Decoration Day is what we used to call today; a day originally set aside to honor those who died in the Civil War. But when the first World War came, and went, the sentiments of Decoration Day broadened so that our nation honored all deceased military personnel. It wasn’t until 1971 that the last Monday of the month was declared a federal holiday, and its official title was given: Memorial Day.
In the Letter to the Romans St. Paul writes, “…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5.
On this Memorial Day maybe you’ll be helped to remember that St. Paul is not glorifying suffering, but asserting that in a grace-filled world we have all the resources we need to grow through the challenges of life. We are not victims, but actors and artists in the transformation of our lives and the world. In our walk with the Lord character is everything, and our character is grounded in moment by moment choices to look beyond our self-interest to embrace the well-being of others.
We’re living in a political time, at least from how I see things, when the greatest good many people seek are the lofty goals of paying fewer taxes, making more money, and doing exactly what we want with our money and our property.
Today, Memorial Day, issues a call: to balance self-interest with the larger community and planetary interests, to let go of our ego so that our families, neighborhoods, and houses of worship thrive. When that happens so will our nation, and ultimately I believe, so will the world.
The soldiers whom we remember today did not die just for us to pay fewer taxes, or make more money. In truth they died for a dream—a dream still partly unrealized in our nation—of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people in our community; the dream of liberty and justice for all; and to secure a place of refuge for the hungry, persecuted, and oppressed. Living by these values is how we honor those who have sacrificed on our behalf.
Our Prayer Book includes official collects (prayers) for Labor Day, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving Day, but not for Memorial Day. Interesting to me is that the 1928 Prayer Book did have a designated prayer for today. The architects of our current Prayer Book embedded it in the several prayers for burial. I wish it were otherwise, that we had retained a prayer for this national holiday, but we can still steal a moment at some point today to say this prayer (p. 488 of the Prayer Book). It’s in the old-fashioned idiom of the 1928 Prayer Book, with its thees and thous, and it was composed when today really was known as Decoration Day:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead: We give thee thanks for all thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence; and give us such lively sense of thy righteous will, that the work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.
Decorate yourselves with a character that produces hope…because God’s love has been poured into your heart!
Faithfully in Christ
