A Prayer for Memorial Day During COVID-19

On this day we pause to name the fallen, 

          the missing in action, the lost at sea

Rows of stones mark lives cut short and flags decorate a cost to great to name 

We pause this Memorial Day, woven together in a shared grief longing for peace, 

and perhaps to claim, even if for only a moment, the weight of our corporate sin.

We proclaimed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness 

          but failed the task at hand.

We have studied war, perfected its arts

          We have invested in its tools and budgeted for its cost. 

And now we grapple with a new enemy, to small to name, already not human

          and we stumble 

We stumble in response, we stumble and the numbers rise

90,000 plus, 90,000 mothers and fathers, children and friends; all beloved

90,000 soon to be 100,000 lovers and teachers, nurses and co-workers and grandparents 

100,000 soon to be more all with names and flaws and hopes and dreams 

all sacred, all essential and deserving of life.

Nearly 100,000 and we stumble, 

          we stumble and draft the most vulnerable to bear the brunt 

          We stumble in an economy that is so far from holy 

          and a healthcare system build to make profits for companies 

                    that provide forms and dispute claims, 

         while actual providers, the ones who bring brains and heart and care, 

         need the wight of our ingenuity or at least some damn PPE.

We stumble and there is a human cost.

We stumble and yet You bid us rise,

May this day be more than decorations

          and hollow commitments to a future of peace and prosperity for all.

May this day be as robust as the Calvary coming in, to lift us from our failings, 

          steady our sights on the work at hand and 

                    renew our gumption to build a life of liberty that is truly for all. 

We remember the immeasurable sacrifice of those who have died on every front, near and far 

demand we have to courage to build life anew, that all may have life and have it abundantly.

May we remember. May we imagine. May we have the courage. 

Amen