May 21, 2026
Dear Central Church,
I’m looking forward to all the summer things this weekend: grilling out, a concert at the WW1 Memorial, watching baseball, and our neighborhood pool opens! The annual rite of summer known as Memorial Day weekend is upon us.
As you know, this day on our national calendar is bigger than summer revelry. It’s about remembering those who gave their lives in military service. Flags are placed beside gravestones, names are spoken aloud, and families gather with both gratitude and grief.
I wonder sometimes if lost in all the national celebration is the true intention of this day: to remember the fallen and acknowledge the human cost of war and the sacrifices made on behalf of others.
As Christians, we honor their sacrifice. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). There is something deeply moving about men and women who willingly placed themselves in harm’s way for the sake of others. Their courage deserves our gratitude, and their families deserve our prayers and compassion.
At the same time, scripture calls us to a practice of remembrance that is more deep, mysterious, and transformative than the pageantry of any national holiday. Worship invites us to remember the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. By his blood we are a “royal priesthood, a holy nation called out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 1:9). Our identity is not found in the country that issues our passport, but in Christ who calls us to where we’ve always belonged. Through the mystery of baptismal waters, we have been joined to Jesus and marked as citizens of the kingdom of God. When we come up from the waters of baptism, our eyes are opened to see every earthly allegiance as secondary to this new identity in Christ.
This matters because nations, while important, are not ultimate. Soldiers may be called upon to protect a nation, but they cannot save the world. No military victory can heal the human heart, overcome sin, or establish the peace for which creation longs. Only Christ can do that.
Memorial Day is an opportunity for us to practice gratitude, pray for peace, care for those who grieve, and look toward the day when Christ will finally bring an end to war itself. As we prepare for this weekend, let’s pray a faithful prayer together:
“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)
May it begin with us.
With Resurrection Hope,
Pastor Mark