11/8/2021 Principal's Note
If you Google the word "holiday," you'll get the following definition at the top of the screen: "a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done" (Oxford Languages). That probably fits most of the holidays we experience in the United States. When you think of a holiday, you probably picture Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, etc. All of those holidays are festive celebrations of something. However, we have a few holidays in our country that don't necessarily follow that same pattern. Memorial Day and Veterans' Day are two holidays that aren't necessarily festive, and while we certainly associate recreation with Memorial Day, that isn't the point of the holiday. Veterans' Day and Memorial Day, in my humble opinion, fit better with Merriam-Webster's top definition of the word holiday: "holy day," but not holy in the sense of perfection like we use in the Bible. One of the definitions of "holy" is "venerated as if sacred" (Merriam-Webster). That definition fits my idea of those two days. Memorial Day is intended to honor and mourn our military personnel who have sacrificed their lives in the course of duty. Veterans' Day began as a holiday to honor those who have served in the armed forces and are still living. Both days are much more "sacred" than "festive."
Veterans' Day is coming up this week Thursday. While we certainly can celebrate our honored veterans in a festive way, this holiday has transformed into something different than originally intended. Of course, we still thank our servicemen and women for their sacrifices, but we also now use Veterans' Day to spread awareness about the tolls military service takes on those who serve. Every year we hear about how more and more veterans return to civilian life at a loss as to how to fit in, haunted by the unnatural things they have had to do in service to their country. Sadly, many of these troubled heroes resort to taking their own lives.
When you boil our calling as Christians down to its most basic, it is one word: love. We are called by Christ to love, first him above all else, and secondly our fellow human beings. You will be hard-pressed to find a person who is more desperate for love and understanding than a veteran returning from active duty. They have witnessed atrocities that God never intended, and it has forever changed them. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus because his friends had to experience death, which is unnatural and an unintended consequence of sin; imagine the pain it causes their Lord when our soldiers see what they see and do what they do. This Veterans' Day, when you are thanking your friends and relatives who have served, take a moment to pray for them too. Pray that they remember they are not alone, that their Savior loves them, and that you love them, too.
Have a blessed week and Veterans' Day!
In Christ,
Principal Bill Fuerstenau