Today we remember the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Smoke billowing from the Trade Center towers; their sudden collapse; the Pentagon on fire; the wreckage in a Pennsylvania field.

Remembering is a really central theme in scripture. “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Deuteronomy 4:9). All those commands to write it on your foreheads, inscribe it on the door post, teach your children these things. And of course there is the Lord’s supper, in which we are urged to remember. Forgetfulness was viewed by saints before us as...