Trinity and Memorial Day
At first glance, Memorial Day has nothing to do with Trinity Sunday. Memorial Day is concrete, flesh and blood remembrance of fallen heroes while Trinity Sunday deals with one of Christianity’s most challenging doctrines, something that, at first glance, has little to do with ethical decision-making, personal values and stewardship.
Trinity is the celebration of Love among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as well as our love for one another. However, if we look at Memorial Day as a remembrance of the sacrifices – military, martyrdom, or peace-keeping – the words of Romans 5:1-5 provide a starting point for conversation. In the context of his own sacrifices and the first Christians’ sacrifices, the Apostle Paul notes the connection between grace and character, and divine affirmation and human spiritual growth. Having awakened to God’s grace and glory in our lives and the world, we can “boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given us”. In Romans 5, Paul is not glorifying suffering but asserting that in a grace-filled world we have all the resources we need to grow through the challenges of life. We are not victims but actors and artists in the transformation of our lives and the world. In the journey of faith character is everything and character is grounded in moments by choices to look beyond our self-interest to embrace the well-being of others.
On Memorial Day we remember those who sacrificed their lives for a cause greater than themselves, but we also commit ourselves to sacrificial lives – to letting go of the ego for the greater good of our families, churches, community, nation, and the world. These soldiers did not die just for us to pay fewer taxes or make more money or live individualistically, they died for a dream, the dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all; the dream of liberty and justice for all; and to secure a place of refuge for the hungry, persecuted, and oppressed. Living by these values is how we honor those who have sacrificed on our behalf.
