Today is the 75
th
commemoration of the end of WWII in Europe. In his address to the nation, President Harry S
.
Truman said:
“Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band. Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the sorrow and the heartache which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors — neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to redeem our liberty… If I could give you a single watchword for the coming months, that word is work, work, and more work. We must work to finish the war. Our victory is only half over.”
On the 8
th
May 1945, even though the battlefields of Europe had fallen silent, there was still conflict in the Pacific. Hope was on the horizon, yet everyone was aware of the sacrifice of so many to end a tyranny.
There is hope on the horizon for us with the talk of the stay-at-home orders being lifted. We too are painfully aware of what has been endured and continues to be endured by many in the world, this nation, this state, this city and even within our Church community because of this coronavirus.
These past weeks and months have taken a huge toil on us, physical, financially, emotionally, even spiritually. Fr Peter reminded me a couple of weeks ago about Viktor Frankl who survived the Holocaust and wrote of his experience of witnessing horrific suffering in Auschwitz, and of the importance of holding onto hope.
1
There is always hope. Not a wishy-washy hope, but the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In his speech in 1945, President Truman gave the nation the watchword of work. Yes there is plenty of work ahead for us all, but we have been given more than a watchword.
Jesus was the word that came into the world, he died and rose, conquering death. He taught his disciples that the kingdom of heaven was here. Jesus gave them a new commandant, to love one another as Jesus had loved them.
This God’s work that we share in on a daily basis, showing glimpses of hope to those around us.
I give thanks every day for the love and service that the community of The Church of St. Michael & St. George is carrying out. God bless you all.
God bless
Tom +
1
Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 3rd ed. (New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, 1984)
