O Judge of all the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. This we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 839)
This Memorial Day, I invite you to pray the prayer above with me—it says all that I might say about Memorial Day, but far more articulately. We give thanks for and remember those who gave their lives in service of our nation, our freedom, and our values; and in that remembrance we acknowledge that our own lives must live up to their sacrifice and carry us towards the ever fuller embodiment of the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
