Memorial Day, always a favorite holiday, continues to look a bit different with a son on active duty.  It is no small thing to consider the willingness, and obedience, of those who willingly defend our nation’s liberty.

One of my favorite militaristic/national hymns comes from an older generation.  It was a generation that recognized and placed the sacrifices of our men and women in the armed forces within a greater – and proper – context of sacrifice, the greatest sacrifice, that of Christ’s (a bit of the hymn’s history follows at the end of the video).

Click here to view the embedded video.

O valiant hearts who to your glory came
Through dust of conflict and through battle flame;
Tranquil you lie, your knightly virtue proved,
Your memory hallowed in the land you loved.

Proudly you gathered, rank on rank, to war
As who had heard God’s message from afar;
All you had hoped for, all you had, you gave,
To save mankind—yourselves you scorned to save.

Splendid you passed, the great surrender made;
Into the light that nevermore shall fade;
Deep your contentment in that blest abode,
Who wait the last clear trumpet call of God.

Long years ago, as earth lay dark and still,
Rose a loud cry upon a lonely hill,
While in the frailty of our human clay,
Christ, our Redeemer, passed the self same way.

Still stands His Cross from that dread hour to this,
Like some bright star above the dark abyss;
Still, through the veil, the Victor’s pitying eyes
Look down to bless our lesser Calvaries.

These were His servants, in His steps they trod,
Following through death the martyred Son of God:
Victor, He rose; victorious too shall rise
They who have drunk His cup of sacrifice.

O risen Lord, O Shepherd of our dead,
Whose cross has bought them and Whose staff has led,
In glorious hope their proud and sorrowing land
Commits her children to Thy gracious hand.

NPR had a wonderful piece on the history of ‘Taps,’ written 150 years ago this year.  In commemoration of both Memorial Day and the anniversary of ‘Taps,’ 200 buglers assembled yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery.  Having lived in Alexandria for three years and having spent a good bit of time at Arlington it’s not hard to imagine the sound echoing across the hills.

Here’s the NPR piece, a 7 1/2 minute long segment absolutely worth your time.

Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Jari Villanueva, the bugle player featured in the NPR story, says he started out as a Boy Scout bugler at about age 12. He went on to study trumpet at the Peabody Conservatory before being accepted into the United States Air Force Band — where one of his duties over the next 23 years was to sound that call at Arlington National Cemetery.

Tonight, as a part of Piccolo Spoleto, Master Sgt. Villanueva will be joined by Georgia’s Eighth Regiment for a presentation of music from the Civil War.  Villaneuva, playing a 150 year old bugle, will play ‘Manual of Arms Polka,’ ‘Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground,’ and, of course, ‘Taps.’

The program starts at 7.30 pm at the White Point Garden Bandstand.  It is free to the public.

Nothing is worse (well, lots of things are worse – beginning with a Christless eternity – but nothing is worse in our culture ) than being seen as intolerant.  And, few things throw Christians off their game as being charged with intolerance.  The accusation usually serves to silence the Christian, and in worst cases, provoke doubts and insecurities regarding their faith.  Check out this very nice two-minute clip on interpreting and engaging the charge of intolerance:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Are You Mom Enough?
A great article for mom’s addressing the mommy wars:  Time Magazine recently joined the fray with the provocative cover of a beautiful young mother visibly breastfeeding her four-year old son next to the title, “Are You Mom Enough?”  The message screamed at moms from this issue of Time, from television, Facebook, blogs, and Pinterest is: unless you are fit to run marathons, breastfeed into the preschool years, own a spotless and creatively decorated home, tend a flourishing garden, prepare three home-cooked meals per day, work a high-powered job, and give your husband expert, sensual massages before bed, you are not mom enough.

‘One Another’ Infographic
The New Testament contains at least 40 passages that contain the words “one another” and each one points to a way that Christians are to treat, or are not to treat, each other. This graphic seeks to display the whole lot of them.

