The loss of one’s memory is a tragic result of dementia which raises all sorts of questions, including the theological question: ‘What happens to a person’s faith when they no longer remember or understand who God is?’
Dr Sarah Coakley, a noted Cambridge Theologian, came across an Anglican hymn sung on Maundy Thursday which goes along way to answering this profound question. The hymn is entitled: According to Thy Gracious Word, and was written by James Montgomery (1771-1854) – See CH668. The first stanza sets the theme of our remembering the works of God in Christ:
1. According to thy gracious word,
in meek humility,
this will I do, my dying Lord,
I will remember thee.
The second stanza is a direct reference to Jesus’s words on the night of Lord’s supper, when instructed the disciples to remember me as they ate the bread and drank the wine of the New Covenant:
2. Thy body, broken for my sake,
my bread from heav'n shall be;
thy testamental cup I take,
and thus remember thee.
The theme is repeated in the Easter themes in verses 3 and 4 below:
3. Gethsemane can I forget?
Or there thy conflict see,
thine agony and bloody sweat,
and not remember thee?
4. When to the cross I turn mine eyes,
and rest on Calvary,
O Lamb of God, my sacrifice,
I must remember thee:
Finally, in the last verse (vs.6 below), the theme of our remembering Jesus is ‘flipped on its head’ when James Montgomery writes;
6. And when these failing lips grow dumb,
and mind and memory flee,
when thou shalt in thy kingdom come,
Jesus, remember me!
