I have a memory from my childhood that I think most can relate to. It’s of being asked to play the piano for my grandparents when I was very young. The best I could do at the time was “Chopsticks” — and not very well. However, I will always remember the look on my grandparents’ faces after I finished. I might as well have played Rachmaninoff for them. They were so pleased and over the top with their love and praise. It is the nature of grandparents to love their grandchildren in an irrational and excessive way.
I mention this because, if this kind of love is true for grandparents, consider how true this is for God. During the Easter season, we remember that the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus says one thing loud and clear: God loves us more than we love ourselves. We forget this spiritual truth too often and at our peril.
When Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, he commanded his disciples to “Do this in remembrance of me.” The word “remembrance” in the original Greek used here is “anamnesis.” The word literally means “remembrance.” In the imperative, anamnesis means, “Do not forget.” When Jesus offers us his body and blood at the Last Supper, he is telling us to not forget the depth of his love for us. (Fun fact: There is even a section in the Eucharist Prayer liturgists call “the anamnesis.”)
Memory, however, is a tricky thing. Although we all have good memories, how often do we dwell on the bad memories? We hopefully all have memories that give us joy. However, many of us also have memories that cause us pain. Some of these bad memories are a result of our sins. Some of these memories are the result of other people’s sins against us. We bring all these memories with us when we go to church. The sacrament of reconciliation reminds us that God’s love is greater than all our sins combined. The Liturgy of the Word reminds us how far God will go to save us. The Liturgy of the Eucharist reminds us how close God wants to be to us, as close as food and drink! Going to church also reminds us that we are never alone and are not meant to be alone. We remember that we belong to the body of Christ and how this should be reflected in our prayer life, our involvement in our parish and as missionary disciples in the world.
What is the opposite of anamnesis? Amnesia. Going to church helps us not develop amnesia when it comes to this very specific spiritual truth: God loves you.
No matter how many hurts that haunt you or scars you carry, God loves you. During the Easter season, we remember how excessive and irrational God’s love is for us. It is a love that we are called to share.
Bishop Frank Schuster is an auxiliary bishop of Seattle and the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Federal Way.