“Dangerous Memory” (Gefährliche Erinnerung)
By Dr. Sang-Hoon Han (PHD, Chicago Theological Seminary)
Lent is a season of the Church where we remember the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ and reflect on the meaning of his suffering and death. During this time, the concept of “dangerous memory,” proposed by German theologian Johann Baptist Metz, offers a unique theological insight. When I first encountered this expression, the question naturally arose: why is memory “dangerous?” However, I came to understand that for Metz, memory is not simply a recollection of the past, but rather possesses the practical power to critique and transform the present.
Metz believed that the essence of Christian faith lies in not forgetting the memory of Jesus Christ crucified as a historical event, but in continually bringing it to the present. In particular, he argued that the memory of suffering transcends personal piety and possesses the power to critique social and political realities. He defined this memory as “dangerous memory for freedom.” This memory shakes the complacency of the established order and challenges the social structures that ignore the realities of those who suffer.
For Metz, memory is practical, critical, and transformative. Past salvation events do not remain mere past events, but are summoned into the present historical context. Thus, past suffering events shed new light on the absurdity and oppression we experience today, and serve as a theological force for transformation.
The crucifixion of Jesus is not limited to a religious fact of the past, but operates as a reviving memory within the suffering we experience today. This leads to a confession of faith that Jesus stands in solidarity with those who suffer, for various reasons and in various ways.
In this context, the suffering of Jesus is not simply an object of recollection, but an event that becomes present. The memory of suffering calls the faith community to engage with the suffering of others. Just as Jesus’ life was utterly lived for others, those who confess Jesus as Christ are also called to live beyond self-preservation and in solidarity with those who suffer. Christian discipleship can be said to be a practical response to living out this “dangerous memory.”
This point is clearly revealed in Matthew 25. The words, “I was hungry and you gave me food… I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you visited me,” declare that the concrete act of participating in the suffering of others is love for Christ. Here, Matthew, by identifying Jesus with those who suffer, reveals that memory must lead to action.
The “dangerous memory” (Gefährliche Erinnerung) of Jesus’ suffering and death does not confine the church to the religious sphere. Rather, it sends the faith community into history, into the very sites of suffering. The memory of the cross is simultaneously a critique of the world and a declaration of hope, a transformative force for the kingdom of God.
In this sense, Lent goes beyond a period of simple abstinence and piety; it is a time to make the memory of Jesus present and practically reenact his life.
