Remember Me

Why doesn't God constantly reveal Himself to us? This thought has often crossed my mind, and I have heard it expressed many times, whether as the anxious petition of someone crying out for God's guidance and a sense of His presence, or from someone seeking to cast doubt on the existence or goodness of a God who seemingly is unable or unwilling to provide what seems like such a simple act of reassurance. Next week I have the chance to attend a lecture addressing the issue of divine hiddenness, so I won't try to unpack that subject just yet. Instead, I was struck by the role that memory plays in faith.

Following others, I think of faith as belief, trust, and commitment. Faith is not merely believing something (God is good, God exists, the capital of Montana is Helena, etc.), but being willing to personally commit oneself in some way to that belief, while trusting in it. On this view, doubt and faith are not opposites or antonyms, but can in fact coexist. In fact, I would argue that doubt is essential for faith, because there is no need for trust or commitment in matters of certainty, at least not in any sense of personal stake. It is this uncertainty or doubt that causes us to rely on the one whom we are putting our trust in. In order to trust someone through periods of doubt or uncertainty, we need to remember what they have done in the past, and this is where the importance of memory comes in.

Failures of memory and the suffering and pain it causes are littered throughout the Bible. Time and again in the Old Testament, God delivers Israel from affliction, persecution, or imminent danger, causing Israel to worship God. However, soon afterward we see time and again Israel forgetting God and turning to sinful ways. The book of Judges is essentially dedicated to this cycle of deliverance and return to sin. Why does this happen? Because Israel did not remember the things that God had done in the past. In Exodus, we see the Israelites demanding if Moses has led them out of Egypt simply to die, seemingly ignoring the miraculous events that have allowed for their departure. Their deliverance from the armies of Pharaoh does not stop them from crying out at the lack of food they encounter, and then after being given quail and manna, growing tired of these foods.

In all of these situations, the Israelites encountered difficult situations that threatened their lives and health. The dangers were real: death at the hands of an army and starvation. However, God delivered them in each instance. That does not take away the uncertainty that inevitably faced them in these situations: the mere fact that they had left Egypt did not logically entail safe journey to the promised land. There were legitimate grounds for doubt then, and their only choice was to have faith in God, putting their trust not in any certain circumstances or law-like processes, but in a person. However, their failure to trust God showed a failure to remember all that God had done. No matter how often God delivered Israel, in the face of danger time and again they still did not trust Him. If nothing else, this should give us pause that if God were to suddenly start performing miracles in greater frequency and visibility that it would inevitably lead to greater trust. If God is really interested in lives submitted to Him in relationships of trust and commitment, as I believe, then it seems like great acts may not be the way to achieve this end. It certainly wasn't in the stories recorded in the Old Testament.

In order to trust God, we must remember what He has done in the moments when He seems distant or absent. This memory allows us to trust when our circumstances and instincts tell us to abandon hope or give up. Nowhere in the Bible does it suggest that God is interested in freeing His followers from lives that involve risk, danger, difficulty, and uncertainty. Thus, even more overt acts of God are not going to remove uncertainty from our life, because there must still be room for trust. This gives new significance to Jesus' words "do this in remembrance of me." Remembering what Jesus has done is central to the mission of the church, enshrined in the Eucharist. Faith requires trust which in turn requires memory. Failures of memory lead to failures of trust. The Church isn't just the body of Christ on earth, working for His kingdom. It is also a community that exists to serve as a witness to God's acts and promises.

In moments where God seems distant, we are reminded of the many times that God's people went years and decades in seeming silence. Even Jesus himself cried out to God, asking if God had forsaken him. These memories can serve to guide and comfort, reminding us that God does not always act in ways that we expect or in the time frames that I want, but that He is good and able and will complete His plans. This is what I strive to remember and what Christians can never forget.