On the first day of the week, every Sunday morning, Christians meet together to worship and fellowship with the family of God.
We sing, we pray, we read scripture and we listen to a message spoken from God’s Word. But our focus, every week, turns solemn as we remember our Savior’s death, burial and resurrection. We partake of the bread, and the fruit of the vine as we understand Christ’s words from Mark 14: 22-24, “While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is My body’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from 
it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.’ ” From the gospel account it is clear what Jesus was saying. He was initiating for us a memorial. A means by which we could remember His sacrifice for our salvation.
Why? Are we so forgetful that we can’t remember something as important as our Savior’s sacrifice? Allow me provide you with a few ‘loose’ illustrations. Gentlemen, when’s your wife’s birthday? Do you always remember to call dad on Father’s Day? What happened on March 6, 1836? (Let me help you with that last one…’Remember the Alamo’) In another time it was not uncommon for families to drive out to the cemetery and place a bouquet of flowers on a loved ones grave. Why?, because we love(d) them? Is it because we miss them, or simply…so we won’t forget them. The point is…we often forget. We remember and partake of the Lord’ Supper for one basic reason…so we won’t forget! Perhaps Paul explains it best when we read I Corinthians 11: 24-26, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it (the bread) and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ in the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood; do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
We all have busy lives. Our days begin early and end late. The reason we have ‘fast food’ is because we want to eat it fast. We don’t have time to slow down, we’re busy. We don’t even have (more like ‘ta
ke’) the time to visit a grave site because we have slowly allowed the world to change our priorities. That’s why we have memorials. Without a constant reminder, our faith can become shallow and our love for God may slowly weaken.
In 1837 (the year after the Alamo fell), John R. Wreford penned a song of memory about our Savior’s death. A song that many still sing today as we meet on first day of the week and commemorate the Lord’s Supper.
When my love to Christ grows weak, when for deeper faith I seek,
Then in thought I go to Thee, Garden of Gethsemane.
There I walk amid the shades, while the evening twilight fades,
See that suffering, friendless One, weeping, praying there alone.
When my love for man grows weak, when for stronger faith I seek,
Hill of Calvary! I go to thy scenes of fear and woe.
There behold His agony, suffered on the bitter tree:
See His anguish, see His faith Love triumphant still in death.
Then to life I turn again, learning all the worth of pain,
Learning all the might that lies in a full self-sacrifice.
Continue to keep Christ close to your heart and always on the front of our mind. Remember the memorial is for us to remember Him, follow His will and prepare ourselves for His return. So let me ask you…
How’s Your Memory?