Christian Remembrance

16Sep
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 

This has been the week for remembrance. Each of us started the week in media and personal observations of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America. It was heartening to notice that after twenty-two years we seem to have moved from “Never Forget”, a veiled call for undiminished, perpetual revenge; to a place of remembrance. Something very different.

For twenty-two years, the collective heart-of-vengeance, that beat in our national gut bore hate and free-form mistrust. When enough villains and countless innocents were killed, the darkness of heart was turned in on ourselves. It’s none too pretty and I sense ordinary folks know it, and hunger for remembrance on 9/11/2023. 

In the observations of the 9/11 anniversary I saw players in the tragedy of that day choosing to speak of God reaching through the abject darkness to make seemingly miraculous outcomes from impossible circumstances. I saw folks who had suffered unimaginable loss, turn sorrow into gift. I saw a collective move from veiled vengeance to a yearning for reconnection and eternal meaning. I saw this anniversary moment as the first sprouts of a springtime of remembrance.

The week will close with a generational event of remembrance. The community of Trinity Episcopal Church New Orleans will celebrate its return to a repaired and renewed sanctuary after a two year-plus Covid and Hurricane Ida exile that required that we (gratefully) worship in the school dining hall. The sanctuary has been made new and joyful and ready to host the body of Christ in worship. The Festival Service will be so much more than the media reveal of a renovation. It will be the Festival of Remembrance of a 175-year old Christian institution reaffirming and owning the human and Christian connection between those who gather tomorrow and those who have gone before.

As one who was Baptized in this sanctuary (I don’t remember it), I will call up my own Christian remembrances. John the Sexton who cut up the sugar cane Thanksgiving decorations for the kids to chew on…my Sunday school teachers Harvey Koch and Fred Fuchs…Marybeth Downs who taught Confirmation class and the significance of First (and last) Communion…Cannon Turner who took a personal interest in my Christian nurture, The Reverend Tom Shaw whose annual reading of John 1:1-20 was indelibly etched in my young memory…the platform for my mother’s ministry and her example to her sons…and her “Easter” death and burial service. 

Each of us, cradle Trinity people or relative newcomers, will have our own points of Christian remembrance. We are and will be connected in the common sacred ground of the place to which we are about to come home. Above all, we are connected in the Remembrance of Christ’s Body and Blood as we share a common cup. This is the ultimate Remembrance wherein Christ’s home in each of us is embraced and shared. Welcome Home, my Beloveds.

Musical Reflection - The Road Home - Stephen Paulus/Voces 8

Sweet Lord, for the Community of Saints who have served in your Name; we thank you. For the sacred ground we call “Trinity, the pink church” and all it has been for our greater community; we thank you. For those who have toiled to keep Trinity a sanctuary for connection and remembrance; we thank you. For your Body and Blood offered for our salvation; in remembrance, we thank you. Amen.
New TestamentEucharist
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#remembrance #september11

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