Remember
A Sermon Preached at
San Leandro Community Church
For 9/11/11
by tammy nelson
Base on Exodus 12:1-11, 14-20
Today, we remember. We remember the events of one horrific day exactly 10 years ago. We remember the disbelief, the shock, the pain of so many men, women, and children who did not go home that day. I’m sure most of you may remember exactly where you were when you first head the news that a terrorist attack of the likes unimagined before, had not only been carried out, but it had taken place right here in America. Our world had radically shifted.
Today we give honor. We honor the heroes who gave their lives so others could live. We remember the firefighters and first responders who perished in the line of duty. We take time to honor the passengers on flight 93, who took a stand and gave their lives to ensure no one else would die that day.
Today we give thanks. We give thanks for all of the men and women who spent weeks sorting through the sites of the attacks. We thank them for their dedication and their sacrifice, for many who worked on the attack site have suffered innumerable health problems as a result of their time at ground zero. We give thanks for the outpouring of love and care from across the country and around the world that helped begin the healing such an act necessitates.
Today we remember. We remember the events of a day ever so many years ago. We remember the story passed down the ages from parent to child of a life lived in slavery. We remember a burning bush calling to a man named Moses. We remember God’s mission for Moses. How Moses was sent to Egypt, a place he had fled 40 years before. He was sent to bring a message of freedom for God’s people.
Today we give thanks. We give thanks for God’s steadfast love. We give thanks for our God who speaks to us in unexpected places. In gratitude we remember that God desires freedom for his people and actively works to bring it about through the lives of those who hear him.
Today we remember. We remember the events that occurred over 2000 years ago, concerning Jesus of Nazareth. We take time to remember his life and teachings. We remember his love and his selflessness and his connection with God as father.
Today we give honor. We honor the life and the death of Jesus the Christ. We remember a cross on a lonely hill, shouting crowds, and the words, “It is finished.” We remember a tomb and three days of sorrow. We honor love so unstoppable that death could only delay it for a while.
Today we give thanks. We give thanks for the realization that God’s love is for everyone. We rejoice in the fact that we are all beloved children of God. The freedom God actively seeks to bring about is for all of us.
Today is a day for remembering. In the scripture today we recall a celebration of the Jewish people called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For 7 days the people were only allowed to eat bread that had not gone through the leaving process. Their teachers have a few explanations for the meaning of the unleavened bread. The first and easiest to understand is that when the Hebrew slaves were at last given their freedom, they had to leave in such haste that there was no time to wait for the bread to rise.
Another explanation, my personal favorite, is that you have to get rid of the leaven because it was from the old life in Egypt. During the time of the exodus, bread wasn’t the easy commodity that you just pick up at the store like we do today. Hard work went into each loaf of daily bread. And if you have ever made Amish friendship bread, you have an idea of how the whole leaving thing works. A small portion of a previous batch of dough was worked into new dough to make it rise. Symbolically, the unleavened bread means the end of a life of servitude and pain and the beginning of a new loaf; I mean life, of freedom and wholeness.
In a few moments we will participate in another celebration; one that is called communion or the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist depending on your religious tradition. The bread (today we will be using unleavened, just a Jesus would have in his own celebration) and the cup were symbols in Jesus’ time. They were used in the Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread. But Jesus took those symbols of this traditional meal and began a new tradition, one that all Christians still celebrate today. In the past, we may have heard of Jesus being the Paschal lamb or perhaps we grew up singing songs about the blood of Christ. Those images come directly from the idea that Jesus himself placed into the hearts of his followers during their last Passover fest together. Parable, word pictures, help us to understand something when it is just beyond our ability to grasp.
Communion means many things to many people. Today I would like to take just a few moments to hear from you, what exactly communion means in your life.
Today we remember. We recall the Passover our spiritual ancestors began so long ago. We celebrate communion with one another to honor the Spirit of Jesus still at work in the world. And we take time to grieve for the evil we have seen in our world.
But remembering is not enough. Unless we allow these events to change us, they were in vain. We have been set free. We are one in Christ. The only response to hatred that really works is love and forgiveness. If we don’t move past the things that have enslaved us, the fear, the hatred, the pain, then we are not living into the promise that has been set before us time after time.
