Christ is alive: Remember
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
Jesus Christ is risen. He is alive! The resurrection is such a high note at which to end the Holy Week. It is a point of victory and eternal hope; it is a point of restoration and revival, and reason to really rejoice and celebrate. This historical event was well documented by both believers and secular historians; one of the latter category is Flavius Josephus who wrote:
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.” (Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.3)
Over time the tendency to forget is human, and this is followed by doubts especially sowed by those with intentions to destabilize our faith. So, how can we remember the wonderful story? How can we remember and get the most of the benefits of the Lord’s sacrificial death and victorious resurrection? The Lord gave us a feast – the Holy Eucharist to always bring us to remembrance; the Church also chose to worship on Sundays – the resurrection day to always commemorate and celebrate this turning point of human history. At the time of Josephus’ writing (in the last quarter of the 1st century) Christians were there and increasing in number, and so it is today 20 centuries later. One important part of the vehicle that has carried this faith across the timeline has been the system of remembrance.
The resurrection is not the only important event that demands remembrance across generations. The Almighty God commanded remembrance by way of feasts such as the Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. This year we have the opportunity as Kampala Diocese to lead the remembrance of the Uganda Martyrs on 03rd June. Without this discipline and culture, the roots of our faith are weakened. Let us vigilantly participate in these ‘cultural’ activities and as we ask questions and receive answers, we grow in our faith. The ultimate benefit will be when we will not need feasts to remember, but we will be with our Lord Jesus Christ in our eternal Home. He is alive and forever He will be, and so we have the same hope. As we celebrate regularly at the Holy Communion, that hope is renewed and praises should never be absent from our lips. Hallelujah, Christ is alive!
God bless you with the blessing of renewed hope.