They Did Their Part for America. Could We? Will We?

"In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice.”  --Victor Frankl, "Man's Search for Meaning”

It’s the first and only time I ever saw my late father cry. 

Like many men of his generation, the so-called “silent generation” my dad was not one for big emotions, or public displays of feelings. But one night, when I was home on college break and both of us shared the family room, I flipped through the TV channels and came upon an old World War II movie, 1944’s “The Fighting Sullivans” and so we settled in to watch.

And then we had our hearts broken by that true wartime story.

The “Fighting Sullivans” were the Sullivan brothers, five siblings who hailed from Waterloo, Iowa.  In January of 1942, George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert, the sons of Thomas and Aleta Sullivan, signed up or re-upped, to serve in the United States Navy. It was a little more than a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Patriotism and the commitment to serve your country had captured the hearts of the nation. 

The Sullivans enlisted with one stipulation: that they be allowed to serve together on the same ship. The Navy had a policy against such groupings, but it was not always enforced and so they were assigned to the U.S.S. Juneau, a light cruiser. On November 13, 1942, during the battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, the Juneau was struck by two enemy torpedoes, exploding, and then sinking the ship.

Six-hundred and eighty-seven men died. Ten survived. The Sullivan brothers all perished.

In my home I have several framed original World War II propaganda posters, which hung from 1941 to 1945, in factories, town halls, post offices, train stations and other public settings. The United States government used those placards to try and inspire the citizenry to do their part and support the war effort. 

The poster I most cherish depicts those five brothers, posing shoulder to shoulder, dressed in Navy garb, smiling the smiles of optimistic youth. Above them is a line of blue stars, symbols that families hung in their windows to denote that members of a household had died in battle. Underneath the photo is this challenge: “…the five Sullivan brothers, ‘missing in action’ off the Solomons” and then in bold print below, “THEY DID THEIR PART.”

They did their part.

That poster reminds me that there have been times in our nation’s history when the greatest of sacrifices was asked of American citizens, like the Sullivans. There was a time when millions of Americans laid aside their own wants and needs, gave up the normalcy of everyday life, to serve. There was a time when our nation was led by a President, who in word and deed, called forth the best in people to do one’s part. Not just as soldiers, but as civilians working in wartime factories. Participating in wartime drives to collect scrap metal. Growing a victory garden. Buying a war bond. 

So, so many actually did their part.

Which makes me wonder…in 2025, could we do our part in such a national effort? Do we as Americans still have the civic DNA to embrace the responsibilities each of us have as citizens? Could we sacrifice to defend the values we’ve claimed as American, what many of us still believe in as Americans?

Freedom. Duty. Honor. Service. Courage. Selflessness

I so want to believe there is still the spirit of the Sullivans in our nation, the spirit of all who served and sacrificed before. Yes, we as a nation sometimes fail to live up to the highest of our national aspirations. We fall short of our ideals.  But we still must have those aspirational values and virtues to stretch towards. 

My faith certainly teaches me that sacrifice and service are at the heart of any life we dare to call a “good life.” As Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

And yet, are we more focused on what we can get as citizens or what we can give in support of the greater good? Are we kind towards Americans of all ideologies, colors and faiths or do we see some as “not really American?” Are we generous in our welcome to native and foreigners alike, or do we wish to just shut the door? Are we led by politicians who respect the military? Or are we led by some who mock military service while never even having served themselves?

My God: I pray, and I hope on this Memorial Day weekend and beyond, that we can still do our part, each of us, collectively too. Do our part: as neighbors, Americans, and heirs of this land we call home.   

They did their part. Now we must learn again how to do the same.

(The views expressed in this essay do not necessarily reflect the views of the people and church I serve nor the United Church of Christ.)

The Reverend John F. Hudson is Senior Pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn, Massachusetts (pilgrimsherborn.org). He blogs at sherbornpastor.blogspot.com and is a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. For twenty-five years he was a columnist whose essays appeared in newspapers throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He has served churches in New England since 1989. For comments, please be in touch: pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org.

