"Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands… (Isaiah 49:15-16)”
Listen: Mark Schultz, "Remember Me"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8RWI3y1Npk
Recently during a routine medical exam, the doctor asked me to remember three words. She forewarned me she would ask me again later in the exam. No problem, I thought. However when she asked me to recall the three words, I only remembered one. I was shocked. I'm now on "luminosity," the brain game website to strengthen mental function.
There are a lot of reasons we forget. We age. We get overwhelmed. We experience psychological trauma - or embarrassment. Some of us are just better at remembering data, faces, names.
Remembering is also a spiritual habit. Throughout the scriptures the people of Israel are asked to remember what God has done for them -- delivering them from slavery and leading them into a covenant relationship of love and right living. (Deut. 5:15 ; 15:15 ; 16:3 16:12 ; 24:18 ; 7:18 ; 8:2; 8:18 ; 9:7; Ezek 16:22 ; 20:43 ; 36:31; Isa/ 63”11-14, 46:8; Psa. 106:7; 42: 6-7;119:55: Jer.20:9 ). Remembering is connected to right living.
God remembers us too. Even when humankind forgets righteousness and justice, God never forgets us. The only time God forgets is when we are forgiven. God no longer "remembers" our sins.
Just as God asked the people to remember their delivery from slavery, Jesus asks us to remember him in the breaking of the bread and drinking of the cup -- at the Lord's Supper. We are called to remember his sacrifice of love, the creation of community and to live as neighbors. When the "good thief" on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom, Jesus responded that (Luke 23) "today you will be with me in paradise." Remembering for Jesus was not a brain game. For Jesus, remembering brings us to our senses, to a place of reconciliation so that we recall who we are and whose we are.
We forget who we are. We think we are the sum of our successes or mistakes. We think we are alone, and disconnected from the needs and cares of others. We forget. We are children of God, called to live and act like children of God, loved and loving, redeemed and forgiven/forgiving.
This Lent every day, remember who you are. Do a Lenten brain game. Read a scripture. Remember God. Remember the God who loves you, who loves all of creation. Remember God's words through Isaiah: "I will not forget you. I have carved you on the palm of my hands."
If we remember, we can re-member our lives, acting in love and forgiveness.
What have you forgotten about your spiritual life?
What do you remember today?
Pray: "Help to to remember who you created me to me. Help me to act as a remembered child of God"
Listen: Mark Schultz, "Remember Me"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8RWI3y1Npk
Recently during a routine medical exam, the doctor asked me to remember three words. She forewarned me she would ask me again later in the exam. No problem, I thought. However when she asked me to recall the three words, I only remembered one. I was shocked. I'm now on "luminosity," the brain game website to strengthen mental function.
There are a lot of reasons we forget. We age. We get overwhelmed. We experience psychological trauma - or embarrassment. Some of us are just better at remembering data, faces, names.
Remembering is also a spiritual habit. Throughout the scriptures the people of Israel are asked to remember what God has done for them -- delivering them from slavery and leading them into a covenant relationship of love and right living. (Deut. 5:15 ; 15:15 ; 16:3 16:12 ; 24:18 ; 7:18 ; 8:2; 8:18 ; 9:7; Ezek 16:22 ; 20:43 ; 36:31; Isa/ 63”11-14, 46:8; Psa. 106:7; 42: 6-7;119:55: Jer.20:9 ). Remembering is connected to right living.
God remembers us too. Even when humankind forgets righteousness and justice, God never forgets us. The only time God forgets is when we are forgiven. God no longer "remembers" our sins.
Just as God asked the people to remember their delivery from slavery, Jesus asks us to remember him in the breaking of the bread and drinking of the cup -- at the Lord's Supper. We are called to remember his sacrifice of love, the creation of community and to live as neighbors. When the "good thief" on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom, Jesus responded that (Luke 23) "today you will be with me in paradise." Remembering for Jesus was not a brain game. For Jesus, remembering brings us to our senses, to a place of reconciliation so that we recall who we are and whose we are.
We forget who we are. We think we are the sum of our successes or mistakes. We think we are alone, and disconnected from the needs and cares of others. We forget. We are children of God, called to live and act like children of God, loved and loving, redeemed and forgiven/forgiving.
This Lent every day, remember who you are. Do a Lenten brain game. Read a scripture. Remember God. Remember the God who loves you, who loves all of creation. Remember God's words through Isaiah: "I will not forget you. I have carved you on the palm of my hands."
If we remember, we can re-member our lives, acting in love and forgiveness.
What have you forgotten about your spiritual life?
What do you remember today?
Pray: "Help to to remember who you created me to me. Help me to act as a remembered child of God"
RSS Feed