Reflection for Memorial Day



This coming Monday is Memorial Day.  Not that you probably needed any reminder.  It traditionally marks the beginning of summer and is frequently celebrated with parties and barbecues.  But its original and real meaning is much more important and sobering.  Memorial Day, or “Decoration Day” as it was originally called, came into being shortly after the Civil War.  More American lives were lost in that conflict than any other and veteran’s cemeteries were established in every state to remember and mourn the nation’s great loss.  By the late 1860’s, towns and cities had begun annual springtime festivities to remember their fallen. In 1868, May 30th was nationally designated as “Decoration Day” to honor the veterans.   

In the twentieth century, Decoration Day eventually became known as “Memorial Day” and was extended to honor all veterans who had given their lives in conflict.  In 1971, Memorial Day was permanently fixed as the last Monday in May so that government employees could have a three-day weekend.  The fixed date had the unintended cultural consequence of diminishing the true meaning of Memorial Day as a day to remember our fallen and instead became the unofficial beginning of the summer season.  Still, there are many who celebrate Memorial Day as a day to remember those who have passed on.  Cemeteries around the country are lavishly decorated with flowers on that day to remember not only our veterans but also all of our loved ones.

Last month, I wrote about my brother’s battle with cancer.  He took his last breath two days after I wrote my piece.  I’m still reeling and reflecting.  He was only six years older and lived a much healthier lifestyle than me.  I’ve been staring my own mortality in the face.  The Preacher of Ecclesiastes wrote these disturbing words:

A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart (Ecc. 7:1-2).

I use these verses at every funeral I officiate.  They’re sobering.  Fine perfume is wonderful for a moment but it takes a lifetime to cultivate a good name.  In the same way, the day of one’s birth offers a wonderful moment of excitement and possibility, but nothing yet has been forged from the young life.  The day of one’s death, on the other hand, is an event that affords reflection on all that has been accomplished in a lifetime.  These are thoughts that we would rather not entertain.  But wisdom insists that we do.  “The living should take this to heart.”

I was at my brother’s bedside minutes after he breathed his last.  I looked into his face and was shocked.  It was clear that no one was there.  His soul was gone.  That same moment will also come for you and for me.  Death stalks us all; we do not know when it will call our name.  What have you done with your life?  What will be said of your “good name?”  On Monday, pause to reflect on the good name of your loved ones who have gone before you.  Remember and celebrate with great joy – maybe a few hamburgers and brats, too!  But also reflect, “What have I done with my life?”  If you’re reading this, there’s still time to make a name for yourself.  Make it a good one.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Don't Find Jokes About Worship Music Very Funny

Image
This post is a second attempt on this topic.  The first was pushback on the cartoon above that a friend had posted on Facebook. It was lacking in grace.  I regret that but remain committed to my point.  I have a good sense of humor.  I enjoy the satirical website, Lark News , and even my own copy of A Field Guide toEvangelicals and Their Habitat.  I can laugh at myself and my evangelical tradition.  But I don’t find jokes about worship music very funny. Most of the time, it is contemporary praise and worship songs that are the target of the jokes and cartoons I’ve seen and heard.  There was a variation of Cows in theCorn several years ago that poked fun at hymns.  Nevertheless, the repetition found in praise and worship is the usual target.  It is my experience that people who don’t like the genre think the jokes are really funny.  I don’t.  I never have.  Here’s why: Praise and worship songs are differe...
Read more

Should the Church Accommodate Its Worship to the Culture?

Image
Yes… and no. Early this morning, I finished reading John D. Witvliet’s essay, Theological Models for the Relationship between Liturgy and Culture in his excellent collection, Worship Seeking Understanding   (Baker, 2003).   Heady and academic stuff, as the title demonstrates.   But the concepts that he unpacks are important for every pastor and worship leader to encounter and grasp. There are some groups who resist the surrounding culture at all costs.   The Orthodox Church, along with certain Anabaptist sects (such as the Amish) are probably the most radical in this regard.   But there are other traditional groups who avoid cultural infiltration like it was the plague.   On the other side of the spectrum are evangelicals who will do most anything and everything in order to satisfy the god of relevance.   Neither pole on the spectrum is to be desired. Cultural influence, or inculturation, in corporate worship is unavoidable and should be, in so...
Read more

Embracing Conflict in the Church

Image
Our church family is having a bit of a kerfuffle. Since this is a public forum, I won’t share the details. But it’s painful. It’s personal and it’s dangerous. No one likes it. This is not the first time I’ve been in a church family that was having conflict. Come to think of it, I can’t recall a church that I’ve ever been a part of that didn’t have inner conflict. Conflict is part of the landscape of human relationships. And the church, while it is infused with Divine life, is still human. On this side of eternity, we remain broken – in need of God’s grace and work in our collective life together. It’s the same for any family. There are many responses available to us when we enter into conflict. The first and, I must admit, easiest for me to immerse myself in is anger. It is an honest response, especially when one believes that injustice has been done or that the other party is somehow unrighteous. That has usually been my assessment of “the other side” when I’ve been deep in it. I...
Read more