In the Name of the Father and of
the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We gather this day in solemn
remembrance, in gracious thanksgiving, and in boundless love for those men and
women who have shown us the greatest possible love in laying down their lives
in selfless sacrifice for us, and for our children, and for our children’s
children, and for the unique and sacred rights and freedoms we are blessed to
enjoy in this great nation God has blessed us with, the United States of
America.
Our honored dead live on for us as
icons of the most virtuous of ideals: courage, bravery, selflessness, service,
compassion, mercy, and love. They live on as icons for us, for, through their
lives, their deeds, and their sacrificial deaths, we see the greatness God
created mankind to be, a greatness that is the backbone of this great nation
which they died to preserve: service above self; neighbor serving neighbor;
giving of what they themselves had received. They were the hands, heart, mouth,
and voice of God, carrying out their God-given vocations, their callings, in
this world, in selfless, sacrificial service.
Thus, we honor them best with our
lives, our words, and our deeds in selfless, sacrificial service to our
neighbor, to our community, to our state and nation, and to the ends of the
earth. However, this does not mean that you must travel overseas to battle oppressive
and murderous regimes and to rebuild infrastructures and homes, but you honor
them simply by blooming where you are planted, by serving where you live and where
you work and where you play. This is your vocation. This is your calling.
They sacrificed themselves for
you, and for your freedom to be you. Yes, you are that special. Therefore, do
not squander your freedom, for it was bought with a price, and do not take your
freedom for granted, for there are countless who will quickly steal it away
from you or swindle you out of it. Truly, those who will not consider the cost
of the freedom they enjoy will surely lose it.
And so, today, in solemn
remembrance, thanksgiving, and love we consider freedom’s cost. It is a
priceless and precious cost – a cost so many of our sons and daughters continue
to pay even today. We remember. And, we are thankful. And, we love our honored
dead who demonstrated the greatest love possible for us by laying down their
lives in selfless, sacrificial service. God bless and keep our honored dead in
our hearts, and in our minds, and in our selfless service of others. And,
especially, God bless and keep our honored dead in His gracious and merciful
care and peace until we stand beside them in His Blessed Country.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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