Some come to kneel and pray. Others simply stand transfixed by immensity of human
suffering played out on the Wall. No-one who visits the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C leaves unaffected. Countless names etched in stone. A solemn tribute that eloquently, though silently, memorializes the rare human virtue of self sacrifice. Personal sacrifice offered in defense of liberty, self determination, and country. Sacrifice offered not to idealize death or lionize the exigencies of war, but to protect and preserve the foundational principals of liberty and justice. Memorial Day is a time to remember the idea of sacrifice. And, to do so in ways that honor the totality of human sacrifice that war evokes. For each combatant felled on the field of battle there is a continuum of loss that transcends an individual life. Indeed the sacrifices of war are never isolated. The loss of a single woman or man due to the ravages of human conflict burdens the psyche of an entire nation. This Memorial Day we need to honor our fallen heroes. We need, as well, to consider the true meaning of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the willingness to offer one’s life in pursuit of a greater universal good. No reasonable human being desires war nor welcomes the prospect of death. Yet, those we honor on this Memorial Day were willing to accept the enduring possibility of death as a consequence of their service. Each time I walk through Salem Cemetery I am humbled by the number of veterans who rest on that solemn ground. Salem Cemetery is the final resting place for veterans from the War of 1812 to the present day. One can only imagine the sacrifices that these individuals and their families made to defend our nation and affirm the rights of all people to enjoy the privileges of democracy. It is often said that faith and war should never intersect. Perhaps that is true. However, it is not unreasonable to see within the ministry, suffering, death and Resurrection of our Lord the purest example of self sacrifice. It is, no doubt, that glorious example that instills the virtue of sacrifice in the hearts of women and men. Amid the festivities of Memorial Day weekend take time to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for those who were willing to face death to preserve the freedoms that we embrace today. Take a walk through Salem Cemetery to reflect on the courage of those veterans and their families who now rest in eternal peace. Finally, pray that God’s Holy Spirit will guide the leaders of this world to seek peace, to do justice and to walk humbly with God. Blessings, Pastor Tom We have all said the Lord’s Prayer countless times. So often, in fact, that those storied words of praise, petition, and challenge may have become simple rote repetitions. However, within that prayer there is a radical affirmation. God’s will is to be lived on earth. Right here, right now in each of our lives God’s will is to be witnessed. That is the fundamental and inescapable call on the heart of every follower of Jesus Christ. To be builders of God’s Kingdom on earth. That is no easy task. How is the divine will to be experienced within the context of contemporary life? Perhaps an apt starting point is to look at the world through God’s eyes. What does one see that is contrary to God’s good creation? And, how does one respond? Only God’s Holy Spirit can answer that question. But, God’s Holy Spirit will. Now, that is genuinely Good News. Blessings, Pastor Tom Luke 11:1-4
For the Apostle Paul, recognizing and accepting the difference that Christ makes in one’s life is a fundamental underpinning of discipleship. Unless Christ ushers in radical and transforming change in an individual life, then Christianity is either ancient history or mere platitudes. We can’t abide either. Scripture reveals that Christ makes a true difference. Yet, if we accept that premise, what difference do we make? Are we prepared to emulate Christ? Is our world view formed not by partisan politics or normative cultural values but by Christ and Christ alone? If we affirm that Christ makes a difference then are we not called to make a difference as well, After all we are the body of Christ. Now that is genuinely Good News, Blessings, Pastor Tom John 13:31-35 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” We have all had our hearts broken. A relationship ends. We lose a loved one. A trust is betrayed, a promise goes unfulfilled, or a hope is crushed against the rocks of reality. Unfortunately, we seem to wrongly equate a broken heart with feelings of sadness or disappointment. A heart can only truly be broken when it has been selflessly shared. On the Cross, our Lord’s heart was broken; but not by the horror of suffering or even impending death. His heart was broken because it had been sacrificially offered, and then rejected. It was rejected by the very people He came to serve and to save. Can we truly see the world through the eyes of Christ? Will our hearts be broken by the exigencies of life that deny God’s good creation? This can only happen when we share our hearts through sacrificial love. This can only happen when we open our own hearts to the Risen Lord. Now, this is genuinely Good News. Blessings, Pastor Tom 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. |
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