Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
In
the midst of life, we are in death;
from
whom can we seek help?
From
You alone, O Lord,
who
by our sins are justly angered.
Holy
God, holy and mighty, holy and merciful Savior,
deliver
us not into the bitterness of eternal death.
We
stand here, alive and well today, yet surrounded by death. A cemetery
is a great reminder of the fact of our own mortality. The grass grows
green and the trees sway, and on a quiet day you can hear the birds
and animals from the woods nearby. And yet here we are surrounded by
death. Death stares us in the face. In the midst of life, we are in
death. Who will save us from this?
Today,
we gather to honor those who took up the sword to defend and protect
our land, liberty, and life, and who laid down their lives for the
same ideals. We remember them in song, in prayer, and in verse, by
keeping their memories alive in our hearts and minds, and by fighting
for the causes for which they fought.
But
we must keep our perspective, if we are to live in the midst of
death. The Psalmist writes: “I lift up my eyes to the
hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who
made heaven and earth.” In
the very midst of life, we are in death. Who can help us in our
death, who can free us from eternal anguish? Let us look to the
hills, for from there comes our help. From the hill of Calvary comes
our help, the Lord God Almighty. He has helped us by laying down His
life for us. He has sent His Son Jesus Christ into the fray to win
the battle for us.
On
this Memorial Day, we give thanks for those who have died for the
cause of defending our country, our liberty, and our lives. Let us
also give thanks to the God who gave His life for the sake of the
world, that we might all live in Him through Jesus Christ.
The
Lord has seen fit to preserve our land and nation through good times
and bad, through war and peace, through famine and prosperity. Let us
give thanks for the many blessings He has given us, and remember from
where our help comes, here in time and for all eternity.
The
Lord is your keeper;
The
Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The
sun shall not strike you by day,
nor
the moon by night.
The
Lord will keep you from all evil;
He
will keep your life.
The
Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from
this time forth and forevermore.
In
the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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