What do the Civil War, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day have in common?
Starting this year and over the next few years, we will be hearing a lot about the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Two major holidays, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day we commemorate this month grew out of this era. While, there is a history of honoring mothers (or at least the mother’s of gods) from the Egyptian, Greek and Roman times all the way through the 1600s in England. The first North American Mother’s Day was conceptualized by Julia Ward Howe in 1870. Despite having penned The Battle Hymn of the Republic 12 years earlier, Howe had become so distraught by the death and carnage of the Civil War that she called on Mother’s to come together and protest what she saw as the futility of their Sons killing the Sons of other Mothers. She called for an international Mother's Day celebrating peace and motherhood. The national Mother’s day did not get instituted until 1914 based on the lobbying efforts of Anne Jarvis. However, there was a controversy in the 1920s when Anne Jarvis tried to get Mother’s Day rescinded because of the perception of it becoming too commercialized. Not unlike Jesus’ reaction to the money changers in the temple.
“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.” Matthew 21:11-13
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings; there is evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering to honor the war dead. First proclaimed in 1868 to honor those who gave their all in the military, today it has frequently expanded to include fire and police officers that have also given their life in the line of duty. Not just those that served but those who made the ultimate sacrifice. To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence."
So what does all this have to do with the Church? We are just coming off Easter or Resurrection Sunday where we remember Jesus’ sacrifice for our salvation.
Jesus talked a lot about serving one another. He stated that:
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 and
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
It is this picture of service that we should strive for: laying down our lives expecting nothing except to be counted last and among Christ’s chosen. And while not every solider goes into service with a selfless attitude, far more do than we give them credit most of the time.
Instead of remembering the sacrifice of the military and our mothers only once a year, we remember the sacrifice of Jesus every week as we gather for communion, worship and prayer.
