As we prepare to celebrate Veterans Day, let me begin by sharing two verses from the Hebrew Scriptures, also known to Christians as the Old Testament.
“Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!” (Joel 3:9-10)
At this moment I know what many are thinking, “Wait a second, Pastor Frank, that is wrong! You quoted the text incorrectly. Doesn’t it say ‘Beat your swords into plowshares?’”
Yes, it does! And you would be quoting Isaiah 2:4, “He will judge between nations and settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
There it is, in these two passages, spoken at different times and by different Prophets, the tension that all veterans hold on Veterans Day. The reality is that at a season of their life, veterans were called to prepare for war and at the same time lived with the call to pray for peace.
As we enter this Veterans Day, both calls are very much alive in our nation and world. War fighters from our nation and many others are massed on the Ukrainian border. We hear in the news of North Korea firing missile after missile and China is threatening Taiwan. The world is not a safe place and seems under great threat.
Living in the tensions can be a challenge. Certainly, veterans of faith have felt this in a unique way. The full emotions of preparing to meet all enemies foreign and domestic, and at the same time seeking to hold onto a heart for peace. Both are there in the Scriptures. And, if we are honest, both are there in our hearts. It can be very hard on all aspects of the mind, body and soul.
This is why we give thanks on Veterans Day for all those who have shouldered this burden, even while we pray for those who shoulder it now in this moment.
Grant us wisdom. Grant us courage. Grant us peace. All these things we ask O Lord, until the great day comes when we will study war no more, forever.
Frank Riley is the Senior Pastor at Grace Hill Church in Morgan Hill. A Commander in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps and the United States Fleet Forces Reserve Chaplain, he has served combat tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Pastor Riley is a part of the Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County and can be reached at f.*****@gr********.org.
