"O Lord our God, you sustained your ancient people in the wilderness with bread from heaven: Feed now your pilgrim flock with the food that endures to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."
Psalm 145:8-19, Isaiah 49:8-15, and John 5:19-29
I have a friend from high school who I don't stay in contact with nearly as much as I once did. We still talk occasionally and chat online, but we don't speak to one another as frequently as we once did. A few years ago, after we had lost frequent contact with one another, he started dating someone who he eventually married and now has a great family with. Before that, though, when we'd chat I could never remember his girlfriend's (now wife's) name, nor could I remember what she did for a living. I was always embarrassed to have to ask, and I'm sure he was mildly annoyed that I couldn't remember.
One of the things that we want is to be remembered, and I'm betting some of our fears include being forgotten. If you're like me you've forgotten a birthday or other significant date for a close friend or family member, or you've had your own forgotten by folks around you. It's a bad and embarrassing feeling either way, and I think that memory might always be there along with it.
The reading from Isaiah today, though, calls forth the mindfulness of God. It calls forth the idea that God will not forget us, no matter what. The reading deals with the restoration of Israel in spite of their shortcomings and downfalls. When they cry, "But the Lord has forgotten me", the response is "Can a mother forget her nursing child? Even if she could, I will not forget you."
God cannot forget us; God cannot put us away. We may forget God; we may forget God's presence; and we may forget God's actions. God, though, will not forget us.
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