GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 14:9
In Memoriam
Memory is strange. Often, what I want or need to recall is not there. Sometimes, when my attention drifts elsewhere, the needed piece of information from the past pops into my mind. Often, I find that facts or events I don’t need remain at the forefront of my memory. For example, as I write this, I remember the way my high school shop teacher combed his hair. I remember the first time I saw Alice in her parents’ home; I can describe her, what she was wearing, and even the shape of her glasses.
Dr. Morison, in a book on Mark, wrote: “Mnemosyne was the mother of the Muses, and so-called because, before the invention of writing, a retentive memory was of the utmost value in every effort of literary genius.” I attended a meeting at which there was a famous speaker. Afterward, Dr. Thomas Zimmerman—General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God—stood beside the speaker in the receiving line. As people approached for the customary handshake, Dr. Zimmerman whispered each person’s name to the speaker, who then greeted them by name. It seemed that Dr. Zimmerman remembered every name, even though the audience was large.
At the dinner in Simon’s house, a woman anointed Jesus’ head with expensive perfume, and the disciples chided her for wasting it. Jesus silenced the criticism and said, “And truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, also what this woman has done will be told in memory of her.” (Mark 14:9) The word Mark used in this instance (μνημόσυνον, mnēmosynon) for “memory” is also translated as “memorial.” That prophecy is fulfilled in these few sentences.
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