There are actually 2 celebrations taking place this weekend: one on the national calendar and one on the church calendar. Today, we want to honor them both.
On a national level…this is Memorial Day weekend. Our nation pushes pause to honor the men and women who have given their lives in military service to this country. We honor the fallen.
A few years ago, a counter-insurgency consultant was brought in to speak to a group of Army officers. He started his presentation with "Ladies and Gentlemen, America is at War." Immediately a voice comes up from the back "Sir, you are wrong. The US Army is at war, America is at the Mall."
That statement by an officer in the US Army is sobering but this weekend will remind us again, how detached we are from the reality of the world around us.
For most, Memorial Day is a three-day weekend, filled with bar-b-que’s and picnics, big sales and shopping sprees . . . A time to get away from the normal humdrum of the week. For other’s it’s the beginning of summer and the end of the school year…a time to look towards the long lazy days and a time to plan your summer get-a-ways. But for some, Memorial Day still holds a special significance.
