Remember.  The Bible
is full of people remembering.  God
remembers his people.  People build rock
piles and hold feasts to remember.  And
for many years it seemed a little repetitive to me.  I mean, God parted the sea-isn't that a
little hard to forget?  How could you
forget that you were slaves for 400 years? 

But we do.  I woke up
this morning, and I had forgotten that it was September 11^th.  How could I forget that?  And I turned on the TV, grateful to see that every
news station had remembered.  I wanted to
remember.  I wanted to relive that day
from eight years ago.  Because it's so
important to remember.

On September 11^th, 2001 I had returned to college
after attending basic training.  I
remember watching every newscast we could find. 
And I started shining my boots.  I
didn't know what else to do but to get my gear ready.  Three years later, I sat in a hangar in Kuwait on
September 11^th. 

That day shaped our lives forever.  In many ways, it is a part of who we are.  And a tragedy like September 11^th shows
us who we really are-much more than any of the easy days.  On September 11^th, 2001 we forgot
our grudges against family and friends.  We
stopped to help someone instead of rushing to work.  We talked to God.  We crash-landed a plane in a field to save
the lives of others at our own expense. 

That is why we are supposed to remember.  Jesus didn't say, "Do this in remembrance of
me" because he wanted us to start a rote ritual.  He was saying, "Hey, remember this moment
because it's going to change and shape mankind for all eternity.  This night will forever be a part of who you
are."  And horrible things happen when we
start to forget.

When we forget, we become captives again.  It happened to the Israelites and it happens
to us everyday.  We become captives to
bad habits, laziness, selfishness, materialism...stuff.  We forget who we really are and who we were
made to be when we forget the events that started the communion tradition.

So remember.

Someday, this date will become a blip in the newsbanner
running at the bottom of the screen.  We
will forget September 11^th. 
We forgot that we were slaves, and longed for Egypt.

How do we remember?