805-659-2127 was the phone number of my childhood home here in Ventura. All these years later, I still remember it, and I remember a few of my old friends as well. If pushed, I could probably recall my wife’s parents’ number back from when we were dating. These days, I do not even know my own kid’s phone numbers, let alone my parents or any of yours. Now, in our digital world with powerful computers in our pockets, we do not need to remember such things. While I appreciate this, the reality is our collective ability to remember is not what it once was. We capture moments of life on our phones and rarely go back to see them again. We have exported our remembering. Even though mankind’s memory has always been fraught with problems, we have managed to make it even worse these days. But this is not so with God.
Our God is a God who remembers. During the great flood, God had His faithful servants build an ark, a floating sanctuary. You all know the story, the gathering of the animals two by two and the relentless rain which drowned the evil from the world. There, floating on the sea, was the remnant of the Church, eight souls carried along in the midst of the chaos. Even though we find images of Noah’s ark gracing the walls of Christian preschools and nurseries, this was not a joyful reality. They were life floating in death. It was terrifying and uncertain. But then we read in Genesis 8 that, “God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.”
Or think of the Israelites in Egypt. They had gone there for rescue, for deliverance from the famine that destroyed the economy of the land. Over the years, they grew into a mighty nation, a nation the Egyptians enslaved. They were oppressed and treated with greater and greater brutality. The Egyptians were ruthless in their attempts to control the population, even practicing ancient eugenics. They commanded that every son born would be cast into the Nile. But in Exodus 2, we read God heard the grumbling of His people and, “God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” Immediately after this remembering, God speaks to Moses through the burning bush and so begins the great exodus of His people.
God’s remembering is His action. His remembering is His faithfulness to His Word. God remembers His promises. God does what He says. Our remembrance may be spotty at best, but when He remembers, things happen, life happens, hope happens. So it is this morning. This morning, as we rejoice that the tomb is empty, as we celebrate how death does not get the final say, we confess that God remembers His Word. He remembers His promises. In fact, our coming here is not to learn something new but to remember what has happened, to remember what He has said to you.
Early that morning, the faithful women made their way to the tomb of our Lord. Because of the Sabbath, they had hurriedly laid His body to rest. Now, they came with the spices to perform a proper burial for Jesus. Consumed with raw grief, they made their way, wondering if someone would be able to help move the stone. To their shock, they find the stone was rolled away, the gaping mouth of the grave stood wide open, but there was no corpse to be found. We read that, “While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.” And they say to them, “Why do you seek 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 delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day arise.”
Remember what He said. Remember His Word. Remember His promises. Jesus said He would lay down His life and endure mankind’s rejection in order to save them. Remember His teachings of love and forgiveness and the rule and reign of God’s Kingdom. Remember that He is just and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Remember how the curtain was torn in two, how the sacrifice of our Lord has altered the division between God and man.
We are told that they remember, they remember His Words and rush to tell the Good News of what has happened. This brings us to today, this gathering right here and now. You have been called to be here this morning. You have come from different backgrounds, different habits, and different life stories. God has so orchestrated the events of your life that he has led you here… and you are here to remember. Remember who you are. You are the baptized people of God. You are washed in the blood of the Lamb. You have died. Therefore, live in Christ your Lord. The empty tomb is yours, a promise of your victory over the grave of your resurrection to a new life in Christ. Remember that Jesus has said you are loved, you are forgiven, and you are welcome in the promises of life eternal.
This glorious morning, we gather around our Lord’s table, we come to receive the body and blood for forgiveness and strength to endure these dark days. And while you may well know you cannot do it on your own, that you sin in thought, word, and deed, that there are those you have hurt and those you have failed to help, that over and again you fall short of the glory of God, here you remember what He has done. You remember the crucifixion of the holy one, the empty tomb, and the promise that He will come again in glory to welcome you into eternal paradise.
This is why we continue to gather together. This is what our fellowship is about. It is a place where we remember, or perhaps to say it better, it is a place where we remember that God remembers. There are times when you are like Noah, tossed and adrift at sea, trying hard to hold fast to the gifts of God, but your strength is waning. But our Lord remembers His promises to you. He will not let you go. In the end, He will bring you into the safe harbor of His presence. And there are times when you look longingly back to your old days of slavery, when you begin to take up the old habits and give them life again. But He remembers that He has called you by name and washed you, made you clean. He remembers and so has compassion as He forgives you yet again and embraces you as His beloved saints.
So, remember the great work of your God, remember the joy of this day, for He has not forgotten you. Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia.
