Dear Friends,
Some people refer to this as ‘the season of remembering’. We’ve just remembered those whose lives have been inspirational for Christians… the ‘Saints’ who have been acknowledged for their deep and all-encompassing faith, their exemplary behaviour, or their gift for teaching, their gift of healing. We still tell their stories to remember them.
By the way, did you know that the word ‘saint’ in the Bible is the word used in the 1st Century for all Jesus’ followers… so you are all saints if you follow Jesus as, are those who came before us. So, it’s good to remember those who have passed on their Christian faith to us, and to think about our role as saints for those we encounter.
We’ll soon be remembering the events of 5th November and the plot to blow up the houses of Parliament. We tell this story to remember the conflicts of the time.
And we’ll remember the thousands of victims of Wars and conflicts since 1914. We pray for peace and remind ourselves of the awful pain of conflict and war as we tell the stories of people who died, were disabled in and survived conflicts worldwide (as they still do).
Now, if to ‘dismember’ something means to take it apart, it follows that to ‘remember’ something is to put it back together again – to re-member it. That’s what we do when we tell these stories.
And that’s what we do when we remember Jesus… we put Jesus back together as we meet, retell and discuss the events, example and meaning of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection. We re-member Jesus – we put him back together in our hearts and minds.
That’s what the first Christians did when they met together 2,000 years ago and it’s what we still do when we meet… we remind ourselves of the stories… and what we know from our own experiences, we re-member Jesus.
It’s what we do when we meet for communion, to re-member Jesus… we put him back together in our hearts and minds as we break and eat bread and drink wine as Jesus asked us to do – to re-member him.
‘Happy re-memering’.
Wishing you God’s rich blessings of love, joy and peace.
Revd. Janine Atkinson