There are teddy bears… and high school rings… and old photographs that mamas bring. There’s cigarettes and there’s cans of beer and notes that say “I miss you dear.” And children who don’t say anything at all/ There’s purple hearts and packs of gum- fatherless daughters and fatherless sons… and there’s 50,000 names carved in the wall/ They come from all across this land… in pickups trucks and mini vans, searching for a boy from long ago. They scan the wall and find his name. The teardrops fall like pouring rain and silently they leave a gift and go/ There’s stars of David and rosary beads and crucifixion figurines and flowers of all colors… large and small. There’s a Boy Scout badge and a merit pin- little American flags waving in the wind…. and there’s 50,000 names in the wall. Lyrics from a song by George Jones... to which I can only say "amen." Many of us have stood before them in awe…. because they stand for men and women who died for our freedom,
including my dad's co-pilot and Margaret Shetenhelm's son, Robert- both of whom died in WW2.
Indeed, the graves of those who died for us fill cemeteries throughout our land. Their names are written in stone, but their sacrifice was much bigger than that because there is no greater love than this- to lay one’s life down for another person's freedom. This weekend, we are invited to remember. It is a time to let the voices of those who really did love freedom more than life... speak to us. From the first one who died in our War of Independence to the next young soldier who will die in a foreign land, we have been blessed to walk among seemingly ordinary people who have the stuff of heroes on the inside. They stared evil in the face. They carried the fight to those who would take our lives. They've taken the narrow road, knowing that life is not worth the living if people can't be free. They were Christians, Jews, Muslims, and nothing at all; but they all loved honor and freedom more than life ... and we are called to remember them this weekend!
But as Christians, we are also called to remember the One who laid down his life to save our souls! In a far away place, almost exactly 2000 years ago, a Jew hung on a Roman cross... and died to set us free from the bondage to self and sin. Despite the warnings that the prophets gave, we were never able to love God with all of our hearts or our neighbors as ourselves. So God's Son, considering divinity as something not worth clinging to, emptied himself of it, came down to earth, and lived among us. He taught about God's love, healed the sick, and challenged practices that were punitive and unjust. He was full of beauty and grace, but still, we didn't listen. So, he paid for our sins by his stripes. rose in victory over death, and appeared to Mary and the others, commissioning them to go and tell the "good news" to men and women in every nation. He told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would empower them and help them "remember" what he had said and done. He also instituted the Lord's Supper, saying, "This is my body; take, eat, in remembrance of me," and concerning the cup, "whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me."
Remembering is an empowering thing. It keeps us connected and aware of who and whose we are. Remembering is an important thing... but it is NOT as important as living AS IF we remember, which may be why Jesus said, "those who love me keep my word." Those who know me will follow me. Those who love me will keep my words. They will take the same path that I have taken, They will mourn for a broken world, forgive 70 x 7, feed those who need to be fed, make praying a way of life, and lay down their lives for me. When it comes to those whom we love and admire, remembering is more of an embrace than a passing thought and when it comes to the One whom we call Lord, remembering is not a thought at all. It is a way of life. Amen!
Indeed, the graves of those who died for us fill cemeteries throughout our land. Their names are written in stone, but their sacrifice was much bigger than that because there is no greater love than this- to lay one’s life down for another person's freedom. This weekend, we are invited to remember. It is a time to let the voices of those who really did love freedom more than life... speak to us. From the first one who died in our War of Independence to the next young soldier who will die in a foreign land, we have been blessed to walk among seemingly ordinary people who have the stuff of heroes on the inside. They stared evil in the face. They carried the fight to those who would take our lives. They've taken the narrow road, knowing that life is not worth the living if people can't be free. They were Christians, Jews, Muslims, and nothing at all; but they all loved honor and freedom more than life ... and we are called to remember them this weekend!
But as Christians, we are also called to remember the One who laid down his life to save our souls! In a far away place, almost exactly 2000 years ago, a Jew hung on a Roman cross... and died to set us free from the bondage to self and sin. Despite the warnings that the prophets gave, we were never able to love God with all of our hearts or our neighbors as ourselves. So God's Son, considering divinity as something not worth clinging to, emptied himself of it, came down to earth, and lived among us. He taught about God's love, healed the sick, and challenged practices that were punitive and unjust. He was full of beauty and grace, but still, we didn't listen. So, he paid for our sins by his stripes. rose in victory over death, and appeared to Mary and the others, commissioning them to go and tell the "good news" to men and women in every nation. He told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would empower them and help them "remember" what he had said and done. He also instituted the Lord's Supper, saying, "This is my body; take, eat, in remembrance of me," and concerning the cup, "whenever you drink it, do this in remembrance of me."
Remembering is an empowering thing. It keeps us connected and aware of who and whose we are. Remembering is an important thing... but it is NOT as important as living AS IF we remember, which may be why Jesus said, "those who love me keep my word." Those who know me will follow me. Those who love me will keep my words. They will take the same path that I have taken, They will mourn for a broken world, forgive 70 x 7, feed those who need to be fed, make praying a way of life, and lay down their lives for me. When it comes to those whom we love and admire, remembering is more of an embrace than a passing thought and when it comes to the One whom we call Lord, remembering is not a thought at all. It is a way of life. Amen!
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