Advent Remembrance

The writer of Psalm 25 begs God, “Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions” and in the next breath pleads “In your gracious love remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord.” It appears that the psalmist is hoping that God will have selective amnesia!

“Amnesia” comes from the Greek word amnestia, which means “forgetfulness, oblivion, deliberate overlooking of past offenses.” As I learned in my Psalms class with Sr. Irene Nowell, when God remembers (makes present), then something happens. We don’t want God to remember our transgressions, for the something we fear will happen is that we will be cut off from the goodness of life with God. And what about when God remembers God loves us? Then a very big something happens, as when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

During Advent, we plead in the psalms and in music for God to remember us, which is rather ironic, for as God assures us in Isaiah 49:15, “Can a mother forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” No, it is we, not God, we are afflicted with amnesia; it is we who forget God, not God who forgets us. Advent is a time for us to wake up to the presence of God who is always with us. The baby Jesus who takes center stage in our Christmas creche reminds us of God-with-us, but after the creche is packed away, we need to ensure we don’t fall into a state of amnesia until Christmas rolls around again or until a crisis causes us to cry out, “God, remember me!”