Service

In an ideal world, there would be no need of a day to celebrate those who served, fought, and died in wars past and present. In an ideal world there would be no occasion for the mistake and resulting tragedy war always is. There would not be such extremes that allow for such brutality. As is evident, this is not an ideal world. However, beyond surface hero worship, which is more aimed at manipulating consumer sentiments than honoring veterans, the deeper meanings resonate strongly. 

We joined for various reasons. Some more noble than others. Most served honorably, and a few did not. None the less, we are are here now. In the greater scheme of things, we went to war for various reasons. Sometimes for survival, and sometimes for hubris, but always because there were failures, a few months, a few years, a few centuries up stream which lead to violent resolution at the expense of those present, and those who later must resolve yet more unsolved problems with blood, both their own, and of innocents bystander. War indeed may be just or unjust, and may even be unavoidable, but it is always a mistake if its causes are traced far enough back. 

Even the most necessary justice is tragic. Even the greatest good can be tragic when brought into a world twisted enough to snap even when graced by the kindest compassion. Even the birth of Jesus himself resulted in Herod killing the male children of Judea. The ideal world does not exist. Rather, it is uncertainty, fear, and suffering we are subjected to. However, it may also be faith, hope, and love we turn to for light in the darkness. To do so, you must be in a position to do so. You must be challenged. You must have skin in the game. 

There are many paths to personal risk and unselfish sacrifice. Military service is one of the most visible and most extreme, thus it is appropriate to honor those who did and continue to serve. However, the path to bringing order out of chaos lays open to anyone willing to do so, starting with the things closest to them. Rather than simply raging against systemic injustice, strike up a conversation with the homeless alcoholic on your street corner. Rather than simply decrying oppression, support and encourage those around you suffering it. Rather than just pointing out what is wrong, fix it to the best of your abilities, and thank a veteran or two for risking to do the same. 

The Divine Artist Is Always Creating

One is not defined by perfection. Nothing is in its ideal form. To reduce something to the ideal is to freeze it. However, when you arrest something in it's progress in this way, you kill it. The constant of reality is movement. 

In the beginning the world was formless and void. The creation story is about the Creator bringing form, and thus purpose to this void. To observe the follow on stories with any amount of honesty is to see this process of bringing order from chaos and meaning out of the void is continued in various and complex permutations. Thus no single instant can be reduced to anything other than the part it plays in the whole. 

This is not to say there is no right or wrong. There are in fact things that bring life and things that do not bring life, and to assume otherwise is to be as equally imperceptive as reading the scripture without recognizing the constancy of both change and the creative process of the Father. 

However, we come at this life giving impulse from a meta perspective, and in a transformational way especially when we forgive in the instant what transgressed us, as it too can be redeemed. This forgiveness must also be applied to the self. We can indeed by grace transcend that which once bound us. 

We choose to participate accepting that things are more than the sum of their parts. In faith I accept and choose to participate with the Creator because I believe the Divine Artist is still creating.