1984, Moses, and Memory

The Close Reads podcast is going to begin discussing 1984 by George Orwell. I don't follow along with everything they read but I do dip in regularly for some of their book discussions. I especially enjoy the lively discussion on their Facebook page. 

I remember reading 1984 many years ago to see what all the fuss was about. I hated the dystopian world so much that I read it at a run and, unsurprisingly, recall almost nothing of it. I figured that this is my chance to get some thoughtful commentary to help me through the book.

Moses Speaks to Israelites

Also, my daughter, Rose, read it last year and had been recommending it because it is so timely to consider for how our society is changing right now. I am combining the print book with the audiobook (a wonderful narration by Simon Prebble, which will surprise no one who has listened to him before). 

I read Part 1 and found the dreary world didn't capture my attention this time as much as the ways in which the protagonist, Winston Smith, experiences the totalitarian socialist world of 1984 in London. For me, the really interesting part is the way that the author zeroes in on memory. It is manipulated, revised, and managed in ways that seem all too familiar these days — albeit not in using the same methods or from a top-down source. No, ours seems, in many ways, to be more grass roots.

Pondering this, I read John Bergsma's commentary* for the first reading last Sunday and was dumbfounded at how it complemented my 1984 reading so far. I am including the scripture reading and the related section of Bergsma's commentary.

First Sunday of Lent

Reading I
Dt 26:4-10

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“The priest shall receive the basket from you
and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God.
Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God,
‘My father was a wandering Aramean
who went down to Egypt with a small household
and lived there as an alien.
But there he became a nation
great, strong, and numerous.
When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us,
imposing hard labor upon us,
we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers,
and he heard our cry
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
He brought us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and outstretched arm,
with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;
and bringing us into this country,
he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits
of the products of the soil
which you, O LORD, have given me.’
And having set them before the LORD, your God,
you shall bow down in his presence.”

And now the commentary which struck me.

The First Readings during the first five Sundays of Lent are designed to provide an overview of salvation history, with a special emphasis on the Passover and Exodus from Egypt because from Holy Thursday to Easter we will relive these events in our own liturgy.

This First Reading at the beginning of Lent is particularly suitable because it provides a summary or overview of Israel's story from the time of Jacob (the wandering "Aramean," that is, Syrian) through the Exodus, to the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land.

In this passage from Deuteronomy, Moses commands the Israelites to come regularly to the central sanctuary in order to worship. When they come, they are to recite the history of salvation in order to commemorate it before the Lord.

This passage reminds us of the importance of memory in worship. To tis day, when we celebrate Mass, we do it "in remembrance of me," that is, the Lord Jesus. One of the enemies of the spiritual life is forgetfulness. We forget what God has done for us. We forget who we are, what we have experienced as God's people, where we come from, and where we are going. As they say, those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. Applied to the spiritual life, that means those who forget the bondage God has saved them from will side back into that bondage. Therefore the Church wisely requires us to co come to Mass weekly in order to remember God's salvation.

Furthermore, in the Bible, remembrance is not just mental recall. Remembrance involves a new saving act of God. God remembers Noah in the ark. God remembers the people of Israel in Egypt. In both cases, God's "remembrance" involves salvation. This is the reason the psalms frequently ask God to "remember " his people (Ps 20:3; 74:2, 18; 89:50, etc.). When we come into Mass to "do this in remembrance of me" we are asking God to pour out his saving power on us once again for the coming week.

Much of American Christianity has religious "amnesia." There is no remembrance of the saints, the councils, the persecutions, the missionary martyrdoms, or the history of God's people. Even the Old Testament often gets ignored. As a result, there is little sense of being part of one people of God through the ages. Memory creates identity. A person with amnesia forgets who they are. The Church in her wisdom constantly encourages us to remember so that we know who we are.

*The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C by John Bergsma. I will do a review of this series soon but I really love it.