Veterans Day, 2018

Veterans Day, 2018

Fort Carson Catholic Community


This Sunday we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Veterans Day.

There was a sign posted in the Army recruiting office during World War II that famously said: “Marry a veteran, girls. He can cook, make beds, sew, and is already used to taking orders.”

I tried that joke out on the Catholic Women of the Chapel, a ladies’ ministry we have here at Fort Carson, and they all howled, almost in unison “not my husband!”

We have inspiring stories in the scriptures about brave soldiers who were faithful men as well. 

You may remember the story of King David’s mighty men, warriors, we read about them in 2 Samuel 23 in the Old Testament. The Philistines had taken Bethlehem, David’s birthplace, and during the encampment in the desert, David said, the text says, “longingly”, “O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!” Then three of his mighty men ran and broke through the battle lines of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, and took and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; and the scripture says “he poured it out to the Lord,” and then he said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” 

These mighty men—these soldiers of Israel—who served David risked their lives just to bring him a cup of water from his home, occupied Bethlehem. David would not drink it—in a profound show of gratitude, and David did not take lightly that they risked his life for him. So it is with us today. Many Americans risked and gave their lives to bring us the cup of freedom, and we should not drink of it without considering the price they paid for it.

Today we want to honor all our armed service veterans. To you, veterans, we owe a debt of gratitude because you were willing to go, to serve and to give on behalf of the United States of America! God bless you!

My favorite soldier story in the Bible is found in Matthew 8:5-13
Matthew 8:5–13 (RSV2CE) 

As he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, begging him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. 

Amazing story of this Centurion, this commander (our equivalent of a company commander, a captain, ruler of about a hundred soldiers). Only two things amazed Jesus—people’s lack of faith, and people’s faith. And it was a Roman Centurion’s faith that amazed Jesus. “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!”

In fact, in just about every time a Centurion is mentioned in the New Testament, it is always in a favorable light.

• When Jesus died on the cross it was a centurion who said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God.” (Matt. 27:54)
• The first Gentile convert mentioned by name in the scriptures was a Centurion by the name of Cornelius. (Acts 10:1)
• In Acts 21, we read where some soldiers, including Centurions, were the ones who rescued Paul from being killed by an angry mob in Jerusalem. (Acts 21:32)
• And in Acts 27, when Paul and a group of prisoners were being taken to Rome their ship wrecked on the Isle of Malta. The soldiers who were escorting the prisoners wanted to kill all of them to keep them from escaping, but a Centurion aboard the ship convinced them not to do it because he wanted to spare Paul’s life. (Acts 27:39-43)  

100 years ago, in 1918, on the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month,” a cessation of hostilities was signed between the Allies of the Western front and Germany, thus ending World War One. The War at the time, was known as the “War to end All Wars” because it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history… it was so bad that the citizens of the world said at the time that war was such an atrocity that it could not ever be allowed to happen again. Little did anyone realize that exactly 20 years later, on the same day, which we observe sadly as well this weekend, was Kristallnacht in Germany, the night of the broken glass, the beginning of the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews before and during World War II.  So it is with the evil that is in men’s hearts; it will often take the greatest sacrifice to defend all that is good and precious in our world.

Perhaps coincidentally, November 11 is also the day we celebrate the Feast of St. Martin of Tours.  Born in the early 300s, his father was a Roman Soldier and he was named after Mars, the God of War. He joined the Roman Army at age 15. It is said that, as a young soldier, Martin cut his cloak in half so that he could help clothe a beggar in winter. That night in a dream Martin heard Christ say that Martin had clothed Him. When Martin awoke, the cloak was whole again. This prompted him to be baptized as an act of conversion.

One of the reasons we remember St. Martin of Tours is because his life represents a transition from a condition of war, to a condition of peace.  And after World War One ended, President Woodrow Wilson established November 11 as a national holiday to honor a day in which a similar transition from condition of war to a condition of peace was made: Armistice Day.  The day in America would eventually become known, of course, as Veterans Day in order to honor and thank all of those who have served our country in the armed forces, in order to honor all of those who put themselves in harm’s way to preserve our safety and our freedom. Today is the 100th anniversary of that sacred day. 
The freedom and the safety we have received from these men and women as well as their families, is a tremendous gift, so we gather here to commemorate and to celebrate those people who have sacrificed so much for us.  

Just remember, as someone once wrote:

• It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. 
• It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. 
• It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. 
• It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble. 
• It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. 
• It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote. 

We wish that we did not have wars and violence in our world. We look forward to those prophecies of eternal life in the peaceable Kingdom of God, where the lion and the lamb lay down together, as the prophecy of Isaiah promises, but we know in this world we will have trouble. Even the Catholic Church, for all her love of peace and reconciliation, identifies causes for war that are just and necessary. And so, we have Veterans Day and Kristallnacht neatly tied up in the same weekend. And so, men and women will fight to defend what is just, and some will lay down their lives in sacrifice on the altar of our freedoms. We wish it did not have to be that way, but it often does. 

According to Stephen Ambrose, the American historian, during World War II a young soldier named David Webster of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne wrote his mother: "Stop worrying about me. I joined the parachutists to fight. I intend to fight. If necessary, I shall die fighting, but don’t worry about this because no war can be won without young men dying. Those things which are precious are saved only by sacrifice."

Scripture often refers to the Christian life as a war—a spiritual battlefield. And there is no victory apart from sacrifice. Just as our salvation was purchased at great cost, overcoming the enemy and walking in the Spirit require that we be willing to give up some things in order to triumph.

Those things that are precious are saved only by sacrifice. 

1 Peter 1:18–19 (RSV2CE) 
18 You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 

So, when we recite a special prayer in the liturgy right before we receive communion, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the words and my soul shall be healed”, just remember, a soldier of faith first said that prayer to Jesus.