Shared Stories

Using our memories to reach God and others

01/04/2021

Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

A few weeks ago Fr. Daniel and I were talking about the recent trend to take down Civil War monuments. I said: “Did you notice the monument to Jefferson Davis on the highway between the rectory and the church?” He answered, “No.” Finally, something I can teach him. I explained: “It was erected in 1925 in honor of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865.” It only stands about two feet talk, so it is easy to miss or overlook. We had a good discussion about how we should not glorify the past, especially as it concerns the cancer of slavery. On the other hand, we should also not forget or erase the past as if it never happened. Why? When we mess with our memory, we also meddle with God’s grace in our life. Our memory is like a golden thread that connects us with God and all the great things he has done for us.

Pope Francis said recently in a homily: “It is vital to remember the good we have received. If we do not remember it, we become strangers to ourselves, ‘passers-by’ of existence.” He continued: “Memory is not something private; it is the path that unites us to God and to others.” Did you see the movie “The Notebook”? It is about an older lady who loses her memory. Every day, her husband visits her in a home and reads from “a notebook” that he has kept about this young couple. Then suddenly, for a few minutes, she remembers everything, that the story in the notebook is about her and him, and they dance. That movie touchingly illustrates how our memory connects us with God and others.

In the gospel today, Jesus begins his public ministry as the Messiah in Galilee, specifically in Zebulon and Naphtali. Now, these two towns may sound like obscure and insignificant places to us, but that is because we do not share the collective history of Israel, but we should. Zebulon and Naphtali is part of our past, too. We are like the lady in the movie The Notebook and when we hear the Bible read to us at Mass we begin to remember, and we feel a deep connection to God and others. So, let me play the role of the husband in the movie and remind you of our shared story.

In the year 733 B.C. the feared enemies of Israel, the Assyrians – they were like the terrorists of their day – decimated the Ten Tribes of the North, beginning with Zebulon and Naphtali. Because Zebulon and Naphtali were the first tribes to be cursed and destroyed, they would likewise be the first tribes to be blessed and restored, that is, to hear the Good News that the long-awaited Messiah had come. Indeed, Israel’s “Husband” had come to save her and betroth himself to her. Jesus began his ministry in Zebulon and Naphtali because while he did not want the people to glorify their past (especially their slavery to foreign powers) he also did not want them to forget their past, their shared story.

My friends, make every effort to strengthen your memories, especially your own shared story in your family. When I visit my parents, I love to listen to them talk about their past: their adventures as children, their marriage in New Delhi and starting a family, the daunting decision to depart India and start a new life in America, raising children and giving each of us a very bright future. They always add that none of that would have been possible without the help of God’s grace. That memory connects them to God and to my family and our many friends.

In a sense that recollection of a shared story is exactly what we do at every Mass. The Scriptures remind us of all the wonderful things God did for us in the Old Testament while we were waiting for the Messiah. And then the New Testament tells us what the Messiah did when he came. It is very much like the movie The Notebook: most Catholics come to Mass with collective amnesia about our shared story with God and how much he has done for us and how much he loves us. We are like that poor forgetful woman in the movie who has sadly lost her memory. When we hear the Bible, we think we are listening to a love story about someone else. But every now and then, it hits us what is really going on here. The story of Sacred Scripture is our story, our love story, with God. And while we remember it we dance with Jesus. And then we forget again, and go back to our daily lives as if nothing has happened.

Don’t lose your memory because it connects us with God and each other. And that is precisely why Jesus said at the Last Supper: “Do this in memory of me.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!