For this year’s Lenten Guide, each member of the Council staff chose a verse from a favorite hymn to write about. We will post their reflections throughout Lent, for Ash Wednesday, each Sunday, and throughout Holy Week.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom
“Jesus, Remember Me” — United Methodist Hymnal #488
Jesus, remember me. These words are the prayer of a convicted criminal dying an excruciating death on a cross next to Jesus. The final desire of his heart was not to be set free, proven innocent, or even to end the pain of his slow death. The final desire of his heart was to not be forgotten. Jesus, remember me.
I believe that this longing to be known, to be remembered and not forgotten, is one of the deepest longings in the hearts of people of faith and people not of faith across our world. At the end of the day we all want to know that we mean at least a little something to someone, somewhere. No matter how grim your present situation may be, as long as you are remembered there is hope; there is a chance that someone will be able to come alongside you and change your present circumstances, or at least make sure you don’t endure them alone. But when you are forgotten, or when you feel like you are forgotten, even that small glimmer of hope is extinguished.
Under our current White House Administration remembering “the other” is an act of resistance. The chaos seems to grow by the day as new executive orders are signed and regulations rolled back that will severely hurt the individuals and families on the margins in our country. Just as people begin to respond to one fire, another fire is deliberately lit to divert our attention away from the first. The intent is to create so many fires that good, compassionate people feel paralyzed and stop responding. When you don’t know what else to do, remember.
One of the few television programs I watch is a new show on NBC called “This is Us.” It follows the lives of fictional couple Jack and Rebecca Pearson and their three children. At one point Jack and Rebecca hit a rough patch in their marriage when Jack discovers that his best friend, Miguel, is in the midst of a divorce himself. Stunned, Jack asks Miguel what happened and why his marriage ended. Miguel responds, “For as long as I can remember I’ve woken up at 6:30 everyday to make Shelly coffee. A splash of milk, two sugars. I would make it and bring it to her in bed. She says her day doesn’t even start until she’s got caffeine in her hands. Then one day I woke up at 6:30 like always. I made myself one and I just didn’t feel like making Shelly one. The worst part is she didn’t even notice.”
When we fail to remember one another, it becomes much easier for us to be separated and divided and turned against one another. That is the hope and desire of many of those currently holding political power, but may we continue to be people who remember. May we be ever mindful of the deepest desire of the man’s heart as he hung next to Jesus, knowing that he is not alone in his yearning.
