In his book Whistling in the Dark, Frederick Buechner writes this about the word Remember. ”When you remember me it means that you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are.”
So, what is it that he did that we should remember today?
Maybe this…
That he healed.
And taught.
And embraced (quite literally, embraced)
The outcasts and the forgotten, the sick and the dying.
And maybe we should remember that he welcomed strangers.
And turned enemies into neighbors.
And invited us to do the same.
Maybe we should remember…
That he rebuked those whose piety and polity got in the way of compassion. And, that he brought God close especially to those who wondered whether or not God even cared about them anymore.
Maybe we should remember that he faced down power…
Challenging the assumptions of the “powers that be” with the vision and promise and possibility of God’s Kingdom come.
Maybe we should remember that he practiced what he preached.
And, we might remember, too, that he was generous with his time.
And, that he cared for the poor.
And, that he spoke with and ate with and associated with women and tax collectors and Samaritans and strangers.
Maybe we should remember that he fed the hungry;
And reminded us we should do the same.
And, maybe we should remember…
That he broke bread.
And shared wine.
And gave thanks.
And prayed deeply.
Maybe we should remember…
That his actions matched his words.
And that he put his life on the line.
But, in the end it is not just about our remembering, is it?
We remember because we are called to do the same.
Leave a Reply