MEMORY
MEMORY & THE MOMENT
I am a little exercised by the thought that as those with dementia are encouraged to explore their memories in relation to their faith it takes attention away from the God who is in the present moment. Referencing our experience of God to the past makes God an historical figure.
For me this is associated with all the issues in church life around things happening in the way they always have done which takes attention away from where it is that God is leading today.
I also reflect on my practice of not repeating sermons as God speaks to the moment.
Yet …...
My story is always part of his-story.
My faith story is about tapping into what is eternal - of every moment, past, present and future.
The relationships that sustain who I am in community include not only those I have in the present, but those with the ‘saints’ - both those I have met during my life and those who I have not.
At present I feel that, while the God we know at one time is the same in every moment and that memory of the past is of importance, however slim, there remains the key matter of our current experience of God and what he means to us today.
I return often to the Lord’s Supper and the encouragement of Jesus to ‘do this to remember me’. Often understood as a ‘memorial’ or a reenactment of an historical event the act of ‘remembering’ is also about making real in the present. There are clear echoes of Catholic theology here, but for all of us the reality of Christ alive in us today is what faith is all about, whatever our state of mind.
I am a little exercised by the thought that as those with dementia are encouraged to explore their memories in relation to their faith it takes attention away from the God who is in the present moment. Referencing our experience of God to the past makes God an historical figure.
For me this is associated with all the issues in church life around things happening in the way they always have done which takes attention away from where it is that God is leading today.
I also reflect on my practice of not repeating sermons as God speaks to the moment.
Yet …...
My story is always part of his-story.
My faith story is about tapping into what is eternal - of every moment, past, present and future.
The relationships that sustain who I am in community include not only those I have in the present, but those with the ‘saints’ - both those I have met during my life and those who I have not.
At present I feel that, while the God we know at one time is the same in every moment and that memory of the past is of importance, however slim, there remains the key matter of our current experience of God and what he means to us today.
I return often to the Lord’s Supper and the encouragement of Jesus to ‘do this to remember me’. Often understood as a ‘memorial’ or a reenactment of an historical event the act of ‘remembering’ is also about making real in the present. There are clear echoes of Catholic theology here, but for all of us the reality of Christ alive in us today is what faith is all about, whatever our state of mind.