Memory loss is a tragic condition.  My 94 year old mother’s amnesia is a product of her Alzheimer’s Disease.  She has just enough awareness to mourn the loss of virtually a lifetime of memories.  “I’m sorry honey, I just can’t remember.  It seems that’s all I say anymore.”  It’s painful to see her so disconnected from such a full life lived, trapped within the confines of the day at hand – or sometimes just the present moment. Yet her daily life in the dementia unit could be compared to a growing trend in American society. 

Ever since the years shortly after the end of the Civil War, Americans have set aside an annual day of remembrance to honor U.S. soldiers who have died in active duty in the service of their country.  Yet with each new generation there appears to be an increasing disinterest in doing so.  For many younger Americans,  this holiday is more about Memorial Day sales and backyard cookouts.

It’s symptomatic of a malaise that is spreading among our youth as quickly as the coronavirus.  Call it a spiritual or social amnesia.

Never Forget

“Remembering is an expression of humanity.  Remembering is a sign of civilization.  Remembering is a condition for a better future of peace and fraternity.”  So said Pope Francis on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2016 as he visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, the site of the infamous Nazi death camp.   “In the face of this immense tragedy, indifference is not admissible and memory is due,” he added.

Recalling the human devastation in both civil and world wars is one way of maintaining a social defense against a repetition.  But the collective memory of a people and a nation serves an even greater purpose.  The call to remember the actions and the promises of a living God of love.

 “My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings (Ps. 103: 2).”

“Take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery (Dt 6: 12).”

“He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments (Ps. 78: 5-7).”

From Generation To Generation

It’s this last exhortation from Psalm 78 that’s most concerning.  The generation to generation machine is all but broken.  Intergeneration has been supplanted by Internet.  Why should I take the time to converse with my parents and grandparents when I have access to the global wisdom of people in every nation?  Why limit myself to the life experiences of a narrow family tree branch when I can draw from a world wide web?  What advantage do the memories of some ancestors have over continuing research from international experts?  The rhetorical questions of many Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z Americans.

Even though they’re not requesting one, a simple but compelling answer can be found in the words “identity”, “origin”, and “destination”.  Asked in plain English, “Do you know who you are, where you came from, and where you are going?”

My 24 year old son with Down Syndrome has an ever expanding library of movies that include many Disney flicks.  I recently joined him for a viewing of the 2019 computer animated version of The Lion King and encountered unexpected wisdom from a most unlikely source. 

A Mandrill and A Pope

When Simba believed the lies of Scar, the pretender to the throne, he succumbed to shame and self-condemnation.  It drove him to live in isolation from his family, without purpose or identity.  Then Rafiki, a mandrill from his homeland who was a kind of village seer, sought him out to convey the words of his father Mufasa: “Simba, you must remember who you are.”  His place as the son of the King was revived in his heart and restored his life’s focus.  With new resolve Simba returned to his father Mufasa’s kingdom to fulfill his rightful role.  For the first time Simba knows who he is, where he came from, and where he is going.  The impetus to recovering his identity and origin was a voice from an earlier generation.  Who knew Rafiki and Pope Francis could bear the same message?

Anyone who has had occasion to cross the border from the U.S. to Canada can attest that customs officials want to know two things over and above anything else: your identities and your destination.  Who you are and where are you going?

We are all on a journey, too.  Crossing the border from this life to the next.  As the author of the letter to the Hebrews says in chapter 13, verse 14, “Here we do not have a lasting city.  We seek a home that is yet to come.”  To make the transition successfully, we need to know who we are, where we’ve come from, and where we are going.

Thanks for the Memories

Our parents, grandparents, and others from a previous generation can be a rich resource for passing on aspects of our spiritual, cultural, and familial heritage.  But we also have a source with an impeccable memory that is available to us every moment of every day.  John 14:26 assures us in the words of Jesus that “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.”  The Holy Spirit is both our I.D. card and our G.P.S.

My Mom’s dementia has robbed her of most of the memories of her ninety-four years.  But every visit with her inevitably begins or ends with the refrain, “I’m still waiting for Jesus’ invitation to take me home.”  By the grace of God she still knows where she came from, who she is, and where she is going.  Do you?