Spoiler Alert!  Reading the Gospels from Back to Front
We hate spoilers, wishing to maintain our naivety and experience the surprise of discovery. But the Gospels all resist this straightforward retelling of Jesus’ ministry and place the cross/resurrection at the center of their narrative as the focal point of Jesus’ life.

First and Foremost Citizens of Heaven
Worship gatherings give us the opportunity to remember that, like our father Abraham and the patriarchs of old, this world is not our final destination (Hebrews 11:8-10; 13-16).We are a chosen race purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are citizens of a heavenly country who owe our highest allegiance to God, whose authority is unrivaled.

Sermon on the Mount Cops
Watching video of demonstrators facing off with the police and watching police reactions have led me to the observation that police in these situations are nearly expected to behave as if they were following the Sermon on the Mount, while a demonstrators, in exercise of their right of free speech are pretty much uncriticized unless they actually attack a policeman (one cop was stabbed in the leg). They taunt, provoke, even throw urine and feces at police, while police are supposed to stand there and take it. Which is pretty much what they did.

The Problem of Evil
Flew’s conclusion was that the God of Christianity is dead; He has died the death of a thousand qualifications. And it was the problem of suffering and evil that motivated this conclusion.

The answer to the question, found in The Heidelberg Catechism, has been particularly resonant with me (for unknown reasons) this morning.

Q:  What is your only comfort in life and in death?

¹ 1 Cor. 6:19-20
² Rom. 14:7-9
³ 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14
⁴ 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2
⁵ John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11
⁶ John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5
⁷ Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18
⁸ Rom. 8:28
⁹ Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14
¹⁰ Rom. 8:1-17

A Christian is an impregnable person.  He is a person that never can be conquered.  Emmanuel became man to make the church and every Christian to be one with him.  Christ’s nature is out of danger of all that is hurtful.  The sun shall not shine, the wind shall not blow, to the church’s hurt.  For the church’s Head ruleth over all things and hath all things in subjection.  Therefore let all the enemies consult together, this king and that power, there is a counsel in heaven which will disturb and dash all their counsels.  Emmanuel in heaven laugheth them to scorn.  As Luther said, ‘Shall we weep and cry when God laugheth?’

Richard Sibbes, preface, Bruised Reed, p.6

CNN had a fantastic article by Albert Mohler addressing the question as to why there is a focus on homosexuality.  I appreciated CNN’s presentation of Mohler’s article.  Make sure you read the whole thing as Mohler addresses some of the questions you may have, or have been asked, about when the topic of the Bible and homosexuality comes up (things like slavery, polygamy, eating shellfish, etc.).

Here’s Mohler’s concise and clear answer as to why Christians speak about homosexuality:

Why are Christians so concerned with homosexuality? In the first place, that question is answered by the simple fact that it is the most pressing moral question of our times. Christians must be concerned about adultery, pornography, injustice, dishonesty and everything the Bible names as sin. But when my phone rings with a call from a reporter these days, the question I am asked is never adultery or pornography. It is about homosexuality.

Read the rest.

From the Catholic News Agency:

Washington D.C., May 21, 2012 / 10:39 am. - Forty-three Catholic dioceses and organizations across the country have announced religious liberty lawsuits against the federal government to challenge the Obama administration’s contraception mandate.

The announcement was applauded by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who called it “a compelling display of the unity of the Church in defense of religious liberty.”

“We have tried negotiation with the Administration and legislation with the Congress – and we’ll keep at it – but there’s still no fix,” said Cardinal Dolan, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Time is running out, and our valuable ministries and fundamental rights hang in the balance, so we have to resort to the courts now,” he explained in a May 21 statement . . .

Several Catholic universities around the country also joined in the lawsuits, including The Catholic University of America, the University of Notre Dame and Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., said the lawsuit was filed “neither lightly nor gladly, but with sober determination.”

“We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others,” he explained in an email to Notre Dame employees.

Rather, he explained, “we simply ask that the Government not impose its values on the University when those values conflict with our religious teachings.”

Read it all – interesting implications during an election year.

Carl Trueman hosts this nice, short, interview:

Click here to view the embedded video.