I’m aware today’s 9/11, and we will see all sorts of reminders to REMEMBER. Here’s a text and thought for you today.
Genesis 8:1-4 reads:
“But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.”
God remembered Noah? Had God forgotten? What?!?
The Old Testament word translated “remember” is “zakar,” a term that signifies more than just recalling a memory. It is bringing something to mind with the intention of taking action and acting in accordance with a promise. When the Bible uses “zakar,” it involves engaging in an activity that remembrance requires.
God “remembering” Noah doesn’t mean his family had slipped God’s mind. It means God intentionally brought it to mind in order to act on his promise, in keeping with God’s grace.
As Christians, we celebrate communion “in remembrance” of the risen Christ. The Greek word is “anamnesis,” a different word entirely. But it’s also about more than recall. It’s about experiencing Christ anew, bringing the story to life in our present reality. It’s not just a reminder, or just some object lesson about sin and forgiveness. It’s about bringing the self-giving love Christ to mind in a way that becomes a means of grace.
Remembering is not just about “never forgetting.” It’s about bringing things to mind in a way that calls us to action, and more importantly, allows grace to wash over us.
So let us remember who we are, and whose we are. Have a great day.
