December 9, 2024
“Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory. 2 Peter 1:12-13 ~ NRSV
Over 20 years ago, a single woman started attending Wananalua Congregational Church in Hana, Maui after she was diagnosed with incurable cancer. To the best of my knowledge she hadn’t darkened a church since her elementary school days. She was nearing the end of her life and choosing to die at home in a place without access to hospice, she needed people to stay with her overnight in case she needed anything, or her condition worsened. Several of the church women, along with me volunteered to take turns as an act of love.
As I arrived to start my night shift, I was informed that she was very close to death. She was restless during the night, and at one point woke up, looked around, and said with surprise, “I am still here!” I assured her that she was still here and asked if it would be OK to share some Bible verses and pray with her. She nodded yes. One of the first verses I read was Psalm 23. To my surprise, she started to say the words along with me. When I said the Lord’s Prayer, she did the same thing. The things she learned all years earlier and hadn’t thought about for ages where still within her.
Yesterday was the annual Hanging of the Greens worship service at St. Paul’s. The service was written over seventy years ago and aside from two additions, and one or two words made more contemporary, the script, songs, costumes and decorations haven’t changed. I’ve wondered about that and concluded that we need to be reminded of things. From the time of the Exodus, Jewish people have written scriptures on their door frames, worn little boxes containing scriptures on their bodies, and repeated the stories of their faith to their children to refresh their memories. We repeat the alphabet, our times tables, the Pledge of Allegiance, and spelling words until they are embedded in our memory.
The children who are the “cast” for the Hanging of the Greens are embodying the story as the ancient words are read. At the same time the story is embedded in their memory. I used to stress out over having something new to say in sermons on Christmas Eve and Easter. But ancient stories don’t need new. They need to be remembered, embodied, embedded in our memories. Hearing them every year is a way to remind us of the most important events of all time. Enjoy this season and don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. Watch A Christmas Carol for the hundredth time. Read the Christmas story from Luke 2, again and again. You will be in good company. ~ Anne
Wayfinding 