Remembering and reliving the story

One of my favorite movies from the past decade is Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out,” which was partially set in Minnesota. In clever and understandable ways, the animated movie tackled some serious anthropological topics (i.e. studying the human person) such as temperaments, emotions, adolescent maturation and memories.

Throughout the film, the perspective of the audience moves back and forth between the interior life and the exterior life of the adolescent protagonist Riley. In one lighthearted scene, two of the characters in Riley’s mind journey through “an endless warren of corridors and shelves” called long-term memory. Walking through this maze, the characters meet others who are maintaining the memory storage. Armed with a vacuum cleaner to make room for more memories, the maintenance workers examine four years of piano lessons that are “pretty faded” and quickly determine to “save ‘Chopsticks’ and ‘Heart and Soul’ and get rid of the rest,” sucking the memories off the self and into oblivion!

Apart from this vast expanse of long-term memories exist separate areas of core memories that are crucial in forming Riley’s personality. These core memories start as tender, joyful and soothing moments from the past, but by the end of the story, the audience learns and comes to appreciate that difficult, painful moments also contribute to the maturation of Riley’s personality. A major takeaway from the movie is the truth that persons are formed by a mix of lived experiences and memories, and we grow from difficult crises when they are paired with the support required for human flourishing. This rings true for every human person, and it also strikes a chord when examining the communal experience of a particular group of people.

The readings for this Fourth Sunday of Lent are rich with memories from Israel’s past — Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the desert, peaceful days of stability in the kingdom united by David, and sorrowful days of exile and captivity in Babylon. Yet each of these moments shaped the people of Israel and prepared them for the coming of the Messiah who would bring lasting salvation and freedom. The sorrowful captivities and joyful liberations became core memories that pointed to Jesus, the son of David and the new Moses who “must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (Jn 3:14-15).

The Mass is called an anamnesis or memorial sacrifice because it is celebrated at Jesus’ invitation to “do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19). As a body of believers and members of the household of God, we actively participate in the process of our redemption and enter into the Paschal mystery via liturgical worship, touching and experiencing the realities as they are remembered. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is re-presented and realized in the Mass, bringing the faithful into close contact with the core memories of Christ and his Church.

During these last three weeks of Lent, I encourage you to recall the core memories of our communal story and live them anew in the practice of your faith. In the sorrowful and joyful moments, encounter the tenderness of God who “so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

Father VanHoose is pastor of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi.

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Sunday, March 14?
Fourth Sunday of Lent

• 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23
• Eph 2:4-10
• Jn 3:14-21?