Luke 24:1-12
"Remember"
Preached Sunday, April 20, 2025
What helps you remember? Is there a scent, a song, a phrase - that when you encounter it - you are transported back to a memory?
There are certain hymns that transport me back to the balcony of Canfield United Methodist Church, and I can hear my mother’s voice, and my grandmother’s voice, singing alongside me. There are other hymns that remind me of sitting by my grandmother’s bed, singing hymns to her, in the final days of her life.
There are certain smells that remind me of summer camp. The fresh earthy smell after a rain in the summer with the humidity thick in the air. The sensation of waking up and being cozy under the covers but the crisp cool morning air hitting my face and lungs - that transports me back to those cool summer mornings, waking up in a cabin.
When I am not with my girls, it’s amazing how many things remind me of them. Everything that they would find wonder or delight in - a song to dance to, a funny shaped cloud, a delicious cupcake - these things make me think of them - and I smile.
These are good memories for me. When I encounter the triggers, I am grateful when they happen, I am reminded of all the love and good memories I have.
And… We know that not all things that trigger our memories are good and they are not all good memories. That’s why we put “trigger warnings” on things. A very common example is for war veterans who have PTSD, the sound of fireworks can often trigger them, transporting them to intense and fearful memories. A careless comment can transport someone back to a time they were ridiculed, derided, bullied. Making a left turn at a busy intersection can make someone’s heart race, reminding them of the time they got into an accident.
Whether they are good or bad, our memories from our past shape who we are in the present, and what we imagine the future will be like. We are all just a compilation of all we’ve experienced. The memories we carry with us - they shape us and influence us in so many intricate ways. That’s also why losing memories, and dementia, can be a particular painful experience.
The very act of remembering, recollection, has power.
Here in the church we often say, “Remember your baptism.” And when we say that we are not talking about remembering the specific event, how old you were, the church you were at, who the minister was - in the Methodist church many of us can’t actually recall these things beyond what we were told as we may have been baptized as infants. And yet we say - Remember. We say “remember your baptism” to mean - remember that you are claimed and beloved as a child of God.
Many altar tables have the inscription, “Do this in remembrance of me.” As United Methodists, we believe that Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, is more than just a Memorial Meal. We are called to “do this in remembrance” - recounting the events of Jesus’s life. And it goes beyond that, we remember all that Jesus was and is, and know the Holy Spirit meets us, encounters us, is with us in this meal. And because we remember that promise that Spirit is with us in the meal, we act. We give ourselves over to God, in praise and thanksgiving, coming forward for the meal, yes - and hopefully, letting it change how we live our lives. We also remember forward. We remember - not just what was - but what will be! When we proclaim the liturgy we say, “until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet” - by remembering backward, we also remember forward. We remember that Christ promised us that we would share this meal with him at a heavenly banquet table.
Remembering is not just about our past - but also our present and our future.
This morning’s Gospel lesson illustrates the power of recollectance. Every Gospel has a slightly different recollection of the events surrounding that first Easter morning - of the resurrection of Jesus. One thing that strikes me from Luke’s telling is that no one present at the tomb that morning sees the resurrected Jesus. They will later - but not at the tomb that morning. I want to say that again because it’s really important - Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, did not make an appearance in our Gospel reading this morning.
The women came to the tomb, their hands full of oils and spices to anoint the body and the tomb…was empty! And they were perplexed. Confused. Scratching their heads - I’d venture to guess even distraught. And then, that’s when two men in dazzling clothes stood before them and said:
“‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.”
The angels - for that’s what we understand the two men in dazzling clothes to be - the angels triggered their memories of all that Jesus had said. Can you imagine what was going through the women’s heads as they heard the men and looked at the empty tomb? They were transported. Transported to all the times that Jesus talked about his death and resurrection. All the times that Jesus had said he would suffer and die…and all the times he said that wouldn’t be the end. They struggled to understand those moments when Jesus was alive. And then, I imagine as they hung on the cross, all those memories shattered, lost in the outpouring of grief. But now…the empty tomb and the word “Remember…” triggers their memories and their understanding. All the pieces are clicking into place - light bulb moment. They remember - and without ever seeing the resurrected body of Jesus - they believe.
Lutheran Pastor Micah Krey talks about the importance of recollection for our faith. He says this:
“The command to ‘remember’ weaves throughout the biblical witness. It binds together the salvation story:
Remember the promise of God at Creation that this world is ‘good,’ and God loves it dearly…
…Remember the promise to Moses and the Israelites as they were freed from captivity to be the people of God.
Remember the promise to the Israelites that there would be a land filled with milk and honey for all people to thrive.
Remember the promise to God’s people that a Savior would come to be with us and save us.
Remember the Savior coming into this world as a little child, just like us, to show the world how we might live with God.
Remember how Jesus, our savior, fed, healed, and transformed the lives of thousands through his teaching and preaching.
Remember how he included everyone at his table with no restrictions or qualifications.
Remember how he broke the bread and shared it. Remember how he shared the cup and promised the forgiveness of all our sin.
Remember the cross. For God so loved the world that [God] gave [God’s] only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’
Remember that Jesus breathed his spirit into us, so that we know that we are never alone.”
And so on this Easter morning I want to say to you: Do you remember?
We weren’t there that first Easter. We have never seen the physically resurrected Jesus. And yet, we can remember the resurrection. Recall Jesus’s words. Remember that he conquered the grave. That he rose again on the 3rd day. That he broke the chains of death.
Remember - and don’t just remember as if this is an event that happened in the past that has no effect on us. Remember - and let it change the present - and the future. Live into the present with all the hope, courage, and Love of one who is claimed by the God of Love who broke the powers of sin and death.
We live in a world that can be very dark. Jesus who was betrayed, tortured, scorned, despised, killed…he knew how dark and harsh the world could be. He knew the absolute worst of what humanity was capable of - the violence that drives us, the desire to scapegoat, to turn a blind eye to injustice, to run from pain. Jesus knew it all. And, by confronting the worst of humanity on the Cross, by being swallowed up by Death…and then by rising again, choosing us again, breaking free from death, the grave could not hold him - Jesus is telling us, showing us, empowering us - to live joyful, loving, abundant expansive lives! I know so many of us, including myself, can get beaten down by this world. We can despair. We can become apathetic. We can wonder if there is any goodness left… It is then that we need to REMEMBER.
In remembering Christ’s death and resurrection, we can claim the power of the resurrection for ourselves! That we are not bound by the evil in this world, we are not beholden to humanity’s worse inclinations, we are not claimed by and for death. Their power has been broken.
In remembering Christ’s death and resurrection we can proclaim that life is truly filled with just that, the vibrancy of life - life, abundant, expansive life - because Jesus was raised from the dead. Death was defeated.
We remember it all - and it changes who we are.
We remember the Resurrection and in doing so we remember that we serve a God who is Love and Life itself.
And that changes everything.
This morning do you hear the words said to those women at the tomb, those words now said to you: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember…”
Today we remember. And we proclaim:
Christ is Risen
He is Risen, Indeed!
Remember! Amen.
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