Legacies and Opportunities
What do you think of when you think about Memorial Day? Is it that Monday tacked on the last weekend in May so that people have a long weekend? Or perhaps it’s a day on which you need to be three or four places at once – a graduation, a reunion, a family gathering – all of which seem to be scheduled because it’s a holiday weekend and everyone has “extra” time. It’s easy to lose sight of why this holiday is one for which a time of quiet thoughtfulness and remembrance needs to take place.
Memorial Day was first observed as a time to honor those who died on the battlefields of the Civil War. Following World War I, it became a day of tribute to all fallen soldiers, and has now become an occasion to remember those loved ones no longer with us. This day also gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the great debt we owe to those who have gone before us. From people we never knew who took a leap of faith and left their homes for this land of opportunity, to our own parents and grandparents, we are the beneficiaries of their sacrifices and determination. Therefore, we have the responsibility to continue the work of these ordinary people who accomplished so many extraordinary things.
In a similar fashion, as Christians, every November 1 we observe All Saints’ Day, thanking God for our ancestors in the faith, who spread the word and told of God’s love and forgiveness for all humanity through his son Jesus Christ. We in the present day are called upon to continue in sharing the good news, with the continuing assurance that the Holy Spirit is beside us, guiding us, and giving us strength for the task. We, then, can look back in gratitude and ahead with confidence and joy in the opportunities that lie ahead.
In this Sunday’s Gospel reading from John, we read a portion of Jesus’ prayer shortly before his arrest and crucifixion. It affected me deeply that, knowing the suffering that was ahead of him, Jesus prayed not for himself, but for his disciples. The wording of this passage can be confusing, but if you take time and read attentively, you’ll notice that Jesus is anticipating his departure into heaven, and is reminding God that the disciples will continue to be “in the world”, and will need protection and guidance.
The account of Jesus’ ascension in the Book of Acts includes these words of Jesus to the disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
The disciples had the teachings and the example of Christ, and with the Holy Spirit empowering them, they could go forward, continuing the work to which they were called. As present-day Christians and also “in the world”, we, too, have the gifts and strength to follow in the footsteps of all those who have gone before.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers