READ ISAIAH 6: 1-10
Then I hear the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here am I. Send me.” (V. 8)
Memorial Day, the holiday we associate with the arrival of easy summer living begins this weekend. A holiday off work. Hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. Camping trips. Fish are caught and golf scores are recorded. Baseball, softball and soccer games are played. A huge race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Some communities still have parades, band concerts in the park and maybe fireworks. A quick news clip showing the laying of a memorial wreath, by the President, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. But there is so much more that should cause us to be still and thank God that 41 million men and women, citizen soldiers, have answered God’s call to duty as Isaiah did long ago–“Here am I. Send me.”
Adam Kelly, writing as “The Country Editor,” for a newspaper in West Virginia, captured the true deep-seated meaning of Memorial Day in his article, “The Legion of Forgotten Dead Shrouded in the Mist of Antiquity” in the late 1970” or early 1980’s. Mr. Kelly writes:
“Sometimes on one of those late spring days when Memorial Day comes, you can almost see them marching onward, the legion of forgotten dead. In the stillness and solitude of a country graveyard in the evening hush, occasionally you can hear the muffled beat of a drum as the endless ranks of the forgotten legion slip by, file after file, in a ghostly procession never ending.”
This ghastly legion is comprised of 1.19 million who have paid the “ultimate price” in service to the United States of America. The numbers were swelled by 620,000 during the Civil War; 651, 031 in World War II; 116, 526 in World War I; 58, 209 in Vietnam; and 36,574 from the Korean Conflict. They are from all branches of the service; consist of both men and women; represent a cross section of all 50 States and Territories; come from cities, urban and rural areas; and march side by side without regard for class, race, creed or condition—Americans one and all… in unity and purpose.
“And the legion of the forgotten dead has disappeared once more in the mist of antiquity. The backbone of every American should stiffen in a salute on this day we call memorial to the legion of the war dead of our country, that forgotten army whose sacrifices mean that we live in freedom instead of dying as slaves. Is it too much to ask to remember them, on this one day, this legion of forgotten dead who have died for America and thus you and me? March on brave legions. For some remember. And solemnly resolve: Your march for freedom has not been in vain.”
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Take time to remember and render honor so that not a single one continues the march into the mist of antiquity.
Dear God, thank you for each of the 41 million men and women who have faithfully answered your call to serve their county with the simple words of Isaiah—“HERE AM I. SEND ME.”
Special thanks to West Virginia Vietnam Veteran John Lynch, a member of my Sunday School at King Street Church in Chambersburg, PA for giving me a copy of Adam Kelly’s article which inspired me to craft this humble devotion.