Remember

After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.
Exodus 2:23-25

What does it mean, to say that God remembered his covenant?

Had he forgotten about it? Had it slipped his mind, distracted as he was, preoccupied with other things?

No, to remember is not the same thing as to recall something that you have forgotten.
Nor is it to indulge in nostalgia, to long for the ‘good old days.’

To remember is to act in the present in the light of the past.

‘Remember’ is an action word, which involves the whole being – heart and mind and bodily strength and soul – and not a cerebral activity alone. To remember fires the synapses of the whole nervous system, not just those in the brain.

In contrast, it is possible to be passive in the present in the light of a hoped-for future. One day, God will heal you. One day, God will redress the injustice you face. One day…
It is possible to justify resignation by calling it ‘dignified faith.’

But Jesus said, the time has come; the day of God’s liberating vengeance against all that holds creation captive has already dawned – and once the Son has broken the horizon, the light does not stand still but grows until it fills the sky…

Heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead, proclaim that God’s kingdom is breaking in:
Remember Jesus.