The Reverend Kirk T. Berlenbach

Proper 3, year A

May 25, 2008

When I was first called to St Timothy’s I was told that I needed to be prepared to take part in a few more unusual traditions, both of which fell on national holidays… days on which most other priests would be free to travel or otherwise enjoy some time off. The first was the Fourth of July Sunday School Parade. This Roxborough institution had existed for decades and so being Rector of St. Timothy’s meant that I needed to be prepared to march up Lyceum Avenue at the head of the church’s delegation. And for the past 5 years and I have done so gladly.

The other unusual obligation falls on Memorial Day. As you may know our churchyard has the distinction of being the final resting place of Dr. Petty, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism in World War I. He is buried beneath the large stone cross just outside the front door of the Rectory. In recognition of his heroism, a delegation from the VFW comes every Memorial Day to pay tribute to him with the firing of a salute and a prayer, which is customarily offered by the rector of this parish. Naturally I did my duty, but I must confess that for the first few years it was not without a touch of resentment over having to get up early, shave and put on a suit on what should otherwise be a day off, all in order to take part in something that was not really a St. Timothy’s function. Yet over time, as I took part and watched and listened, I came to see my participation in this ceremony not as a burden, but as an honor and a privilege.

What made the difference? Simply put it was the men of the VFW themselves. For reflected in their dedication and respect for their fellow serviceman was a sense of honor and dignity that I found profoundly moving. The fact that they would take the time to pay tribute to a man that none of them had ever met opened my eyes to something greater and more profound. And so it was that I came to an incredible realization… that honoring Doctor Petty was something more than just an act of patriotism… it was a manifestation of faith.

Now how could that be? As you may already realize, I am not one for mixing church and state. I particularly struggle with the idea of churches dedicating whole services to national and political causes. To my mind the separation of Church and State that our Founding Fathers laid down in the Constitution is absolutely critical to the freedom of our society. And so I become very uncomfortable when love of G-D and love of country become blurred together. For the G-D that we worship here is not an American any more than G-D is black or white or brown, any more than our G-D is male or female. G-D transcends all such human divisions and so I believe it is critical that the Church never explicitly identify itself with any nation or government. As such when Memorial Day has rolled around, I have passed it over in my sermons. But the more I thought about the ceremony that will take place outside my front door tomorrow morning, the more I saw that our observance of Memorial Day reflects something much deeper and much more universal than just an American observance and as a result I felt compelled to break with my tradition and to share with you the religious significance of this holiday.

At its core Memorial Day is a day of remembrance; specifically, a day on which we take the time to remember the men and women of our armed forces who died in service to this country. Yet it is more than that. For in recalling and honoring their sacrifice, we remind ourselves not only of the individual men and women who gave their lives for us and for our country, we also do something much more essential to our faith. In taking the time to remember the fallen, we reconnect with two fundamental Christian virtues… humility and gratitude.

The first is gratitude. Contrary to popular opinion, gratitude is not just an emotion. It is a perspective on life. It affects the way in which we see ourselves and the way in which we relate to others, including God. And whether or not we embrace such an attitude has a profound impact on our spiritual health and even our relationship with G-D. The great theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that “Humanities’ basic sin is ingratitude.” This was not a commentary on our manners. From his prison cell in a Nazi concentration camp Bonhoeffer was not concerned with the niceties of life, he was grappling with the most profound realities of our existence. And so from that prison he came to understand that, no matter how hard life became, there are always things to be grateful for and that it was essential to be mindful of all that others do for us.

This leads us to the second virtue- humility. In taking the time to remember what others do on our behalf, we remind ourselves of a reality that we usually try very hard to deny … that we are dependent upon others. That runs contrary to some of our most cherished ideals- for in this country especially we love to perpetuate the myth of individual independence. Yet for all its power, it is nothing more than a myth. In truth we all depend upon others for our comfort, for our freedom and even for our very lives. Accepting that fact can be rather humbling, but it is also essential for our faith.

By taking the time to remember and give thanks for the sacrifice made by our fallen servicemen and women, we do more than just honor our country; we renew and strengthen our connection to one another and to G-D. And that is why Memorial Day is more than just an American holiday… on the contrary, it truly universal in its significance because it serves as a powerful reminder that we always have cause to be grateful for what others have done for us and moreover, that we can never afford to take anything for granted, especially something as valuable as our freedom. Just think about it for a moment… when we dig beneath all the trappings of the 21 gun salutes and parades, the playing of taps and the signing of patriotic songs, what we are really doing is taking the time to remember and give thanks for the fact that others stood in our stead and sacrificed their lives so that we might live. I hope that idea sounds rather familiar… for each and every time we celebrate the Eucharist we are doing exactly that… taking the time to recall and remember and celebrate the sacrifice that another made on our behalf... indeed this belief and practice stands at the heart of our Christian faith.

And so when tomorrow morning rolls around I will get up earlier than I would like and drink my coffee, I will shower and shave and put on my clergy shirt and suit and step out my front door with a prayer book in my hand just as I have done the previous five years. But unlike those first few times it will not be with a sense of resentment, but rather with a sense of honor and a feeling of humility in the face of the courage and sacrifice of Dr. Petty and all the legions of soldiers like him who put their lives on the line for us.

With that in mind, I urge you to take a few minutes off from your cookouts to honor the fallen in whatever way makes sense for you. Because what is really important is not whether or not you wave a flag or watch a parade, all that matters is that remember and to give thanks for what other have done on your behalf. For in taking the time to observe Memorial Day, we not only honor those who died in service to our country, we also act to strengthen our faith.