Jesus ! Remember Me? (2016-03-20, Palm Sunday)

Palm Sunday, Year C – 2016  /   2016 March 20   /   Luke’s Gospel

[__01__]  Remember me. Jesus, remember me.

Through this prayer and petition on the cross, our Savior is asked to remember one crucified with him.

How will we be remembered?

 [__02__]   When I was in college, I had the opportunity to meet and stay with my grandmother’s sister whom I had never met before.  I stayed with her and her husband several times at their home. Over the course of a year, I brought friends and family to meet them.

 They were very good to me, given that I was away from home. My aunt Frances and uncle Joe took care of me.

Then, as time went by…I did not see them for quite a while.

About 10 years went by…. A decade…. And I went to their house for a visit. The house was very familiar to me. They were familiar to me.

My aunt was certainly glad to see me again, welcomed me… 

However, in her own very blunt and Irish way said to me about my appearance, my growth, my change that in these 10 years that I had changed in appearance.

She said this as only one who loves you can say it…. “If I passed you in the street, I wouldn’t know you.”

 [__03__]    Remember me?

Jesus, remember me?

 [__***P A U S E***__]  

[__04__]    It is sometimes difficult to retain and keep in our memory the many names and faces we encounter.

Will we be remembered?

          Sometimes, for example, if we were to see someone from our neighborhood or school but to see them in a completely different context or environment, we might not recognize them.

          Jesus, remember me?

          Sometimes, even, if we have been away from church or have not prayed in quite some time, we might wonder – does God remember me?

          We believe that we are always known and loved by as we read in the prophet Isaiah that  God cannot forget us just as a mother cannot forget – or fail to remember – the name of her own child.   (cf. Isaiah 49:15)

[__05__]   In the Passion of the Gospel of Luke, we encounter the thief on the cross, the man punished, sentenced to die who desires that Jesus would remember him.

What does he want to be remembered for? What do you and I want to be remembered for?

[__06__]   You and I could be remembered – by others – for either good things or bad things we have done.

We have, at times, done the right thing or the wrong thing.  We have at times given away our own money or time generously to others…withdrawn it from our own account.

On the other hand, we have at times taken only what others give and deposited this at the ATM … and perhaps been unwilling to share it.  Perhaps, we are waiting until we have earned enough interest.

Jesus, remember me?

 [__08__]   The thief on the cross could certainly be remembered for his sinfulness, his dishonesty.

St.  John Chrysostom writes that this episode shows us the difference between God’s court of appeal, God’s justice and our sense of justice.

That is, we remember people – and we may even remember ourselves based on wrongs or injustices.

Hey, Jesus, remember me?

We fear the punishment that could result.

[__09__]   The Passion teaches us not to fear our history or our past but simply to confess our sins, because our confession does not lead to punishment but to forgiveness, to salvation.

[__10__]  REMEMBRANCE. MEMORY.

          Sometimes, it is difficult to remember someone’s name or face or to connect the two after many months or years.

          Remember me?

         

Forgiveness, we might say is a remembrance, a journey toward total recall of our goodness, of memory of a person who might be forgotten.

[__11__]   We read in our Catholic church teaching, the catechism, that during his public life, Jesus not only forgave sinners but also made  public the effect of forgiveness.  He reintegrated forgiven sinners into the  community of the People of God.  (CCC Catechism 1443)

Because…isn’t it true that when we sin or hurt someone – or ourselves – we are in danger of rejection.

Perhaps, we will be rejected. But Jesus brings and remembers the sinner at his table, regardless of how much time has passed.

We may not always be recognized by others, but God looks into our heart, he welcomes us into his kingdom not because we have endured pain or proven ourselves to him.

Rather, he proves that we are worth saving – worth redeeming – worth keeping – worth remembering – by dying for us.

He dies for us so that we may turn to him for forgiveness for salvation, for a verdict and freedom which no human judge can give.

Yes, Jesus, remember me.

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