The Power and Pain of Memory

On Remembrance Day, we remember those that unselfishly gave their lives in service. The act of remembering honours their commitment and makes sacred the power of memory. Remembering does not erase painful circumstances but meaningfully connects the past, present, and future. What part of remembering informs our present and our hope for the future?

The Lion King still is one of my favourite Broadway musicals. It’s the story of Simba, young cub of Mufasa, King of the Lions. Mufasa’s jealous brother, Scar, kills Mufasa and tricks young Simba into believing that Mufasa’s death was really Simba’s fault. Simba runs away and grows up carrying the burden of his father’s death.

In the most dramatic scene of the musical, Simba sees an image of himself in a pond and that image becomes his father. The image of his father fills the night sky saying, “Simba, You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.

Simba expresses his doubt, “I’m not who I used to be.”

His father reminds him, “Remember who you are. You are my son, and the one true king. Remember…

Memory ties our lives together. Do we remember who and whose we are?

In the first scripture we read, Jeremiah, the prophet, wrote a letter to the first generation of Hebrew exiles taken into slavery in Babylon. The exiles heard the many voices that either gave them false hope or the voices that fueled their doubt. In chapters 27-31, Jeremiah scolds the false prophets who predicted that their exile would end in two years and that Babylon would be facing imminent doom. The prediction created false hope for a speedy return to Judah. There are always people around us who seem to minimize our own struggle with the devastating consequences we are living in.

The exiles had reason to doubt their future. Jeremiah was speaking to people:

Whose trauma had splintered their lives.

Who were the lonely outcasts.

Whose economic well-being had been shattered.

Whose families had been fractured.

Whose homes had been divided.

Whose future was doubtful.

Facing an uncertain future is the dominant theme of Jeremiah’s letter and a reminder that there is no quick fix, it will take more than a generation.

Jeremiah’s advice is not what we might expect and certainly not what they expected. He tells them to settle into the land of Babylon and create a community of faith, as unacceptable and impossible as it seems. Jeremiah’s word from the Lord says to, “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

Jeremiah tells the exiles to settle in for the long haul. Regardless of where the exiles were, Jeremiah is encouraging them to live their lives in the present. Rebuild, plant, marry and have children, do things that have life-giving power. Don’t be a victim of your circumstances. They must work for their own welfare by seeking the welfare of the place where they live, no matter how counterintuitive that may seem.

The exiles could perseverate on remembering their comfortable past in Jerusalem. Again, they are not to live in the past, but in the present, whether the circumstances are good or challenging. When we are open to the present, we are open to experience new hope. When God said to “settle in" he was not calling them to be Babylonians or to act in sync with what the Babylonians believed. The message of God through Jeremiah is that we are God's people wherever we are. We must remember who and whose we are.

How does remembering who and whose we are fit in the context of the Gospel story from Mark? We must look back to verse 38, “As [Jesus] taught, he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’”

Jesus is talking about those who put on a show of being religious. In the verses we read, Jesus and the disciples are watching people put their offerings in the treasury. They observed the wealthy putting in large amounts and then a poor widow who put in her two copper coins worth only a few cents. We don’t know her name or what came first, her poverty or her widowhood, however, her example of faith supersedes those particulars.

Like the story of the rich young ruler, this isn’t about money. The widow didn’t let her circumstances or her past dictate her behaviour. She is a poor widow and was not considered a valuable or contributing member of society. She could have remembered only who others said she was and lived according to that narrow, external interpretation.

The woman viewed her life’s situation in a different way. She offered what might have been her two last coins. Even though her resources were scarce, she didn’t allow her circumstances or the ways others defined her to dictate how she chose to live out her faith.

How does remembering who and whose we are shape our future? How do we accept life’s challenges with courageous hope?

Jeremiah’s encouragement is for us, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”