Remember

“ These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. ”

Wisdom can be defined as knowing what to do in a given situation. Mere knowledge tells you what things are and how they work. Wisdom applies a deeper knowledge, of how things will happen and what outcomes are good and why we need to stay on a particular path and the true value of people. Wisdom is better than knowledge. We need both.

We often attribute wisdom to older people, though some older people lack wisdom altogether. Occasionally, it is a child who will guide us with a simple wisdom that cuts through our worldliness and jaded thinking. But in every case, wisdom seems to remember something the rest of us have forgotten , or never knew. It is this memory that is interesting. We may remember things that happened to us or to people we've known, or to characters in tales—and this is where age and long experience can help you—or we may apparently remember things that have not yet happened, but somehow we remember what's coming.

When God speaks to man, He often gives us a view that is truly a heavenly perspective of time and events. He may recall us to events in the past where He acted and we benefited by His grace. And He may call us to remember what He has told us that will happen to us in the future. The future often has two outcomes : one that will happen if we stay in fellowship and loving obedience with our God, and another if we don't. Heaven and Hell are the ultimate outcomes of our lives on earth, and we are frequently called by Jesus in the Gospel to remember them.

Even God remembers, and He told Noah after the Flood, when the rainbow was given as a sign: “I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.” Genesis 9:15-16

God reminded the Israelites to remember what happened to them through those to whom He gave His revelation. “Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.” Exodus 13:3 “And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.” Deut. 15:15

The Psalmists sang of this memory too. “Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth…” Psalm 105:4-5 “If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” Psalm 137:6-7

The memory of the future, of God's promised outcomes, guides us to better decisions in our lives, and to place the right values upon things and people. A skid row bum may cause us to recoil at his unsightly clothes and foul smell, but when we remember that Jesus came and died for this one too, it gives us better minds about his value.

An unborn child may create panic and horror in the heart of her mother, entering her life and invading her body at the wrong time of life, but when she remembers that she too was such an innocent baby, with a life already under way, in her mother's womb, she will hopefully turn her heart toward her offspring and call her child “my baby.” That's why we at ChicoLife have a fair booth this week called , “The Miracle of Life” with life-size models of the unborn, continuous video of sonographic images of babies in utero . When the young remember this, they will value life.

Jesus came to preach and teach more about Heaven and Hell than any other prophet or priest before Him. This was because the ends of our lives were finally to be understood in terms of God's path of salvation. It was not to be a function of relative goodness or disobedience that we might be saved or damned. By that measure, we all would fall short. But it is by knowing and loving Christ, turning our lives around toward Him, and remembering what He taught us by word and example, we might pass from life to life and enjoy His company in Heaven forever. The reason people go to Hell is they don't want Him, plain and simple. That's what He taught. We must remember it.

Christ said, “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” John 15:20 This He said so that we, the followers of Jesus Christ, might not lose hope or be swayed when the world turned against us. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus says: “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” St. John 15:26

The movie version of the novel , “The DaVinci Code” came out last week. The controversy over this work by Dan Brown comes from some secrets he alleges about Jesus and the Church in history. He creates a different memory than the one we have. He alleges that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child. He claims that the early Church suppressed such matters of Christ's life by eliminating all but four Gospel accounts. Such tales have existed from early times, but have always and already been discredited soundly. Excellent and faithful work was done in the earliest centuries to show such teaching to be without fact or foundation. Don't fear the DaVinci Code . The lies promoted by this fable have been dealt with before, and the Church still stands. In two years, DaVinci will be forgotten, another assault may be launched, like the Gospel of Judas Iscariot , and fizzle. Why are we so resilient? We have the memory of what truly happened.

In Revelation, Jesus sends a message to the church at Ephesus: “These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place.” Rev. 2:1-5

In today's Epistle, St. Peter calls the church to remember that the end of the world is coming, so stay seriously devoted, pray, love each other, show hospitality, give spiritual gifts, and speak for God. 1 St. Peter 4:7-11 We must remember where we are going, what the future holds for us, or we will certainly despair. The world can deal a serious blow to our self-esteem, our confidence, our courage, and our determination if we start to listen to its taunting, its sheer lies. But the true memory of Jesus' life recalls us to the path we were on, the reason we believe, the hope we have of Heaven, and the reason we live lives of love and sacrifice. But we must remember.

Remember the prophecies . Hundreds of years before Christ lived, the prophets told of a virgin giving birth, of a star that would mark out the birth of a King, of the prophet like Moses who the people should follow, of a Messiah who would ultimately rule the world in peace, but who would die for sinners and rise again. All this, the collective memory of the Jews, was fulfilled in Christ's life. Those who remembered, saw the fulfillment and they believed. Isaiah 7:14; Num 24:17; Deut 18:15-18; Isa 11; Isa 53.

Remember His words . “In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” John 11:25-26

Remember His promise . For we live “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior.” Titus 1:2-3 As St. Paul wrote to Titus. If we retain our memory, and live in it, we can't suffer doubt or fear.

Jesus held up torn bread and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my Body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And the cup, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood in the New Covenant, which is shed to wash your sins and the sins of many. Do this every time you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Remembrance, as He used the word here, meant more than to keep thinking about a man from long ago. We make Him alive with us, He gives life and washes us still, every time we partake of this sacrament. In remembrance of me means to bring Him back among us by these mysterious means.

Wisdom comes by a memory, of what is true, what has happened before, and what has been promised by a faithful messenger. Then we apply it to our lives and situations and it proves true and worthy, again and again. But we must remember.

PFH+