us that accuse us of falling into the same traps that tripped up our ancestors in the faith.

We heard it, we should have known, but we actively turned away, or forgot, again.

Yes, we would have run away like the disciples.

Yes, the denial that came to Peter's lips so quickly might be our answer, too.

Yes, we run away today when the opportunity comes to speak the truth.

Yes, it is easier to laugh at a crude joke or be silent when the faith is derided.

Yes, each time we stay away from the gathered congregation, it gets a little easier to do, until going to the mall or an outdoor activity or just staying in bed can be done with hardly a twinge of guilt anymore.

Yes, we drift into forgetfulness, and sometime actively block out what we don't want to hear.

It is a mess.

But the most vital kind of remembering is in fact not our remembering at all!

One of those crucified with Jesus voiced it, and we sing this prayer near the end of the service tonight:

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Our remembering is so breakable, but the Lord Jesus always remembers with whom he has made a promise.

You are mine, forever, he tells us in Holy Baptism, and he means it.

There is so much that you and I should remember...but we fail.

Jesus, in spite of the mess I've made, remember us, we pray.

I have remembered, I do remember, I will remember, he responds.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.