Our Fallen Heroes

25 May

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
~ Joseph Campbell

We observe the national holiday today of Memorial Day.  On this day, we remember all those who died in battle, those men and women who went to war for the purpose of keeping us free and who paid the ultimate price by shedding their blood.  I am sure, when they entered the military service, that they did not say, “I’m glad I got in.  I’m looking forward to dying.”  No.  They entered military service for the opposite:  to insure that we would have the right to live our lives in freedom and in peace.

Sometimes, freedom has an awfully high cost.  Those who left their lives on battlefields know that better than most.  Yet, faced with that possibility, they served nonetheless because they knew what the outcome would be if they did not.  They knew that we would lose our liberty and that we would face a world in which we would not want to live.

In many ways, they mirrored the life of Christ.  He came so that we might have life and have it to the full.  Yet, He realized that, in order for us to live, He would have to give up His own life. It was a struggle that was desperate and one that filled Him with angst.  The night before He died, He prayed that the necessity for His death would pass.  He even sweat blood, so great was the depth of His emotion.

Yet, willingly, He turned Himself over to His Heavenly Father.  We can only hope that we can do the same with our own lives.  We can only hope that we have the courage to die the manner of death that is necessary for us.

It is sad and tragic that death in war has been necessary throughout the ages; yet, we pray today for those who fell in war because, without their sacrifice, our lives would be incredibly different.  Grant eternal rest to our fallen heroes, Lord God.

FAITH ACTION:  Pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died in battle and pray, as well, for peace in the world so that further sacrifices of life will not be necessary.