Luke 24: 1-12

Old bankers never die; they just lose their balance. Old mail carriers never die; they just lose their zip. Old school superintendents never die; they just lose their principles. Old photographers never die; they just stop developing. Old lawyers never die; they just lose their appeal. Old preachers on Easter never die; they just go on and on and on and on. . . . That won’t be true for me today.

The women who went to the tomb early in the morning found the body gone. Perplexed, they suddenly saw two men in dazzling clothes beside them. They bowed their faces to the ground. The men said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but he is risen. – Remember how he told you he’d be crucified and rise again.” Then they remembered. They remembered Jesus’ words after being prompted by the men in white. Is remembering the same as belief?

Three women were talking. The first said, ” I go to the refrigerator and forget what I needed when I look inside.” The second woman said, “When I go upstairs, I can’t remember whether I’m going up for something or I’m going back downstairs.” The third woman said, knocking on wood, “I’m lucky, I guess. I don’t have that problem. Is someone knocking at the door?”

There was a time when we could joke about lapses in memories. Now, because of our ages or because of medical research or because of our own experiences in our families, we don’t seem to laugh as hard as we used to about such things. The women at the tomb were called on to remember, recollect, recall what Jesus said about what would happen to him when he arrived in Jerusalem. The gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke, wrote that Jesus told his disciples three times he’d be betrayed, arrested, suffer, be crucified and rise from the dead. Is remembering the same as belief?

To remember is to recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory, to think of again; to retain in the memory, keep in mind, remain aware of. It is as if we reach back into our memories to retrieve an event or name or word or experience and bring forth to consider or claim again with significance or importance. When we remember, recollect, recall Easters of our past, we may bring forth memories of images related to spring (flowers, pastel colors, warmth of the weather, family meals or gatherings) in addition to images found in the church (Easter lilies, Easter suits and dresses, Easter hats and bonnets, Easter hymns and scriptures). All such memories bring forth for all of us the significance of the day itself. The memories return – memories of blessings and celebrations and feelings of joy, thankfulness and praise. Is remembering the same as belief?

When we remember, our faith is ignited again. This is why holidays, holy-days, are so significant in our culture. They help us remember, and we believe again. Two little neighbor girls about the same age, one Christian and one Jewish, were constant companions. After one Easter holiday, the grandfather of the Christian girl asked her what her friend received for Easter. The girl looked at her grandfather in surprise and said, “But Grandpa, you should know that Becky is Jewish, and she wouldn’t get anything for Easter.” Then she went on to explain patiently, “You see, I’m Easter and she’s Passover. I’m Christmas and she’s Hanukkah.” Then with a big smile, she added, “But I’m really glad that both of us are Halloween.”

In considering my own recollecting and remembering, and my own faith being ignited in times past, I want to share some verses from the Psalms. The business of the Psalms was always to shared in the gathering of God’s people in worship. Though the language is sometimes in the first person (this particularly true in David’s writings about his own spiritual journey), the psalms were meant to be the joys and laments of all the worshippers of God, all God’s people. These verses are meant to be considered by all God’s people in praise, in repentance and in trusting in God’s steadfast love.

First, this is Psalm 77: 7-15 – “’Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?’ Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.’ Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.”

Will the Lord reject forever? So, we ask such things amidst our own difficulties, the difficulties of family or community or nation or world. Has God forgotten to be merciful? Then the psalmist changes the tone, changes the direction of the whole view of all the people. “Then I thought, ‘ I will remember the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your miracles of long ago.” As if on a particular holy day, holiday, we remember again the Lord’s miracles, God’s deeds of long ago. Why? To ignite again our faith in him.

We look at the next psalm, Psalm 78: 9-11 – “The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle; they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.” The men of Ephraim are the soldiers in the nation of Ephraim, the Jews who separated from the southern Jews after the death of Solomon and became a separate nation. When it was time for them to defend their nation, they turned away. Why? They didn’t keep the Lord’s commands because, I believe, “They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them.” It seems to me these verses tell us there is an outcome when we do not recollect, recall, remember as a people the deeds God has done, the wonders he has shown us: we turn back on the day of battle and we do not keep God’s covenant and refuse to live by his law. When we forget what he has done, we disobey willfully and refrain from the spiritual warfare when our families or churches or communities need such determination.

Lastly, Psalm 103: 1-5 – “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” David, here, makes it plain: Do not forget all God’s benefits. As a family, though some forget, as a church, though some forget, as a community, a nation, a world, though some forget, do not forget all that God has done, is doing, will do – God forgives, God heals, God buys back your life from the pit, crowns us all with love, satisfies our desires. What if, you as a person, have not experienced such a benefit? Maybe you haven’t, but somebody in the church, in the community has. We don’t argue this. We’re called upon to remember this.

The women at the tomb were told to recollect what Jesus had told them. He said he would die and rise from the dead. They remembered. They were the first witnesses of what the Lord had done. They remembered, and, I affirm today, they believed. By remembering and believing, having their faith ignited by remembering, they went and told others what they saw.

What do you remember today that God has done for you, for your family, for this church, for this nation, for this world? Remember and do not forget, and our faith will be ignited again to do what only God can do through us all. Alleluia!

(Preached at Lincoln UMC in Lincoln, AL, April 17, 2022)