Memorial Day (US)
May 25, 2009
Today's Word:
Acts 19:1-8 (Paul baptizes in the name of Jesus at Ephesus)
Psalm 68:2-7 (God arises; his enemies are scattered)
John 16:29-33 ("In the world you will have trouble; but take courage, for I have conquered the world")
Or - selected readings from the Order of Funerals:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (To everything there is a season)
Psalm 23 (Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants...)
1 Corinthians 15:20-32, 40-58 ("Where, O death, is your victory? Where is your sting?")
John 17:6-17 ("I pray not that these chosen be taken from the world, but that they be delivered from evil")
Sometimes, to be delivered from evil (real or perceived), a person has to put his life on the line, as if stakes in a game of chance. The ultimate stakes are determined to be so high, that which is being protected so great, that the risk-taking is deemed necessary.
Today is about those who put their lives on the line, especially those who died doing so; but to me, also for the living who have or are presently risking their lives to protect others. The men and women of our military services, definitely; but also for those in the careers of public safety: firefighters, and those in law enforcement.
There is a fine line between the ideals of Liberty and Freedom, and it is constantly juxtaposed and blurred. This nation declared its independence on the uncompromising rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and it's interesting to note this particular order.
While America was NOT (repeat: NOT) founded as a Christian nation (it didn't want to identify itself with the 'papists' in Rome or the ongoing religious persecutions of the time which brought many to the shores of the Western Hemisphere), our founders were innately aware of the sanctity of life in general. They understood that true liberty is not the same as true freedom (anarchy). To establish true liberty would bear a cost of freedom. As Benjamin Franklin put it: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
In our endeavors to enjoy Life, often on a day like this we are more engaged in the pursuit of happiness than it might seem reasonable. To be fair, by late May the nation has finally thrown off the yoke of winter and all are basking in relatively fair weather; our bodies are clamoring for Vitamin D from the Sun, and what better way to get it than spend the day outdoors sacrificing a piece of meat on the barbecue grill? Maybe so, maybe so - but just remember that somebody died in a trench somewhere long ago; somebody fought persistently for the highest of ideals; people are keeping watch even as I write, just so you can enjoy that overcooked piece of steak. Is it any wonder that God finally said that it was love that He seeks, and not sacrifices?
Today I am honored to be able to lead singing at a Mass at one of the many cemeteries that dot the Chicago landscape. I will watch as my elders potentially look foolish attempting to honor their fallen companions. But it will bring a tear to my eye as I remember why it's such an important thing to them. It will remind me of how important it is to honor not only those who died, most of whom are names I don't know and have never met, but also the living who even now put themselves constantly in harm's way for our benefit. I will do my best to remember never to take them for granted.
In the midst of the American Civil War, Julia Ward Howe visited a Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, DC. She heard the soldiers singing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was taken with the strong marching beat. She wrote these words the next day:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
--Battle Hymn of the Republic (1861)
Julia Ward Howe
May 25, 2009
Today's Word:
Acts 19:1-8 (Paul baptizes in the name of Jesus at Ephesus)
Psalm 68:2-7 (God arises; his enemies are scattered)
John 16:29-33 ("In the world you will have trouble; but take courage, for I have conquered the world")
Or - selected readings from the Order of Funerals:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (To everything there is a season)
Psalm 23 (Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants...)
1 Corinthians 15:20-32, 40-58 ("Where, O death, is your victory? Where is your sting?")
John 17:6-17 ("I pray not that these chosen be taken from the world, but that they be delivered from evil")
Sometimes, to be delivered from evil (real or perceived), a person has to put his life on the line, as if stakes in a game of chance. The ultimate stakes are determined to be so high, that which is being protected so great, that the risk-taking is deemed necessary.
Today is about those who put their lives on the line, especially those who died doing so; but to me, also for the living who have or are presently risking their lives to protect others. The men and women of our military services, definitely; but also for those in the careers of public safety: firefighters, and those in law enforcement.
There is a fine line between the ideals of Liberty and Freedom, and it is constantly juxtaposed and blurred. This nation declared its independence on the uncompromising rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and it's interesting to note this particular order.
While America was NOT (repeat: NOT) founded as a Christian nation (it didn't want to identify itself with the 'papists' in Rome or the ongoing religious persecutions of the time which brought many to the shores of the Western Hemisphere), our founders were innately aware of the sanctity of life in general. They understood that true liberty is not the same as true freedom (anarchy). To establish true liberty would bear a cost of freedom. As Benjamin Franklin put it: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
In our endeavors to enjoy Life, often on a day like this we are more engaged in the pursuit of happiness than it might seem reasonable. To be fair, by late May the nation has finally thrown off the yoke of winter and all are basking in relatively fair weather; our bodies are clamoring for Vitamin D from the Sun, and what better way to get it than spend the day outdoors sacrificing a piece of meat on the barbecue grill? Maybe so, maybe so - but just remember that somebody died in a trench somewhere long ago; somebody fought persistently for the highest of ideals; people are keeping watch even as I write, just so you can enjoy that overcooked piece of steak. Is it any wonder that God finally said that it was love that He seeks, and not sacrifices?
Today I am honored to be able to lead singing at a Mass at one of the many cemeteries that dot the Chicago landscape. I will watch as my elders potentially look foolish attempting to honor their fallen companions. But it will bring a tear to my eye as I remember why it's such an important thing to them. It will remind me of how important it is to honor not only those who died, most of whom are names I don't know and have never met, but also the living who even now put themselves constantly in harm's way for our benefit. I will do my best to remember never to take them for granted.
In the midst of the American Civil War, Julia Ward Howe visited a Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, DC. She heard the soldiers singing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was taken with the strong marching beat. She wrote these words the next day:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
--Battle Hymn of the Republic (1861)
Julia Ward Howe
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