A Collect for Memorial Day

A Collect for Memorial Day

O God of Heaven, hear our prayers and our lament.
Hear us O Lord.

For those who have fallen in uniform;
Lord hear our prayer.

For those who have lost their life in service to their cause;
Lord hear our prayer.

For those who have come home, crippled and maimed;
Lord hear our prayer.

For those who have suffered psychological trauma due to violence;
Lord hear our prayer.

When shall morning come?
We wait for the Lord.

Lord hear our prayers;
Hear our lament.

For the casualties of war, both sinner and sinless;
Christ have mercy.

For the widows and orphans;
Christ have mercy.

For the destruction of communities;
Christ have mercy.

You Lord, are our refuge.
We cry out to you, O Lord.

Lord hear our prayers;
Hear our lament.

Almighty God, we are guilty of heinous sins against your Holy Name. We have murdered our brethren, sought retribution, and more.
Have mercy, O Lord.

We have defiled your Sacraments, and have forgotten all love for our enemies. In our grief we have forsaken the way of the Cross.
Have mercy, O Lord.

Lord do not be angry with us, for we are heartily sorry for our actions against You.
Have mercy, O Lord.

+Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Amen.

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The Law vs. Love

We as Christians get mired down in the bog and the muck of rules and guidelines which we have set down for ourselves. Of course we do not mean these to be things that take over our lives instead of Scripture, yet inevitably this does occur. The more we preach out against certain things, the more we find ourselves bound to the rules we created to keep us free. And it causes us more harm than good. For we become known for what we are against, rather than what we are for. Or we forget the initial reason we quit doing certain things in the first place.

During the time of the ministry of Jesus, there were many out to trap him in his words. Once, he was asked what the greatest of the commandments was. Jesus replied that we should love God with all of hearts, with all of our souls, and with all of our minds. Second to that, we should love our neighbors as ourselves. That upon these two things, the entire Law, and all of the Prophets, rested.

That means that at the foundation of the entire Scripture – both Hebrew and Greek – is that we should love. Love God, and love each other. If we can understand this, and use this as the lens with which to read the Bible, we can greatly improve our journey as Christians. For these are the ultimate laws by which we should live our lives. We teach this to our children as babes, that they should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. In a world filled with violence and revenge, we are in sore need of such a reminder.

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