Much of what the Bible demands can be compressed in one word, "Remember."
— Trevor Hudson, "Signposts to Spirituality"
I hope to be in a sunrise service early in the morning. I remember coordinating Easter-egg hunts years ago, observing the fun and excitement of children running around looking for colored eggs behind the bushes, the bases of the trees and in the tall grass to place in their baskets.
It sure was fun. I laugh and feel thankful when I think about those times.
I remember the shiny, new black patent-leather shoes, new suits and dresses. And the people I hadn't seen for some time. Like Christmas and Thanksgiving, it is a special time to attend church.
In his book "Signposts to Spirituality," Trevor Hudson writes about a different kind of remembering, that of developing a Christian memory. According to him, "Christian faith is grounded in remembrance."
For example, I remember attending a Vacation Bible School adult class a long time ago. I was inconsistently attending church and not actively participating in church-related activities, including Sunday school. I had been trained and taught better.
The VBS teacher spoke directly to me. I was moved in a way that led me to Sunday school the very next week. The teacher, a friend, didn't use my name as he taught the lesson, but every word he uttered fit me perfectly.
"Previously hidden significance bursts into conscious awareness. Suddenly, we see clearly what we could not see before," writes Hudson. I have a different awareness of that incident today. It was a defining moment.
I started attending Sunday school regularly, eventually becoming Sunday school superintendent. I recall this story as part of my Christian memory, a chapter in my spiritual autobiography.
According to Hudson, "Students of early church history remind us that within the early Christian communities the first obligation of the apostle involved making the faithful remember what they had received."
Hudson states that a dimension of Christian memory is the remembering of your own personal stories, your faith stories. He provides some practical ways for us to remember these important stories.
"The Holy One has always been with us, even when we were unaware of his presence," he writes. "Knowing this, we then recall significant experiences and reflect upon them, pondering upon how God has been present within them."
Hudson encourages time set aside, a few hours over a period of several days, to write your spiritual autobiography. Make a list of those key moments in your life when the Holy One seemed particularly close — moments when your life was touched by a sacred sense of awe and wonder and gratitude. He suggests you reflect and celebrate these experiences as you remember them.
It is not just about those moments, though, as he encourages you to jot down memories of past pain, too. Sometimes we sweep them under the carpet, running away from them (or at least trying to). Pay attention to the feelings associated with each memory.
"It may be necessary to find a professional person, such as a qualified counselor or therapist, to be our 'wailing wall,' " Hudson writes.
The next step is to write down those ways in which God has used you to bring light and hope into the lives of others. These are moments when you have been a bearer of God's loving presence. "Keeping track of positive things done for others can help one experience the joy of sharing in a living partnership with God," Hudson explains.
"Writing a spiritual autobiography is a holy experiment in remembering," he continues. "Through our participation in this experiment our experience of the Holy One is immeasurably enriched. By noticing how God has been with us in the past, our present awareness of his companionship is deepened."
Joy. Pain. Hope. Easter.
Nigel Alston lives in Winston-Salem. He can be reached at nalston1@triad.rr.com.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement