It is not unusual for burial places to be forgotten over the course of centuries. But even a few months is enough time for a field full of memorials to be overgrown through neglect leaving the lives of many forgotten. Those who go before us don’t want to be forgotten. Those who are left behind don’t want to forget. So, we find the longest lasting object close at hand and try to etch into it a life. Sometimes it is just a name and dates, other times it may have an epitaph or Scripture. Either way we leave something we hope will keep us alive in memory.
Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, 2000 years ago, he instituted a weekly memorial meal that we call the Lord’s Supper. As we take it together, we remember Jesus and the price he paid to ransom us from sin and reconcile us to God. Jesus said of the bread “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And of the cup, “This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25).
We are reminded who Jesus is and what he did for us and who we are because of him. How could we forget? In 1 Corinthians 11 we are told to “examine” ourselves and “judge ourselves truly” because we are about to engage in a memorial in which we recognize His death covers our sins and makes us new. The memorial Jesus instituted is our chance to remember and proclaim “this is why I am who I am.” Making this claim while refusing to live for him is a sure sign we have forgotten. Don’t be lost in the weeds, as long as we do not forget this memorial we too will not be forgotten.