(Based on Deuteronomy 8:1-18
and John 14:23-26)
When I was in seminary at Princeton, I chose to
concentrate my studies on the Old Testament, because I already knew the New Testament
pretty well and knew next to nothing about the old one. In my study of ancient
Hebrew and of the ancient Jewish people, I discovered pretty early on that the single most
important word in the Hebrew scriptures is the word “remember.” The Hebrew word
is actually “zakar."
The people of God – the Hebrews - are reminded over and
over again - particularly by Moses but by others as well – to remember. Remember
what, you may ask? Remember God’s presence, action, and loving intervention throughout
their journey with Yahweh. Did you know that every single Jewish holiday, from
Passover to Hanukkah, and from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur, is designed to help
the Jewish people do one thing: remember, remember some important event in
their history. Each and every time a Jewish holiday rolls around, faithful Jews
are to re-tell or re-read the story of the ancient event and perform certain
actions and rituals called for in the original account of the event recounted
in what we call the Old Testament.
Remember…Remember…Zakar…Zakar.
Why, do you suppose, remembering is so important to God
and to the Hebrew people? What is it about remembering that is so vitally
important to a people of faith? Well, I think Deuteronomy 8 provides a pretty
good clue, so let’s take another look at this pivotal passage in Hebrew
Scripture.
As I think you remember, the Hebrew people went through
some pretty tough times together. They were conquered and kicked out of Israel
several times. They were conquered and then occupied several other times. They
had their temple destroyed. They wandered through the desert for 40 years at
one point. There was no shortage of hardship in their journey as a people. But
all along that journey, they developed a sense that Yahweh was with them, that
they weren’t alone, and a huge part of their beautiful Jewish faith called them
to remember – to remember those times when Yahweh made his presence
particularly palpable. That’s what every one of the Jewish holidays celebrates
– a time when Yahweh’s presence and saving action was undeniably real.
So that brings us to Deuteronomy 8. The people of Israel
have been wandering and suffering, hungering and thirsting for a very long
time. And finally, at long last, they are about to enter the promised land, their
homeland, a place where they won’t have to wander and worry, a place where no
foreign powers or hostile dictators will rule over them. And at this pivotal
moment in history, Moses brings them all together to remind them, to help them
remember. He says, “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land – a
land with streams and pools of water (remember – they’d been in a desert for 40
years!), a land with springs flowing in the valleys and the hills; a land with
wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil, and honey, a
land where bread will not be scarce and where you will lack nothing.”
Moses says, “Be sure that you remember, for when you have
eaten and are satisfied, it will be so easy for you to forget…to forget to
praise and thank God for the good land God has given you. Be careful that you
never, ever forget the Lord your God and all that Yahweh has done! Otherwise,”
Moses continues, “when you eat and are satisfied, when you build your houses
and settle down, when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold
increase and all that you have is multiplied, your heart might become proud,
and you might forget that the Lord your God is the One who brought you out of
Egypt, freed you from slavery, and led you through the vast and dreadful
desert…If you’re not careful,” Moses said, “you might forget all the manna God
provided in the desert, when you were hungry. If you’re not careful, you might sit
with your full bellies in your nice big houses and start to think, ‘My power
and the strength of my hands has produced all this wealth for me.’ But
remember,” Moses concludes, “remember that it is the Lord your God; it is
Yahweh that has given you this place and the ability to produce wealth.
Remember and do not ever forget. Remember…”
Remembering is important…Remembering is incredibly
important. You may live in a beautiful house with a nice yard on a peaceful
street. But if you’re not careful, you might start to think that that was all
made possible by your own hard work. You might start to take a little pride in
the fact that you and your children live as comfortably and as safely as they
do.
I have a friend who uses a funny expression. When he
meets a person who is a bit full of himself or perhaps not as grateful to his
parents or ancestors as he should be, my says, “That guy was born on third
base, and yet he acts like he just hit a triple.” I hope that is never said
about you, me, or any of us.
