February 5, 2012 "Amnesia and Anamnesis"

Isaiah 40
Mark 1:29-ff
As eloquently as this was read this morning, one can hardly recite these words without recalling the Scottish brogue of Olympic runner Eric Liddell in the film Chariots of Fire from a Church in Paris.

There are three points in this passage from Isaiah, and the same three points to recall when reflecting upon the conclusion of the first Chapter of the Gospel of Mark:
1)We suffer from Theological Amnesia
2)God is really the one in charge
3)Only when we are so weak and helpless as to be vulnerable, whether very very young, or very very aged, do we allow ourselves to experience the grace and power of God who raises us up on Eagles' wings.

First, the assumption that lies at the core of Israel's entire Testimony, is that Faith begins with Memory. Have you Not known? Have you Not heard? Remember the story of Creation. Recall the Covenant with Noah, the Promise to Abram, Isaac, Jacob. Remember how for 40 years in the wilderness, Israel claimed to be lost and alone, but God never lost sight of God's People. Faith BEGINS with Memory.

But notice how subjective and selective our memory! If we are Critical and Pessimistic, we remember only the awful things, harsh words, bitter relationships, errors, mistakes and wrongs. If we imagine we are perfect, we remember only the good. Theological Amnesia is especially common when life goes well. We forget God loves us and has a plan for Creation, we even forget the Presence of God with us. This was the perpetual problem of Israel, and why the Prophets continually called the Nation back.

What happens when we forget God, as being The Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer and Companion of life? The moment we get into trouble, we fold with anxiety and stress. We hear the doctor describe a spot or lump and we jump to the conclusion that it is Cancerous, and malignant, and we are going to die. We are challenged by coworkers, or supporters and our hostility makes us want to take them out, or to quit. We have a difficult spell in life, and we want to give up on our marriages, wash our hands of the responsibility of children, pull the covers up and make the world go away. Isaiah 40 is not a word of comfort, but a slap in the face, grasping us by the lapels to demand “Have you not heard, have you not seen?” Where have you been throughout history? In many ways this passage goes along with Elijah, who as a Prophet of God had arranged a great contest to determine if the God of Israel or the Gods of Ball were the real and true God. Elijah had contested against Queen Jezebel and all the Prophets and Priests of Baal, and when the contest was over Elijah was afraid of what he had done, afraid he felt so alone, he ran to the mountain of God, into the cave where Moses had seen God, and the voice had come asking “What are you doing here?”

The question is not If God has Forgotten Us, or if God has grown tired of us, because God loves us, God could no more forget you than forget to breathe! No, the painful question of Amnesia is whether we have forgot, whether we tired of God? As much as we want the Bible to be about David or Elijah, Simon Peter or Mary, or you and me, the Bible and Life itself are about God. How different every passage would be, if instead of reading this as history, instead of entering the Stable to see the gift of the child for us, instead of standing on the shore listening to John the Baptist, instead of standing at the foot of the Cross, if instead we questioned how God feels? Suddenly we hear the Psalmist ask: Have you not heard? Were we not there?

The hardest lesson of life, is that we have made ourselves so busy, so strong and protected, so satiated by all the fulfillments of our dreams, that we do have room for the Holy Spirit. We look for the doctors to operate, the insurance company to pay the bills, the care providers to make us comfortable, but despite our plans, despite all of our control... When we become vulnerable are the moments we see, no even more, when we are vulnerable are the only moments we allow ourselves to see God.

Jesus left the Synagogue and entered the home of Simon, whose Mother-in-law lay in bed with a fever. Those who know the book of Leviticus would hear in this a reminder of Leviticus 26:16 “I will bring terror upon you; consumption and fever, that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away.” In the 21st Century, we are appalled that Simon Peter brought guests into his home when she was ill, even more that she is healed so she can serve them! But those are not questions that would have been asked in that culture. The role of every disciple is the serve. The purpose of every creature formed by God is to be. This fever has made her as good as dead, and Jesus taking her by the hand, dares touching a woman who is ill.

In the early 1980s I served as a Chaplain at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Harlem. We had a man on the infectious disease ward who had a mysterious disease, described as GRID, because it fit a number of characteristics, among these Gay-Related, Infectious Disease. At the time, we knew not how it was passed, so the nurses and aides did not want to touch bed-linens or bedpans or bandages. Where other rooms had the door standing open, and curtains allowing light in, the curtains were always drawn and door shut tight. The only ones going in or out were immediate family. Even as a chaplain, we were required to gown, glove and mask, just to enter the room to sit and to pray. How far we have come with control of disease and medication in 30 years, that the Legislature is now considering whether organs from HIV donors can be transplanted to HIV infected patients.

What happens in these verses is Jesus remembers God. Jesus has been growing in popularity by healing and preaching. YET, while it is still dark, he goes to a lonely place and prays to God. The disciples came hunting him down, and he informed them that they needed to go where God would lead throughout Galilee and to the ends of the earth.

We began by stating that FAITH BEGINS with MEMORY. Have You Not Known? Have You Not Heard? HOWEVER, Faith does not stop with Memory, but uses memory to transform our experiences as experiences of faith. ANAMNESIS is one the words used to describe Communion, because in this sacrament, our memory of all God has done leads us to forgive and to seek to be forgiven, and therefore brought closer to God.