Memorial Weekend

This weekend is memorial weekend and for many in our nation this has become a long weekend used for the express purpose of travelling and spending time with friends and loved ones. As the school year is coming to an end, numerous parties can be heard around our neighborhoods. But have we gone so far as to forget on a day we are supposed to remember.

It is sad to think that the overarching theme of Memorial Day in our current culture is one of “Memorial Day! The Weekend You’ll Never Remember!”

Memorial Day started off as a somber day of remembrance; a day when Americans went to cemeteries and placed flags or flowers on the graves of our war dead. It was a day to remember ancestors, family members, and loved ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice. But now, too many people “celebrate” the day without more than a casual thought to the purpose and meaning of the day. How do we honor the 1.8 million that gave their life for America since 1775? How do we thank them for their sacrifice?

In traditional observance, the flag of the United States is to be raised briskly in the morning to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day. The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

Unfortunately, traditional observance of Memorial day has diminished over the years and many Americans have forgotten the meaning and traditions of the day. At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are increasingly ignored or neglected. Most people no longer remember the proper flag etiquette for the day. While there are towns and cities that still hold Memorial Day parades, many have not held a parade in decades.

For the church, Memorial Day has an even deeper meaning. As we do honor those who fought for our freedoms, one of which is the freedom to worship our Lord and Savior as we choose, we also choose to remember that real freedom is only found in the person of Jesus Christ. While our forefathers knew this, and while they established the foundations of the very country that so many have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of, our current government and the culture of this country is more and more forgetting its roots.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ and fellow citizens of these United States, I implore you to rethink your weekend plans and make sure that you have made time in your “unforgettable” weekend plans to “never forget” the incredible sacrifice made by our service men and women and that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.