Do you remember the time that
… I remember when I was …
Do you remember the ways things used to be? Our memories are a part of our lives that give us an anchor
point to go into the future. As
we remember today those who have gone before us and particularly the Lord who
gave himself for us, let’s remember that others too will one day remember
us. How will we be remembered and
how do we want to be remembered? Do
you remember the woman with the alabaster box of ointment of spikenard?
The past is our anchor for the future.
Telling us where we have been so that we may be secure in where we are
going. Our memories are those
tidbits of time that give us our character.
What kind of memories are we making for those who know us?
What kind do we want to leave?
Remember
When: from an email message…
Close
your eyes.....And go back........Before the Internet or the MAC, Before semi
automatics and crack …Before SEGA or Super Nintendo
… Way back........ I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk…Sittin'
on the porch, Hot bread and butter….Eatin' a 'super dooper sandwich', Red
light, Green light… Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets, Penny candy in a brown
paper bag.Hopscotch, butterscotch, double-dutch, Jacks, kickball,
dodge-ball!… Mother, May I? Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds, Jaw breakers,
blowpops, Mary Janes, Running through the sprinkler (I can't get wet! All
right, well don't wet my hair....) The smell of the sun and lickin' salty
lips.... Wait...... Catchin' lightening bugs in a jar, playin' sling shot and
Red Rover… When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown seemed
like going somewhere…Bedtime, Climbing trees, A million mosquito bites and
sticky fingers, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Sittin' on the curb,
Jumpin' down the steps, Jumpin' on the bed.
Pillow fights, Being tickled to death.
Runnin' till you were out of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt.
Being tired from playin'....Remember that? I ain't finished just yet...
What about the girl that had the big bubbly hand writing?? Licking the beaters
when your mother made a cake. Didn't that feel good?
Just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that! There's nothing like
the good old days! They were good
then, and
they're
good now when we think about them.
Remember
when... When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys
(Keds & PF Flyers), and the only time you wore them at school, was
for "gym." When nearly
everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
When nobody owned a purebred dog.
When a quarter was a decent allowance and another quarter a huge bonus.
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny. When girls neither dated nor
kissed until late high school, if then. When
your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had
their hair done everyday. When
you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking,
for free, every time. And, you didn't pay for air. And, you got trading stamps
to boot! When laundry detergent
had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to
carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.
When it was considered a great
privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed ...and did!
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the
fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Shooting marbles out of a
circle drawn in the dirt! You actually got to keep them when you did!
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive
by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Disapproval
of our parents and grandparents was a much bigger threat.
Scripture
Text: Mark 14:3 (KJS) And being
in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a
woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and
she brake the box, and poured [it] on his head. {spikenard: or, pure nard,
or, liquid nard} 4 And there were some that had indignation within
themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? 5 For it
might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given
to the poor. And they murmured against her. 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone;
why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. 7 For ye have the
poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye
have not always. 8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to
anoint my body to the burying. 9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this
gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, [this] also that she
hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
A.
Do you remember when Jesus went to the house of a leper? He cares for the lost, the lonely, and the least of society.
B.
Do you remember when the woman
that poured perfume on Jesus’ head? This
could have been Mary who was mentioned in John 12 giving a sacrifice to the
Lord in thanksgiving for raising her brother from the dead.
Another instance in Matthew mentions a woman of questionable character
performing a similar act of honor for Jesus.
C.
Do you remember the self righteous ones,
who complained about it? There will always be those who think they have a better idea.
There will always be those who talk and complain about someone who
serves the Lord. There will always be those who will criticize your worship
and service to the Lord. But,
what will you do? Will you allow
those to keep you from being who the Lord wants you to be?
Your attitiude, actions, and responses are all that you control.
What will you do?
D.
Do you remember what Jesus said about that woman?
1.
Leave her alone. She has
made a great sacrifice.
2.
She did what she could.
3.
She is anointing me for my burying.
4.
This shall be spoken of as a memorial of her.
No one will wonder what was her relationship to the Lord.
She loved him. How do we
know?
E.
Do you remember what Jesus has done for you?
What
have we done for him to bring him the honor?
What could we do? What
memories are you making for your friends and loved ones?
Are they the right ones?
Do you
Remember?