Culture is fluid. Ever transforming and being transformed. I realize this cultural fluidity when I think of Memorial Day. For many, it signifies the end of the school year or the beginning of summer. That is understandable, especially for those who live in Ohio and long for summer!
Yet, Memorial Day is culturally a day of remembrance. It is a day to remember that the freedoms that are privileged in the USA come with great sacrifice, and the shedding of blood. There have been, and are, many men and women who have given their lives while serving in the US Armed Forces, and today is a day that we reflect on their sacrifice and our present freedom, a cultural privilege.
Today, is also Sunday. A day when we reflect on the greatest sacrifice. A day when we remember that Jesus won our freedom with the spilling of His blood. This is the centrality of the Christian faith: through His life and death we have life. Today, we will be exploring the implications of this for the person who embraces the cross. In essence, the beginning of Jesus’ ministry consists of: 2 Declarations, 3 Commands, and 1 Promise. They are all there in the next paragraph of Mark (1:14-20).
Swirling around this paragraph are two questions: 1) Who is the one who calls?, and 2) What does it mean to follow Him? In one way, what is our present reaction or action that is required because of Jesus’ life and death?
Today, give thanks for the cultural freedoms of those who gave their lives to be Americans, and give thanks for the even greater spiritual freedoms for those who are “in Christ.”
Pastor Tim
Memorial Day Sunday
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