Monday Devotional: October 3, 2022

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:8-15

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David — that is my gospel. 2 Timothy 2:8 (NRSVUE)

“Remember Jesus Christ.” For the writer, that powerful memory sustains him through persecution and suffering. How can we find that sustenance? What does it mean to remember Jesus? The Pauline letters usually call the people of God to remember something: the poor (Galatians 2:10), Paul’s chains (Colossians 4:18), and our work (1 Thessalonians 1:3) — not Jesus himself. And the call can easily be translated as “keep on remembering.”

I like that. Rather than an isolated mental note (“remember to buy milk on the way home”), “keep on remembering” sounds like an imperative we do and continue doing every moment of every day of our lives. It sounds like a demand for constancy in our lives as Christ’s followers. I need this.

Many of us want to remember Jesus Christ and so we employ many items as memory aids: crosses on necklaces, fish on cars, and scripture-tattooed bodies. How else might we try to keep on remembering; what might deepen our relationship with God and nurture our relationship with God’s world?

The breath prayer, an ancient practice meant to keep us in constant connection with the Holy, uses a short phrase, half of which is spoken upon inhale, half upon exhale, that a person repeats silently or aloud, throughout the day. (“Lord Jesus Christ/Have mercy on me, a sinner” is a classic; I like “Holy wisdom/Guide me.”)

I wonder if practicing the breath prayer might help us remember that we embody this relationship and its grace in all life. Only then can we keep on remembering Jesus as we work, play, love, and live. Then all we are and all we do might be a remembering of Jesus’ merciful, gracious, all-encompassing love. Keep on remembering.

Prayer

Today, think about a phrase that might be a meaningful breath prayer for you. Take several moments to repeat it silently. Then continue to repeat it in your head as you go throughout your day.

By Naomi Annandale, Upper Room Disciplines 2013, p. 332.