Greek Words & Gardening
Or remembering is not always the opposite of forgetting (Part 2)
Welcome back, friends!
Last week I spent time in the mountains with family and reaffirmed my stance that there is truly nothing greater than an escape to somewhere that requires a sweatshirt. I jumped back into reality with a massive pile of laundry and heart set on enduring the summer heat with patience and positivity. I give myself a 6/10 so far. Not outstanding, but definitely could be worse.
Today we’re diving into the Greek concept of remembering based on an overview of the New Testament (NT). It’s really not a sexy idea, but I can confidently say it’s a beautiful one and worth reading a little further on to the parts where I’ll write more academically and won’t say words like sexy.1 If you’re new around here, it might be helpful to jump backwards to the article I wrote a few weeks ago discussing the Hebrew word for remembering and its usage throughout the Old Testament. Having now paddled in the waters of Hebrew/Greek study for a bit, I’ll say that I still very much need my water wings in the form of help from people who are more experienced than me, space to think that is not afforded me by a Winnie the Pooh movie, Spirit-led discernment, and the kindness of you, dear reader, as I put my thoughts out into the world. I love this work and I hope you do too. I hope it truly encourages you to do the work yourself. If I can do it, so can you…
The Greek Concept of Remembering
In the NT, the Greek verb “mimneskomai” (G3403) seems to stand out as the key term encapsulating the act of remembering. Used 23 times throughout the Majority Greek New Testament (MGNT), “mimneskomai” is a prolonged form of the older verb “mnaomai” (G3415) and functions as a middle voice derivative of the verb “meno” (G3306), which is used 118 times in the MGNT.
Wow, I just used a lot of fancy words so let me try to summarize that in a simpler way: These two Greek words are related and together they are used over 100 times in the New Testament. That means we should pay attention.
The Roots of “Mimneskomai”
The foundation of “mimneskomai” lies in the verb “meno,” which translates to “abide,” “remain,” or “stay.” This connection is crucial because it frames the act of remembering not just as a cognitive exercise but as a relational and transformative experience. One of the easiest ways to convey this idea is to examine John 15:5:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV, emphasis added)
Here the “meno” verb is being used to convey more than simply staying near something or calling something to mind that could be easily forgotten, but a rootedness, a life-sustaining connection to Christ. To remember in this context is to remain solidly connected with the life, words, and teachings of Jesus.
New Testament Usage of “Mimneskomai”
We can find this word used in several notable moments throughout the NT. In Matthew 26:75, Peter remembers (“meno”) Jesus’ words just after the rooster crows. In Luke 24:6-8, the women at the tomb are prompted to recall (“meno”) Jesus’ predictions about his resurrection. Their remembering is fully intertwined with understanding how this once dead man had came back to life. More than once, the Gospel of John reinforces the notion that the disciples’ memories (“meno”) of Jesus’s words are what will lead them to understand his life.2 In 2 Peter 3:2 and Jude 1:17, believers are encouraged to recall (“meno”) the words spoken by the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles.
“His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.” (John 12:16, ESV, emphasis added)
The Call to Abide
At the heart of “mimneskomai” is the idea that remembering is not a passive act but an active engagement with the words spoken by Jesus. To remember his words is to abide in them, to remain in them such that they tumble arounds in our minds as we go about the day. We wrestle with them just as the apostles did and they slowly begin to change us. Did Jesus really say that? What did that even mean? In this way, the call to remember in the NT becomes a call to let Jesus’s teachings shape our lives. It is about bringing our present reality and our past experiences, even the painful broken things, into the light of resurrection hope.
Embracing Pain with Hope
In one of all time favorite books, Surprised by Hope, NT Wright talks so beautifully about how our past suffering is not erased in light of Jesus, but rather transformed into the pain of new birth and this becomes our new identity.
“And we should never forget that when Jesus rose from the dead, as the paradigm, first example, and generating power of the whole new creation, the marks of the nails were not just visible on his hands and his feet. They were the way he was to be identified.” (Wright, 2008, p. 224)
Remembering the life and words of Jesus does not mean we work to trade old memories with more refined and holy ones, but rather that we can hold the painful ones up to the light and still cling to hope. We can bear our scars just like the resurrected Christ and operate with the wild perspective that this too will be redeemed.
Because Gardening is the Quintessential Metaphor
There are flowers in my front yard that have grown rather beautifully in spite of the late summer heat in Oklahoma. I haven’t done much to them, but I also haven’t done nothing. I water then fairly regularly. Sometimes I move the dirt around by their roots with my bare hands. Mostly I just admire them as I pull into my driveway and wonder how they can possibly be thriving. Shouldn’t the heat be causing them to crumble? The funny reality is that the heat is what’s making them grow. Maybe they don’t love it, maybe they do (I haven’t asked them), but because they’re rooted in the ground and they’re getting even the smallest bit of nurturing, they’re soaking up the heat such that it has generated something that defies logic. Beauty because of—rather than in spite of. New creation because of—rather than instead of.
This is the way of remembering as we see it in the scriptures. When we steep ourselves into the life and words of Jesus, our past doesn’t become irrelevant. It becomes the soil for new creation. Nothing is wasted. And because we are ultimately not the gardener of our own stories, perhaps the work for us is to stay rooted, soak up the heat, and pray for rain.
“God isn’t a sadist who delights in using agony to teach us a lesson. But in the alchemy of redemption, God can take what is only sorrow and transform it into the very path by which we learn to love God and let ourselves be loved. This is the strange (and usually unwanted) way of abundant life—the dying necessary to bring resurrection.” (Prayer in the Night, by Tish Harrison-Warren)3
Thank you for reading all the way to the end. If you have benefited from the two latest essays on remembering throughout scripture, I’d love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or share with others. This is the reason WHTH exists and I treasure your feedback.
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Hope it made you laugh more than it felt awkward.
John 2:17, 23; 12:16
Prayer in the Night - A must-read in my opinion, I underlined everything.
“We can bear our scars just like the resurrected Christ and operate with the wild perspective that this too will be redeemed.” What a beautiful hope-that our scars may identify us, but they don’t define us… all things will be made new.