My first conscious memory of Jesus was in first-grade Sunday School. The teacher gave us kids a project to do with two sheets of paper each with the image of a house on it. The top piece of paper had the outside of the house and the second the inside. There was cutting of paper involved as well as gluing and coloring. The end result was that when you opened the door of the house, you could see Jesus inside the house with the family. I am sure we were told, “Jesus loves you, and he is part of your family.” The words only made sense because the picture stuck with me. Every time I recalled that picture, the words “Jesus loves me” came to mind. And, it felt like Jesus was in my home.
Believe it or not, the Greeks had a word for this phenomenon. They called it anamnesis. The two parts of the word ana- and -mnesis mean “again” and “the state of being mindful.” Our English word of anamnesis is “remembrance.” As Christians we hear it when Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Jesus is speaking of the meal he is sharing with his disciples during his final hours with them, and those same disciples did re-create this meal whenever they gathered, as they remembered Jesus. To help their memory of Jesus they had his words, “This is my body,” “this is my blood,” “Take and eat.” They also had his actions: he shared the bread, he passed the cup, and he blessed them. Most likely his hand grazed theirs as he shared this meal. His eyes met theirs. His breath commingled with theirs in the upper room. Jesus shared his life with them in more ways than they knew at the time. So, when, after his death and resurrection, in order to “remember” him, they re-enacted the scene where word and act came together. Anamnesis is the act of remembering something in such a way that the past event unfolds in the present moment, and not just the event, but the power of that past event and the person at the center of the event is present too. When we “remember” Jesus, it is not something that takes place just in our minds. Christian anamnesis, that is “remembering” Jesus, means that, as we think about him and do what he did (that is, love as he loved), he is present with us here and now; his words and actions are taking place in our present time. Jesus is in our home.
I fell in love with Jesus as a young child, and when I thought of him, he was present in my home, with my family. The symbolic action of opening a door on a sheet of paper, truly opened a door into the world of Jesus, and this has stood as an open invitation throughout my life to experience the risen Christ in my life.
For us here and now, the scriptures are like that first-grade Sunday school craft project. When we open the doors of scripture or hear the words of scripture read aloud in the midst of the gathered congregation, we have this amazing opportunity to meet Jesus in our house (whether our personal home, our heart’s home, or in the home we call the house of worship.) We do anamnesis all the time and not just when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Any time that some moment in worship causes us to recall the moment we fell in love with Jesus, we are ushered into Christ’s presence. Our minds, our hearts, our very beings, all of who we are, have this chance to respond to Christ’s words, “Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.”
When did you “fall in love with Jesus,” and how does remembering this time cause you to experience Jesus’ presence in your life here and now and to respond with his loving presence to all whom you encounter?
