Memorial Day follows this Sunday; it’s a bit earlier than in some years. We have various memorials in our country, but the most moving one for me is Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial (pictured). Visiting that memorial begins with the “gathering storm” history of the geopolitical forces that led to Japan’s attack. Further into the museum are eyewitness accounts of the actual attack, including still photos and film shot during the attack with the “home movie” equipment that was just coming into use. The horribleness of the deaths of the more than 2,000 military and civilians causes silence to fall among the crowds viewing the display. Then visitors are transported in respectful silence a short distance into the harbor itself. There, the sunken battleship USS Arizona is visible in the waters, with 1,177 crewmen entombed in her. Poignantly, every so often, a couple of bubbles of oil from the sunken ship rise to the surface even today, a material witness that makes the 1941 event even more present in real time.
How does this connect with our Sunday Scripture? This weekend the presider can choose the Gospel from either the 6th or 7th Sunday after Easter (next weekend has its separate Gospel for the Ascension). Both Gospel choices are from Jesus’ “farewell address” to his disciples at the Last Supper, as recorded in John’s Gospel. Jesus is preparing his disciples for his absence. He promises them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name … [to] teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Jesus prays for their unity, that they may all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you. The Eucharist that He established at that Last Supper is our memorial, and every Sunday is our Catholic memorial day. At the end of every consecration, the priest quotes Jesus: “Do this in memory of me.” Our act of remembering each Sunday and our union with Christ in the material of bread and wine keeps Christ present in real time. It keeps him present in our memories and lives, in our Church, and in our world decade after decade, now for more than two centuries.
But memorials are not just about the past. Looking toward the future is also a purpose of memorials. Memorials create possibility for the future by creating determination in those who experience them to work toward a more God-filled and peaceful future. Remembering sacrifice — of fallen military, of the crucified Jesus — renews our energy to work for a less violent and war-prone world. It calls us out of passivity and self-absorption and pettiness. And so at the end of each Eucharist we are blessed and “sent out” (if we don’t leave Church after communion!) to let the Risen Christ move in us, as we rededicate ourselves to live by what we have remembered. And this is a very good thing! Happy Memorial Day!
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia; photo – US Navy (USN) Sailors assigned to the ceremonial guard Naval Station (NS) Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (HI), preparing in the early morning hours for the 63rd commemoration of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor at the battleship USS ARIZONA (BB 39) Memorial.
The post May 25, 6th Sunday of Easter, Remembering: a Sunday Scriptures blog first appeared on Sisters of the Precious Blood.