This Sunday begins the end of the celebration of the liturgical season of Easter. However, for us as followers of Christ, every day is a celebration of the Resurrection.
This is also Memorial Day Weekend. While most people have come to identify this Weekend as the unofficial beginning of the summer vacation season; Memorial Day was originally called “Decoration Day” to honor those who have given their lives in service to our country. This is NOT a religious holiday; but I find nothing wrong with honoring those who died in service to a country for whom a core value is freedom of religion.
As a proud veteran of the Air Force, I grew up in a neighborhood where more people per capita served in the military than most communities. I know several families who suffered the loss of loved ones while they served in the military; I honor them for their service. Many of them were drafted into service, so they didn’t verbally say yes to military service; rather they did so with their actions.
As a society we’ve become more concerned with whether people say yes verbally rather than with their actions. In the assigned scriptures this week from Acts 16 and John 5, neither of the key characters responds with yes verbally; but both did so by their actions. Maybe God is reminding us that “actions speak louder than words.”
As we remember those who said yes to military service with their actions and gave their lives; in this era where our words can get lost in the clamor of unimportant noise of social media, and television, I pray we can break through with the “YES” of our actions. Actions of “Offering Hope + Showing Faithfulness + Sharing Joy.” Actions of “caring about one another in Christ and communicating God’s love to all people.”
Join us in worship at Covenant this Sunday before Memorial Day. This sermon in my series called “Choosing Hope” will be “Just Say Yes!” based on Acts 16:9-15 and John 5:1-9.
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