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In the summer of 2006, I had the opportunity to lead a mission trip to New Orleans as the spiritual leader for nearly 90 people from a handful of churches and the high school from which I had just graduated. It was a hard, tiring, emotional trip that for me is marked by the amount of tears shed that week. Among the wreckage of this natural disaster, amidst the craziness of that many youth together in the summer humidity of the deep south, God worked in a powerful way. I remember so clearly exact moments in that trip where God’s presence was so strong that I literally couldn’t ignore it.

I have a number of pictures and videos of the trips that we made down to New Orleans and every time I watch them, I am back in those moments. I remember the presence of God in my life, and how He demonstrated His love to me in the revelation of His glory. I remember the work He did among a misfit group of teenagers and adults. I remember the grace He showed to me as an inexperienced, ill-equipped leader, and even now it brings tears to my eyes…

A Jewish rabbi by the name of Baal Shem Tov [the founder of Hasidism] wrote, “Forgetfulness leads to exile while remembrance is the secret of redemption.”

Remembrance is the secret of redemption…

The Old Testament of the Bible is an account of God’s people from creation to fall, deliverance and to exile. It is the historical account of God’s work within the world, among the people of His creation. Along each step of their journey, God is with them, loving them, teaching them, correcting them. Ultimately, after the fall, God continually worked among them teaching them what it actually means to be human and live fully. After their deliverance from slavery among the Egyptians, God gives the people of Israel the ten commandments (or the Law) to do a number of things which include, giving them a framework to live as God’s people as well as showing them their genuine need for God’s continued love and mercy.

God wanted them to remember His love and work among them…

The book of Joshua gives an account of the people’s deliverance from the desert just before they reach the land that God had promised them. In order for Israel to enter the promise land, the entire nation had to cross a river, that was a significant obstacle. In an act of great power, God stops the river and promises to give them the land now inhabited by their enemies. Joshua tells the people, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jeubusites.”

The people prepare themselves, and just as He promised, God stops the flow of the Jordan river so that the entire nation of Israel can cross it on foot.

Then, God tells Joshua to command the people to gather 12 stones from the bottom of the Jordan river, to take the stones with them and place them where they camped that first night after this miracle. Joshua tells them to do this, “that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘what do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord… So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

The purpose of the memorial stones was to serve the people of Israel in a way that once they were living safely and comfortably in the land of the promise, they would not forget what the Lord God had done to bring them there. They would all remember passover in which God slayed the first born of Egypt as the final plague due to the Pharaoh’s rebellion. They would remember now too God’s fulfillment of His promise to bring them into the promise land… However their forgetfulness would lead to rebellion, and in turn lead to exile…

Unfortunately much like many of us today, the people of Israel were quick to forget all that God had done for them to bring them out of Egypt and to deliver them into the promise land, and the people of God were scattered and led into captivity. However, the people did not stay in exile forever, God again delivered them in His steadfast love. During their time in exile, though, God sent prophets that told of a Messiah, an anointed one, who was to come and make things right with the people of God…

Jesus is that Messiah…

Jesus as the Son of God was born into a poor family and lived a humble life. At the age of 30 Jesus began his ministry after being baptized by John, recognized by the other two members of the trinity, and tempted by the Devil. His message: Behold the Kingdom of God is at hand. Much like his Father had done in the Old Testament, Jesus gave people instruction on how to be human and fully live. Rightly people recognized Jesus as the Messiah and submitted themselves to him. They heard his claims, they saw his miracles, and recognized that he taught with authority. Furthermore, Jesus pointed out the people’s ultimate need for salvation and for God Himself.

Jesus, too, wanted the people to remember.

During the last night Jesus spent with his disciples, he gave them what has now come to be known as the Lord’s supper.

And he took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, “This cup is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Jesus, gives them a meal, a practice, that they would remember the sacrifice he made to bring them deliverance, to bring them salvation. As Joshua said about the stones, this meal would be something that others will ask about, through which believers can give an account, a testimony of the Lord’s grace and mercy.

It is important to recognize what Jesus says here. This meal is to be a representation of the wrath that he experienced on the cross. His body was broken and his blood was shed as the new covenant.

To quote a couple of authors speaking about covenant:

“Commitment is a big word these days, but covenant is a bigger word. Covenant implies that relationships is more important than performance, that belonging is more important than succeeding, that being is more important than doing. Contracts are conditional; covenants are essentially unconditional… It is an invitation to go deeper with God and God’s people. Without saying so most people want contracts – negotiated exchanges of goods and services – that can be broken if one partner breaks contract. [However] there is a “for better, for worse” about it [covenant], a bonding and binding agreement to work this thing out for God’s glory and for the upbuilding of the body of Christ because we belong together” (Stevens & Collins 1993).

Jesus’ act on the cross was a covenant made with man, where the deal is sealed not by our work or our merit, but by Jesus’ sacrifice. It cannot be broken or overruled. There are no loopholes or conditional clauses. Our only part is to respond to the proposal, then to live “for better, for worse” with the loving God of the universe.

My prayer as you read this is that you will remember two things. First, I pray that you remember the work of Jesus Christ to guarantee salvation for you through his death and resurrection. Second, I pray that you would remember all of the great work God has done in your life so far. Look back and praise God for the many instances of deliverance God has provided within your journey.

May we all take up the cup of the Lord’s Supper and remember God’s redemptive act through the sacrifice of His only Son, that whoever believes in Him would have the right to be called children of God. Likewise may we all, like the people of Israel, learn to commemorate all that God does in our lives with “memorial stones” of our own, so that, “When your children ask in time to come, ‘what do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them…” May we tell them of the goodness of God… the faithfulness of God… and the steadfast mercy of God, made new each morning…

Grace and Peace to you.