“Remembering”     

September 11th was this past Sunday and across the USA there were services of “Remembering” the events of that day 15 years ago.  Each year since 9/11 many, not all, but many across America have stopped to remember what happened that day.  Many can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing the moment they heard the news.  I know I can remember that day very clearly.  What a somber day.

     There are other events in the past 75 years that we, as Americans, remember.  Some we have memorialized like 9/11, but others come and go with more of a sense of “Hey, I get a day off” than actually remembering what happened.

     December 7th of 1941 is a day many remember.  But 75 years later (as of this year), 12/7 will come and go and there will NOT be many remembering that day.  For me, I cannot help but remember because my dad was there in the harbor on duty when the Japanese planes flew in at 7:48 a.m.

     Other dates in history have impacted America in many different ways and we say, “Oh, I remember that.”  Events like: the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 8/6 & 8/9 in 1945 that ended WWII.  Or like November 22, 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated.  I personally remember that day.  And then two days later, 11/24/63 Jack Ruby fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald who was believed to have killed Kennedy.  I watched that on TV as it happened.  Do you remember where you were around 6 p.m. on April 4, 1968?  In Memphis Tennessee, on his second story hotel balcony Martin Luther King, Jr was fatally shot.  Another date many still today remember is August 16, 1977.  On that day the rock legend and actor Elvis Presley died.  

     I was in the military on November 4, 1979 when this event happened.  Most of you are saying what event?  We went on 24 hour shifts for months.  I even lost a few buddies in the rescue effort when our C130 when down in the desert sand storm.  That was the date the 52 American diplomats were captured and held hostage in Iran.

     On January 28, 1986 I was standing in the store I managed watching the Space Shuttle Challenger take off and in just a minute after take off watched it explode.  That is a day I will remember.  On November 9, 1989 we watched as East Germans and West Germans climbed a wall that had separated them for decades.  The “Wall” that separated them began to come down.  What a celebration to witness.

     I remember October 12, 2000?  Any one else?  The USS Cole was in harbor in Yemen and suffered a terrorist attack.  17 American soldiers were killed and 39 injured.  Then you can fast forward 11 months exactly to September 11, 2001 and we are back to 9/11.  

     Some of you reading this will say, but there are other events of similar or greater importance I remember that you did not mention.  Yes, I agree.  But I wanted to share a few that came to my mind to spark this thought.  We remember some dates and events in history very well.  Others, certainly some I’ve mentioned, come and go and are forgotten or are nothing more than a holiday off work.

     As much as many of these events have shaped the world in which we live, there is truly, and I mean truly, only one event in the history of this world that changed EVERYTHING.  Some celebrate it and some don’t.  Many remember on its specific day, but forget its impact the rest of the year.  It is truly an event that changed the landscape of time ever since it happened.  By now many of you know what I’m talking about.  Passover of AD 30 (some say AD 33) Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for the sins of the world.  He did something no one else could do.  Three days later He arose to life, so that, those who believe could have eternal life.  

     Do you remember?  “No Marty, I wasn’t there.” 

 No, folks, do you remember?  On the night of His arrest as Jesus celebrated Passover, He said, “Remember.”  Remember my body broken, my blood shed for the sins of the world.  Remembering!

     But I remember at Easter time that event, many will say.  Great!  In fact, many only on Easter fill our churches.  Easter is one of the largest attendance days of the year for churches around the world.  But Jesus asked us to remember and I don’t believe that was once a year.  Folks, this event changed the world.  This gift of eternal life meant that if you believe, you would not experience the second death, which is eternal separation from God.  I cannot even fathom that.  

     So as these events through history, or even throughout your life have meaning, are special, should be remembered or celebrated, PLEASE remember the most important event in all the world, that of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  At least for me, all others pale in comparison.  

     Maybe today would be a good time to stop, remember, and say, “I’m His because of His actions.  I have eternal life because of His sacrifice.”  There will be many more significant events in our lifetime, provided Christ does return first.  But as Romans 8:39 reminds us nothing, “… will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Nothing!  Now that is something worth “Remembering.”

Blessings my friends, 

Pastor Marty

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