Easter 7th Sunday / First Communion (2015-05-17)

[__01___]     Memory and memories are valuable to you and to me.

Isn’t a joy to be remembered by someone whom we love, a joy to remember?

This month – on Monday May 25 – we observe in the United States a day set aside for memories, Memorial Day, a day on which we recall and pray for those who have died in battle, those who have died in the military, those who served in the military and pray for those who continue to serve.

[__02___]       Memorial Day exists – and other memorials – because we know that our lives have been changed by the sacrifices of others.

That is, we not only intellectually remember their sacrifices as though we are memorizing a statistic or fact, but also receiving, possessing, and giving thanks for what others have done.

Memory is valuable.

[__03___]     Memory is also valuable because good memory is often the reason for high test scores, good grades … and possibly a higher batting average or shooting percentage.

In many competitive endeavors, the players – or students – are remembering what has happened before and acting accordingly.

Boys and girls, don’t we rely on our MEMORIES, on our ability to recall, whenever we are in school, whenever the teacher calls on us, or when we take a test or quiz.

And, at such a time, we may even pray (or sing) … “JESUS, REMEMBER ME…”

We pray that God will help us to remember, to give us direction, to give us peace/tranquility – in TESTS of all kinds in our lives – including the help we need to complete our work, our studies.

Knowledge is not something we simply catch as though it is a virus or … line drive to center field ..and then throw back.

Isn’t this also true about Jesus himself? Jesus did not simply speak the Word of God … Jesus is the Word of God. In the Gospel of John, read … “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1-2)

So, to know something, we remember it because it is a part of us.

We have it, we own it, we receive it.

[__04___]      St. Paul writes to the Colossians,

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2)

To the Philippians, Paul writes:

“whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

So, we are always being reminded to think about, to remember, what is good in our lives.

And, boys and girls, a gift that we can give to others – and to our parents – is our MEMORY, to

·       Follow instructions without being reminded. That is, we don’t just remember …we know.

·       And… to use our memory our mind to help others remember …this means helping our family … it means listening and telling stories …and it also means – in a special way – honoring and caring for our parents and grandparents when they are older … you – years from now – will help them to remember.

Doing this, you may not always be noticed ..but  you will bring Good News …. And hope to others.  By helping another person to remember, to speak and to listen to them, you might be similar to Jesus – on the road to Emmaus…who was not noticed until he had vanished from their sight.

[__05___]       In Holy Communion and Holy Eucharist, Jesus says, “Do this in memory of me.”

In a way, our Savior is both

Questioning and inviting …

·       The question is … remember me?

 ·       The invitation is .. REMEMBER ME!

For, I – the Lord says – remember you, remember you before you were born.

Jesus loves us so much that he is willing to die for us.

This is the way a father/mother loves his or her child.

Such a parent would know instantly, instant real time recall and also give up life for the child.

Love equals memory.

St. Paul in 1^st Corinthians writes that ..   love hopes all things, believes all things, endures all things  … love never fails”  (1 Corinthians 13:7-8)

And, love never fails because love / charity has excellent long and short term memory.

And, could we not also say that in the memory capacity and hard drive of one who lives, NOTHING is stored on the flash drive …or on a backup hard drive… or on a tape…. but everything is already IN MEMORY, everything is in the present.

[__06___]     I bring this up because in Holy Communion we recall a moment in Jerusalem, of many years ago, a moment between Jesus and his disciples.

It is a memory of the gift of His Body and Blood at a particular time, given by Jesus to disciples who were anxious about his departure, his leaving.

Our Savior did not simply want them to remember him, he wanted them to RECEIVE him, to know him, to take and eat his body and blood, to have him with them always.

[__07__]     So, the Eucharist we receive today, that our young people receive for the first time is the same received by the apostles at the Last Supper.

Did the Apostles, perhaps, have an incomplete understanding or faulty memories of everything that was happening?

Yes, they did.

So, their First Holy Communion and our Sunday Holy Communion may be just one step on a longer journey.

But, it is not an ordinary step.

Receiving Communion is not only a step on level ground…but also step upwards toward our summit.

And, a step deeper, downward toward our source.

Upward toward the summit of our lives, the Eucharist helps to attain a higher place, to rise above some our sorrows and difficulties.

Even to rise above our immediate joys and pleasures, so that we can  give thanks to God for all that we have and ask his help for what we might need.

The Eucharist is also our source, our depth, inviting us to seek a quiet place to seek quiet places where we can hear God’s voice speak to us, where we can know that he is the source of our live, that he is the one who always remembers us.   [_fin_]