"Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed." (Mary Oliver)
The following on "remembering" from Frederick Buechner registered with me as I recently did the funeral service for my dearly loved mother. Mom died at age 97 and struggled the last five years with severe dementia. I doubt she knew who I was when I visited three days before her death. I am glad I took the necessary time to do that visit. We held hands. I shared scripture and the Lord's Prayer and even sang a couple songs though I doubt any of it registered with her but one never knows in situations like that.
"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. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.
For as long as you remember me, I am never entirely lost. When I'm feeling most ghostlike, it's your remembering me that helps remind me that I actually exist. When I'm feeling sad, it's my consolation. When I'm feeling happy, it's part of why I feel that way.
If you forget me, one of the ways I remember who I am will be gone. If you forget me, part of who I am will be gone.
"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," the good thief said from his cross (Luke 23:42). There are perhaps no more human words in all of Scripture, no prayer we can pray so well."
"JUST BEFORE THE FINAL BENEDICTION, the New Testament ends with the prayer, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20). When he came the first time, he came so unobtrusively that except for Mary and Joseph and a handful of shepherds, nobody much knew or cared. But he says he will come a second time.
Who knows how he will come, or when, or where. He says himself, "Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only" (Matthew 24:36). People who in search of a timetable try to crack the book of Revelation like a code are on a wild goose chase. People who claim that all who join their sect will be saved and all others lost are wrong. The ones who will be saved, Jesus says, are the ones who feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the prisoners (Matthew 25:31-46). If you love, in other words, you're in. If you don't, you're out. It doesn't seem to matter to him whether you're a Jehovah's Witness, a Jesuit, or a Jew.
In one of the more outlandish of his outlandish images, he says he will come like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:42-43). We must be ready at all times therefore. We can never be sure when he will break into the world as into a house, when he will break into our lives.
No one can say just what will happen when that day comes, but that it will be a day to remember there is no doubt. The dead will be raised. The Last Judgment will take place. The present age will end and the new age begin. In Dante's vision, the redeemed will shine like a great white rose unfolding petal by petal in the light of glory. In John's, the new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven like a bride.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," the risen Christ said to his servant Paul (2 Corinthians 12:9). It is in that hope only that we dare say "Amen" to the prayer that brings all Scripture to a close."
Here is the prayer that closed the month of October in A Prayer for Every Day "Eternal God, your grace is my only hope. Without your goodness my life is dark. Let me abide in your love so that I may see your beauty. Grant me the spirit of obedience so that the secrets of my Lord may dwell within me. Amen!"
Here are the lectionary Bible readings for this past week and the word that grabbed my attention. ( Now one of the criteria for the word chosen is that I have not chosen it before in this year's readings. I do not want to duplicate if possible so that at the end of this year I should have selected 366 words though I know I have duplicated once or twice.) Let me also say that I know this probably means very little to you but you never know when a passage listed or a word chosen will impact you in a meaningful way.
Joshua 3: 7-17 crossing over
Psalm 107: 1-7 inhabited
Psalm 107: 33-37 establish
Psalm 43 vindicate
I Thessalonians 2:9-13 worthy
Matthew 23: 1-12 practice
Micah 3: 5-12 plowed
I penned these words one year ago. "Paul writes of being in Christ and the wonderful inheritance that belongs to those who trust in Him. This is the work of God who accomplished all things and gives Holy Spirit to us who believe, We pray for eyes of the heart to be enlightened with God's wisdom. God's power is demonstrated in Christ and given to us also." (brief reflection on Ephesians 1:11-23)
Joy and Peace!
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