Memorial Day

 "Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for the mourning of U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces."  - Wikipedia

I was born very close to the beginning of the Vietnam War and spent the first 18 years of my life seeing scenes of Vietnam on the evening news nearly every night.  Each Memorial Day, growing up, my family also made an annual trek to the cemetery with irises in tow to place on the graves of my grandparents, noting all the flags on the graves of my uncle and other's family members lost (mostly) in World War II.  By the time I was old enough to vote, I was opposed to all war.  With each "police action," "military excursion," and war after that, I was on the side of pacifism and conscientious objection, reaching a nadir in seminary, feeling hostile toward all military matters, expenditures, and people.  So Memorial Day has ground my gears for a long time. 

One of the ways I wiggled around the military aspect of the day, especially when I was pastoring, was to widen the lens to include all people in the memorial (giving my churches two days with All Saints Sunday to recognize their departed). One or two veterans would invariably complain about "watering down" their sacrifices.

More recently, I've softened in my sympathies toward those who have served in the military or families who have lost someone in military actions. Military service is a major fork in life that would have been. So, I would regard my present state as one of profound reflective respect, not so much for the acts committed by our leaders who order the military, but for the choices with which military personnel face - from unbidded duty assignments to permanent injuries to death. Also, a visit to Tahoma National Cemetery one May a few years ago and seeing the vast expanse of white funeral tombstones with hundreds of flags was sobering.

So, this weekend I'm deeply present with all military folks living and dead.  Especially so for those in the Persian Gulf right now. Few things could test a soul more than to be under constant threat with no discernible purpose. I'm deeply present with all those who still live with an ever-present felt loss in their life or in their family. Some of that pain may go back decades across a generation or two. 

Each and every life lost frames the past and shapes the future for those choosing to remain in a relationship.  That relationship might be one very close, like a spouse or a child..  Or it may be more distant, like a citizen to the military. Each life, each death alters the future, and the vibration of those feelings reverberates across the sands of time, just like Jesus' death still ripples through the world to this day.  I thank all for all they have given and for all the unmerited gifts that I benefit from daily, though I am blind to the many lives that contributed to me having the life I have. 

Blessed Memorials!