Photo by Mark Duffel

We Come to Mourn and to Remember

And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. – 2 Samuel 1:12

There is no war without death,

There is no death without grief.

There must be no grief without mourning. Mourning is our grief-work. It is how we heal. It is how we sanctify our memories. It is how we bring meaning to our sorrow.

Whether a nation conquers in battle or is vanquished, their sons and daughters fall. Children are left without fathers and mothers, parents without children, brothers and sisters without siblings, spouses without mates. At the same time, the nation loses the promise of young lives that could have and ought to have contributed for many years to the common good.

They were willing to serve.

They were willing to sacrifice.

They were willing to lay down their lives.

What they most likely were unwilling to do was to be forgotten.

They must not be forgotten.

They must be mourned, and we mourn for them today and we remember them and love them still with gratitude, fondness, joy, and sorrow.

May God grant the widow, the orphan, the parent, and the friend, great comfort. May God grant our nation and all nations, a season of peace where there is a respite from mourning.

God grant it.

In our mourning, let us also embrace the joy, the healing, and the peace of God. May the pain of loss never erase the sweetness of memories.

And may we renew our own commitment to live each day with passion, purpose, and sacrificial service to others.

“I will remember you, will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories”

Sarah Ann Mclachlan, Seamus Michael Egan, and L Merenda David