I think that is what Memorial Day is all about, isn’t it?
I think Memorial Day is a holiday designed to remind us that we didn’t
necessarily hit a triple to get to third base. There are lots of people, whose
names we might not even know, whose faces we might not even be able to picture,
who paid an extraordinary price, so that we could be here right now – in a
beautiful place, safe, warm, well-fed, and free.
Who are the people that we ought to remember and thank
this day? Some are soldiers, some are officers, and some are presidents. And
some may not have fought at all, but maybe stayed home and fed the rest of us, or
kept the economy and other things going while the soldiers were away.
We are so much like those Hebrews as they stood at the
edge of the Promised Land. Here we sit in a free and prosperous America. Most
of us don’t have to worry about where our next meal will come from. Most of us
have all kinds of creature comforts. We may need that exact same reminder that
Moses gave the Israelites – to remember and not forget all that God has done
for us, and all that those who came before us and fought for us have done as
well.
Jesus talked a lot about remembering too. He instructed
his followers to remember a lot of things. We’re to remember the poor. We’re to
remember that he washed the feet of his followers and we’re supposed to as
well. We’re to remember the five loaves and two fish and the feeding miracles.
We’re to remember how we’ve been forgiven, so we, in turn, will forgive others.
But Jesus also gave us a powerful tool to aid us in remembering all this
important stuff.
In the passage from John 14 that I shared a few minutes
ago, Jesus said that one of the chief functions of the Holy Spirit is that it
will teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus said to us. The Holy
Spirit lives in us and stays with us SO THAT we never forget.
Moses said, “Be careful – especially once you’ve eaten
and are satisfied! Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God and all
that Yahweh has done! Otherwise,” Moses continues, “when you build your houses
and settle down, when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold
increase, and all that you have is multiplied, your heart might become proud,
and you might forget that the Lord your God is the One who brought you out of
Egypt, freed you from slavery, and led you through the vast and dreadful
desert…If you’re not careful,” Moses said, “you might forget all the manna God
provided in the desert. You might start to think, ‘My power and the strength of
my hands has produced all this wealth for me.’ But remember,” Moses concludes,
“remember that it is the Lord your God; it is Yahweh who has given you this
place and the ability to produce wealth. Remember and do not ever forget.”
Memorial Day is an incredibly important holiday for
Christians. We need to take it as seriously as our Jewish brothers and sisters
take all of their holidays. We need to remember and give thanks. We need to
remember and be humble. We need to remember and recognize that we didn’t get
where we are today on our own. We have so many men and women to thank. We have
so many ancestors, relatives, and soldiers who paid dearly – often with their
lives – to give us what we have today.
There’s
a really cool story in the Old Testament book of Joshua. We often forget that when the Israelites finally entered the
Promised Land, Moses didn’t get to go in with them. Even though Moses had so
faithfully and bravely won their freedom from Pharaoh; even though Moses led
them through the 40 years in the wilderness, Moses didn’t get to go with his
people into the land of Canaan. Joshua did. And as one of his first acts as the
new leader of the Israelites, Joshua instructed an elder from each of the
twelve tribes to bring a stone from the Jordan River to their first encampment
within the new Promised Land. Joshua piled the stones together, prayed over
them, and called the place Gilgal. His purpose was that when future generations
came along and asked what the stones meant, they would be told all the stories
of what the Lord had done for them. “These stones,” said Joshua, “shall be to
the Israelites a memorial forever.” I like to think that the first stone in
that pile would always remind them of Moses. Joshua may have been the leader
that got to go into the Promised Land, but he was only there because of Moses.
Who is your Moses? Who is my Moses? Who do you need to remember and give thanks
for this Memorial Day?
Zakar…Remember.
It’s time. It’s always time to remember and give thanks. We may find ourselves
standing on third base; but that doesn’t mean we hit a triple to get here.
Amen.
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