On the night Jesus was betrayed he instituted the sacrament of communion saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Communion is, in part, a call to remember, but memory can be a tricky thing for the Christian. Our memory is sometimes our friend, but other times it accuses us and fills us with shame. Our memory of past sins and failings can distort our view of Jesus making him appear as a distant judge more than a loving savior and so it is significant that Jesus’ command for us to remember him is attached to the broken body and the spilled blood. It’s almost as if he is saying, when you think of me remember this and know that I am for you.

Even so, the role of memory in the Christian life is a difficult thing to master. In Philippians 3 Paul exhorts his readers to “forget what lies behind,” but John seemingly contradicts Paul by commanding his readers in Revelation 2 to “remember from where you have fallen,” and in Deuteronomy 9 Moses commanded, “Remember, do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath.”  In Isaiah 43:18 we read “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old,” but just three chapters later Isaiah writes, “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old…” (Isaiah 46:8-9)

So which is it? Should we remember the things of old or remember them not? Forget what lies behind or should we not forget? And what does this all have to do with the call to remember that is attached to communion? Come join us this Sunday as we come to the Lord’s supper and think deeply about the role of memory in the Christian life.