DAY 122

REMEMBRANCE

1 Kings 12 & 13 and Luke 22:1 – 30

It might be helpful to get some terms defined. From here on out you are going to read about Judah and Israel. The nation will be split. This was in fact a prophecy that you have already read about. Judah is basically two of the twelve tribes; Benjamin and Judah. Israel is basically the other ten tribes.

Today it does not help that one king is named Rehoboam and the other Jeroboam. It is easy to get confused in these ensuing chapters.

We see both Rehoboam and Jeroboam make poor choices. Rehoboam listens to poor council and further oppresses the people. It is interesting to note that during Solomon’s reign none of the Jewish people were made slaves. As bad a Rehoboam was, Jeroboam was worse. The one bright spot is that they did not fight against each other (v.24).

Fear leads Jeroboam to make two golden calves. Let’s just have a show of hands, who thinks making a golden calve is ever a good idea? Jeroboam was afraid people would go to the Temple and sacrifice in Jerusalem and then become loyal to his opponent. A man of God from Judah (that would be the other country) challenges Jeroboam. The event with Jeroboam’s hand and arm shriveling up would be something that you would think would put the fear of God in him…but of course it does not.

I am sitting here tonight recalling what David said to Solomon about remembering God and all that God had done. Solomon did, but it would appear that this did not make it to the next generation.

In the New Testament we continue our march to the Cross. I want to spend a moment and talk about one aspect of the reading…remembering. Jesus when he took the bread said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The Greek here is anamnesis. They had a few different words for remember. The word for “honey please remember to buy milk on the way home from work” was different then anamnesis.

I want to try an example of the anamnesis kind of remembering. Do you have any events in your life, that if you close your eyes and think about them, you can almost transport yourself there? I have a few. It takes some doing, but if I can block out everything, then I can really picture a past moment. When Jesus says to us, “Do this in remembrance of me” He is asking us to go back and remember the Last Supper. To remember Judas, and Peter and John: there is of course one difference…we know what lay ahead and the disciples did not. Can you imagine being in the Upper Room, seeing Him dip the bread, watching Him wash feet, observing Judas slipping out. I would want to yell out, “run, get out of here.”

But that is the point. Each time we gather around the Table we are to remember, deeply remember and recall all that Jesus has done for us. And then, remarkably, we take His Body and Blood into ourselves. If we can do this, and it is hard week in and week out, but if we can do this, I believe that we can then love God more. We certainly should not quickly forget His great love for us.

Not to put too sharp a point on it, but in the Old Testament lesson it really seems that they have forgotten all that God did in the Passover. Troublingly this idea of remembrance that Jesus is giving us at his Passover meal, is a Hebrew idea. They were to celebrate the Passover each year in order to take in and deeply remember God’s deliverance of them from Egypt.

We, my brothers and sisters, in the Paschal Mystery of Holy Communion are likewise to do the same. May God by His grace help us to always anamnesis.