Anamnesis

This coming Sunday we are going to be celebrating what we have learned during our 40 Day All Church Spiritual Growth campaign. I used Google to check my memory, the irony of which will soon be apparent. I typed the word anamnesis into the search bar.

That didn't work.

Google's algorithms haven't yet figured out that I'm more interested in Greek transliteration than obscure illnesses. Before standing up and walking to use my Greek dictionary, I switched to the app Google Translate. I tried again, typing anamnesis and Google suggested, did you mean, αναμνεσισ?

I clicked yes.

I laughed out loud when Google gave me the English translation. Google told me that this word means “expect”. I was looking for koine (biblical) Greek, not the modern Greek definition. In biblical Greek, the word anamnesis/αναμνεσισ means “remember”.

A quick excursus for the grammatically inclined: Literally, anamnesis means “without forgetting” - the prefix "an" negates the word amnesis which means forget. Most of us will recognize the English cognate amnesia that comes from the same Greek root. Because language is fluid and has changed in the several thousand years since the Greek in the Bible was written, the word has come to mean expect. Which is exactly the newsletter article that I was going to be writing.

God's people were often told to remember. However, they were actually being told don't forget. In many ways, the biggest problem God’s people had was forgetting what God had already done. This is still one of our biggest challenges.

This Sunday, we will review and celebrate what God has done over the last 40 days at a special 10 am service followed by a Ministry Fair and Brunch. The Ministry Fair will provide an opportunity to learn about and join in with one of the many ministries that God has been doing through us already. I encourage you to join us for an opportunity to remember and celebrate what God has already done!

In Christ, Jonathan