Remembering and Re-membering
November is a month for remembering -we recall with bonfires the events of 5th
November 1605 and at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh
month we observe an act of remembrance for those who have fallen in conflict
and war. It's good to look back -but I want to suggest that by briefly
thinking about the word 'remember', we might find even more
significance in these events.
The root of the word is Latin and it simply means 'to be mindful of something again'-but I read something recently that suggested the word 'remember'could be understood as the opposite of 'dismember'. This rather unpleasant word brings to mind distressing newspaper headlines of bodies which have been separated from their limbs, or the shocking images that perhaps enter our mind when we hear of people being blown apart in terrorist explosions or in the theatre of war.
Both of the events that we recall this month point to times in our history when our nation and our world has been dismembered and divided. Perhaps contemporary events, such as September 11th and the consequent conflicts in the Middle East, and newspaper headlines about 'Broken Britain', indicate that the task of putting humanity back together is far from complete. But it's not just nations which are lacking unity and wholeness; communities and families are damaged and divided, and the complexity of modern life leaves many of us, as individuals, feeling shattered and fragmented.
If we are to truly engage in the act of re-membering we need more than a minute of silence -we need to be active in our pursuit of reconciliation and peace and in working for the healing of the broken and fragile relationships that exist all around us. This, I believe, is at the heart of the Christian faith, and is integral to our call to be followers of the 'Prince of Peace'. This is the hope that we profess in church each time we break bread and drink wine in the name of Jesus, the one whose own body, was transformed from the brokenness into resurrection life.
"Remembering is a past, present and future tense experience. When we remember: broken, damaged and dismembered aspects of our past lives are put together again; mind and body and soul in the present tense enjoy wholeness; and helplessness in the face of the unknown future gives way to resurrection hope."
[Words taken from 'Gathering for Worship' ©2005, Baptist Union of Great Britain]