“No greater love is there than to lay down one’s life for another.”
While on Memorial Day, we traditionally honor America’s war dead, I think to celebrate it prayerfully we are called to consider a fuller sense of its meaning. That is: One who selflessly puts themselves in harms way for a greater cause than one’s self. For Christian’s there is no greater model than Jesus himself.
First, we are remembering the selfless soldier, separate from the purpose or cause of the war itself. Those who declare and propagate war as necessary have a different culpability. The soldier has only to respond to his personal sense of right action.
Second, Is it in the human heart to honor the right hearted opponent as well? Can we respect the other valerous soldier who may have fired the bullet that killed our own kinfolk? Can we ask of the other family for respect of our soldier who fired the bullet into their son’s chest?
Third, Are Salvadoran Bishop, Oscar Romero, Brazil’s Sister Dorothy Stang or any of the many other’s who lost their lives standing up againt injustice, also properly remember today?
It seems that if we accept that war is sometimes necessary, we must first deeply interorize the truth that war is always horrible.
Conflict and warfare have been an integral part of human history. Mostly for territorial control. The cause for the soldier was to fight for their country or their king. Only occasionally was the fight for a righteous cause. I think of those many men in landing craft at Normandy Beach who lost their lives so that Nazi atrocities would come to an end.
We remember today not the nobility of the cause but of the sacrifice of individuals. Those whose lives on earth were ended because of humankind’s failure to live according to the Spirit of Peace.
In the fracture of creation that allows humans free will, we must continually choose peace if we are to live in harmony with universal compassion. The best tribute to those fallen in war is our never ending work for justice and peace.