After the Passover comes freedom. After the Lord’s supper comes unity. And after September 11th must come forgiveness for true healing to take place. May it be so.
Today we give honor. We honor the heroes who gave their lives so others could live. We remember the firefighters and first responders who perished in the line of duty. We take time to honor the passengers on flight 93, who took a stand and gave their lives to ensure no one else would die that day.
Today we give thanks. We give thanks for all of the men and women who spent weeks sorting through the sites of the attacks. We thank them for their dedication and their sacrifice, for many who worked on the attack site have suffered innumerable health problems as a result of their time at ground zero. We give thanks for the outpouring of love and care from across the country and around the world that helped begin the healing such an act necessitates.
Today we remember. We remember the events of a day ever so many years ago. We remember the story passed down the ages from parent to child of a life lived in slavery. We remember a burning bush calling to a man named Moses. We remember God’s mission for Moses. How Moses was sent to Egypt, a place he had fled 40 years before. He was sent to bring a message of freedom for God’s people.
Today we give thanks. We give thanks for God’s steadfast love. We give thanks for our God who speaks to us in unexpected places. In gratitude we remember that God desires freedom for his people and actively works to bring it about through the lives of those who hear him.
Today we remember. We remember the events that occurred over 2000 years ago, concerning Jesus of Nazareth. We take time to remember his life and teachings. We remember his love and his selflessness and his connection with God as father.
Today we give honor. We honor the life and the death of Jesus the Christ. We remember a cross on a lonely hill, shouting crowds, and the words, “It is finished.” We remember a tomb and three days of sorrow. We honor love so unstoppable that death could only delay it for a while.
Today we give thanks. We give thanks for the realization that God’s love is for everyone. We rejoice in the fact that we are all beloved children of God. The freedom God actively seeks to bring about is for all of us.
Today is a day for remembering. In the scripture today we recall a celebration of the Jewish people called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For 7 days the people were only allowed to eat bread that had not gone through the leaving process. Their teachers have a few explanations for the meaning of the unleavened bread. The first and easiest to understand is that when the Hebrew slaves were at last given their freedom, they had to leave in such haste that there was no time to wait for the bread to rise.
Another explanation, my personal favorite, is that you have to get rid of the leaven because it was from the old life in Egypt. During the time of the exodus, bread wasn’t the easy commodity that you just pick up at the store like we do today. Hard work went into each loaf of daily bread. And if you have ever made Amish friendship bread, you have an idea of how the whole leaving thing works. A small portion of a previous batch of dough was worked into new dough to make it rise. Symbolically, the unleavened bread means the end of a life of servitude and pain and the beginning of a new loaf; I mean life, of freedom and wholeness.
In a few moments we will participate in another celebration; one that is called communion or the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist depending on your religious tradition. The bread (today we will be using unleavened, just a Jesus would have in his own celebration) and the cup were symbols in Jesus’ time. They were used in the Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread. But Jesus took those symbols of this traditional meal and began a new tradition, one that all Christians still celebrate today. In the past, we may have heard of Jesus being the Paschal lamb or perhaps we grew up singing songs about the blood of Christ. Those images come directly from the idea that Jesus himself placed into the hearts of his followers during their last Passover fest together. Parable, word pictures, help us to understand something when it is just beyond our ability to grasp.
Communion means many things to many people. Today I would like to take just a few moments to hear from you, what exactly communion means in your life.
Today we remember. We recall the Passover our spiritual ancestors began so long ago. We celebrate communion with one another to honor the Spirit of Jesus still at work in the world. And we take time to grieve for the evil we have seen in our world.
But remembering is not enough. Unless we allow these events to change us, they were in vain. We have been set free. We are one in Christ. The only response to hatred that really works is love and forgiveness. If we don’t move past the things that have enslaved us, the fear, the hatred, the pain, then we are not living into the promise that has been set before us time after time.
After the Passover comes freedom. After the Lord’s supper comes unity. And after September 11th must come forgiveness for true healing to take place. May it be so.