For Memorial Day, Mercy That Supercedes Human Law

(Posted May 24,2019)

…. And More Than Self Their Country loved and Mercy More Than Life
-- From “America the Beautiful”

We’re fast approaching Memorial Day, one of a handful of Federal holidays in America. What I find fascinating is what pops up when I simply Google “Memorial Day.” When I do, I learn about all the cool places to go on the weekend; I learn that this is the best time of the year to buy a mattress, along with every possible thing on sale, from Subarus to swordfish. I learn about parades and barbeques, but not as much as I’d like to see about the true meaning of Memorial Day – the honoring of those who have laid down their lives for their country. 

Of course we can make a very compelling case that the men and women who have died in the line of duty did so, just so we can have our parades and cookouts and retail therapy. They really did. But I hope that, amidst the celebrations we can reflect on what has been given up for this freedom, on the mercies that others have gifted us with, the family picnics they can no longer join in on because they left their lives on the field of sacrifice. 

Church Services on Sunday

All are welcome to worship with us. Service begins at 10 a.m.

This Sunday’s gospel takes us to a place called the Bethesda Well in Jerusalem, It was a subterranean place of healing where, the people believed the invisible Angel of God would come and stir the waters, and the very next person to touch the waters would be healed. Jesus comes to this place and finds a paralyzed man who, he tells Jesus, for 38 years has tried to touch the stirred waters, but there has been no one to lower him on his bed to the pool, and the person ahead of him always took the healing. Jesus, in full violation of the Law prohibiting healing on the Sabbath, touches the man and makes him well. This is an act of mercy that supecedes any human law. We are called on to do likewise.

So on this weekend when, hopefully, we remember the mercies that our fallen men and women have given in our name, we not only remember them, but all others who may have returned from service, damaged from combat in body or in mind. Perhaps we can find a way to brighten their weekend.

 I keep in my heart this truth: "Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops, and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well."

Join us this Sunday at 10 for Jazz and songs that celebrate mercy in all its forms. --- Pastor Pat Kriss