Remembering

No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to comewill not be remembered by those who follow them. (Ecclesiastes 1:11)

I love history. You could take me to some sort of historical exhibit or museum and I could get lost for the whole day. More than anything, I think, I love to try to imagine how these people lived in that time. What was life like? Simpler? Maybe not, but perhaps complicated in a different way. Easier? Probably not, though we might think it ought to have been. And I try to imagine the average person going about their day in their own time and place.

This past summer, we visited Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg (ironically enough, in the same summer we moved into a neighborhood called Colonial Park in a house at the end of Jamestown St.). We got to watch a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War political/military rally. It was a lot of fun—at least for me! Though it may not have gone exactly like that, it's someone's best guess of what it might have been like to live in that day and time.

I tend to be fascinated by two particular periods of history: first century Judea and World War II. I've never thought about any sort of link between the two until I was reading this verse in Ecclesiastes this morning. Why am I so intrigued by such different periods of history? Because, I think, one teaches us how to live (Jesus' teaching in the first century) and the other teaches us how not to live (which is why we must never forget World War II).

The word "remember" is a critical word. It's not just about recalling. It's not just a fond reminiscence or a warm feeling. Just as "dismember" means to tear apart, "remember" means to come together, to reconnect, to be connected to something that was important in the past. It's about being part of a community that is larger than myself. Re-membering means I am connecting to a larger world once again, a world I may have become disconnected from. In this world of internet "connectivity," where everyone has a voice and believes their "right now" opinion is all that matters, we need to remember. We need larger connectivity that just spouting our own opinions and thoughts.

The Teacher was concerned about this, even all those centuries ago. If we fail to "re-member," we will fail as a people. Or, as has been said more recently, "Those who fail to remember their history are doomed to repeat it." I love it when I see older folks and younger folks together in a church or in a community group, sharing stories. I love to see children and grandparents sharing life together. We need each other. We need the stories of today and the stories of long ago. We need to be connected to one another by more than pixels on a screen. We must not forget, as the Teacher believes we will. Together, we are re-membered, reconnected, and that re-membering can only makes us better and stronger as a people.

Take some time today and talk to someone of another generation. Allow them to help you remember. It will do your soul good. And it will fight against the meaningless that threatens us.