My wife and I occasionally visit an elderly Russian Jewish couple, and when the time comes to say good-bye, the woman always says, "Don't forget us."

"We don't forget you," we reply. "We'll never forget you."

This is true enough, but our friend is not merely asking that we keep her in mind. Rather, she is saying, "Come back and visit...and don't be so long next time!"

Her remark may be in the long tradition of Jewish maternal guilt, but it also reflects the concept of memory that we see in Scripture. Memory is not just storage in the mental database, but re-enactment. When we remember, we pay a visit to the things we might be tempted to neglect.

 In this week's parasha, in the midst of His instructions for building the tabernacle, the Lord prescribes the garments the High Priest must wear when he comes into His presence. Among these garments, Moses is to have two onyx stones engraved with the names of the sons of Israel and set in gold. And then, he is told,

 

The stones that the High Priest bears on his shoulders remind the Lord each day of the sons of Israel. But why does the Creator of all things require a reminder at all? How could God ever forget His chosen people, or anyone else for that matter?  Yet, even though we ask these questions, we can all probably admit that we have sometimes felt as though God has forgotten us. At such times we would be thankful if someone with connections could mention our name in His presence. Since God has so ordained things that human participation really matters, He gave the High Priest the responsibility of reminding Him of those who need His mercy.

When we face deep disappointments--an illness that does not respond to treatment, children or loved ones who wander from faith, financial pressures that seem to only increase with time--what a comfort it is to imagine a High Priest who comes into God's presence daily carrying our names upon his shoulders.

Now we can understand more deeply the anguish of our forefathers over the loss of the temple and priesthood at the hands of the Roman army in 70 CE. This disaster meant a corporate loss of access to God, so that no one could bear our names into His presence any longer. Hence, tradition commends daily prayer for the restoration of the temple and priesthood, as at the conclusion of the Amidah: "May it be your will, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, that the temple be rebuilt speedily, in our days!"

But thanks be to God, we have a High Priest already, Yeshua the Messiah, who bears our names into the very presence of God. Because Yeshua intercedes for us, God never forgets us. And when God remembers us, it does not mean that our names are stored somewhere in the vastness of His cosmic data bank. It means that He comes to visit.

In the UMJC this year, we are emphasizing the theme Chadesh Yameinu,
"Renew Our Days." This call for renewal is really a cry to the Lord to remember us and visit us anew. The cry arises from our longing for more of God's immediate presence and activity among us. We long to see the name of Messiah Yeshua widely honored within the larger Jewish community, individual lives transformed, and our congregations filled with Jewish people seeking to return to the God of Israel.

This cry for remembrance arises out of a deep dissatisfaction with the status quo, but it will always be a confident cry. God has not forgotten us; Messiah our High Priest continually bears our names upon Himself in the very presence of God. God will visit us anew.

Renewal, however, also requires something of us. We must remember in the same way God remembers, in the way my old Russian friend desired--not just by storing data, but by visiting again and again. As we seek renewal, we need to revisit the early and essential sites in our spiritual journey, beginning with the first encounter with Messiah that changed our lives.

 

The risen Messiah tells a congregation that has displayed good works and great perseverance, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works..." (Revelation 2:4-5). We don't know exactly what has gone wrong with this congregation, but it is clear that they've wandered off from what made them great. Do we need to hear the same admonition? Have we forgotten the moment of meeting Yeshua and knowing our lives would never be the same? Have we forgotten our passion to share the love of Messiah with our families and friends?

Yeshua asks us not only to return to our first love, but also to do our first works. Renewal is not a matter of regaining a spiritual high, but of renewed obedience and fruitfulness. "Remember therefore from where you have fallen..." As we remind the Lord to visit us again, may we visit our first love again, and do the deeds that arose from that love.