Veteran’s Day Peace

 November 11, 2021

I always dread posting on holidays and national observances such as today. Never having served in the military myself, I feel woefully inadequate to comment on the day. My father served in the Army Air Corps in WWII, and my brother in the Navy during Vietnam; I was in college at the time, and my number for the draft never got picked in the draw. 

Talking one day with a friend who saw action in Vietnam, I expressed regret at never having signed up. “Be thankful you didn’t have to go,” was all he said in response. One thing I’ve learned though, is that those who have never experienced the horrors of war talk about it much more casually than those who have. Most of the politicians who are quick to send other peoples’ sons into harm’s way haven’t been there themselves, and too often use their influence to protect their own. Those who’ve been there are usually much more reticent to lead us down that path.

In Christian circles, I often hear people talk about spiritual warfare as if there are never any casualties of such stuff. Some strut around talking about “kicking Satan’s ass, or other such inanities, as if he were the leader of some third-rate country instead of the prince of the power of the air, as St. Paul writes. It’s not universal, but the arrogance of some is a bit off-putting to me.

That being said, I ran across a Scripture today that made poignant sense on this Veteran’s Day. My devotional reading has taken me into 1 Chronicles, which is, as its name implies, a record of the lineage of Jewish people prior to the Exile, necessary to preserve the ethnic purity of those who returned to the land. Chapter 12, verses 16–18 says, 

“Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment.” Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said: “We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to your helpers! For your God helps you.” So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.”

These men were enlisting in David’s army, but listen to their words: “Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers!” It reminds me of the angels’ message to the shepherds on the occasion of Jesus’ birth. The text says it was the heavenly host, ie. the heavenly armies of God shouting “Peace on earth!” 

The Church talks often about peace, but I’ve come to believe that only those who know the horrors and devastation of war can truly appreciate peace. The rest of us haven’t experienced what its absence is really like. Which is why I feel so inadequate to speak on this day. Those who have stared death in the face, who have seen their fellow soldiers die in agony, who have shed tears and tried to forget what they have seen…these know the value of peace far more than I, which is why I humbly yield to them today.