 

                        

To Teachers Who Inspire Us: Thank You. THANK YOU!!!!

“Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” –William Butler Yeats

I am who I am, in large part, because of the teachers I’ve had in this life.

We are who we are because someone took the time to instruct us in the ways of knowledge and in the ways of living.

Think of it. Good teachers make us soar. Good teachers remind us that we are so much more than we might imagine at any given moment, especially in times of doubt and insecurity. Good teachers bring out gifts and talents we might not have known we possessed.

Yes…the best teachers stay with us, long after we’ve left their classrooms.

So, I’m grateful for Professor Beck in graduate school, he of the sonorous voice and imposing countenance, teacher of Old Testament for more than thirty years when I met him. He gave me the confidence to believe I could be a pastor and serve God’s people. Mr. Mehegan, an Irishman with a wicked wit, taught political science to me in the 10^th grade. He lit a flame within my heart for public service, gave me passion for understanding how government works. That when it works well, the people thrive. When the government works poorly, it can crush a nation’s soul.

I’ll never forget Sister Anne in parochial grade school…well, I can’t really remember what she taught me. But her simple kindness and patience made me feel safe. She accepted me for me. Even when I insisted on coloring outside of the lines. Even when I tried to draw true to life illustrations of Adam and Eve…she always exuded God’s grace and care.

Who are the teachers that still go with you today? Whose voices still echo in your memory? Whose lessons still continue to inspire you?

This is the season that we celebrate teaching and education, as our children and teens and young adults graduate, move up, move on, some with sheepskins in hand, ready to take on the world.  Ready to discover who God made them to be. But to get there? They needed dedicated teachers.

Maybe the greatest gift of teaching and learning is that it never has to stop.  If we look, if we listen, if we learn, we’ll find teachers to teach us right into the days of growing older, teachers so good that they can teach an old dog, even teach this old dog, new tricks.

At the age of 50 I joined a local adult choir here in eastern Massachusetts, having never, ever sung in a formal or organized group. You see, I was scared to warble out any notes in public. I feared I’d be way off key. That I’d drive away my fellow basses and baritones. But I was determined to sing and know the joy of making music in community. Fourteen years later, choir is still one of the most life-giving and fun parts of my life. Because of my fellow choristers, yes.

But also because of another great teacher I need to thank.

Our choir’s conductor, Ethan, makes me want to sing, to sing well, to sing with energy, and to sing my heart out.  He’s the kind of teacher that brings out the best in all of the people he instructs.  He challenges us to not just sing the easy or obvious stuff, but to also sing the tough stuff too, the songs that confound us but ultimately make our notes soar, maybe even all the way up to heaven. 

In my faith tradition, Jesus is known by many names and titles but the one I affirm and believe the most is that of “Rabboni;” rabbi in Hebrew, meaning teacher.  Yes, teachers, the ones we never ever forget, they always somehow find a way to lift us up, to inspire us to be so much more than we might think possible. Great teachers somehow embody the transcendent.   

So, in the days ahead, let’s all thank the teachers in our lives, the ones past and present.  We are who we are this day because they taught us the way.    

Thank you Ethan. Thank you to all of the teachers in my life.

I am who I am because of you.

(The views expressed in this essay do not necessarily reflect the views of the people and church I serve nor the United Church of Christ.)

The Reverend John F. Hudson is Senior Pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn, Massachusetts (pilgrimsherborn.org). He blogs at sherbornpastor.blogspot.com and is a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. For twenty-five years he was a columnist whose essays appeared in newspapers throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He has served churches in New England since 1989. For comments, please be in touch: pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org.

     

Is Nothing Sacred? In These Strange Times, Who Knows?

“We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.” 

 -- New York State Catholic Conference of Bishops

Is nothing sacred?

One of the distinctions theology and religion draws in viewing the world is between the sacred and the profane. Between that which is holy and beautiful and divine and that which is base, indecent, and disrespectful.  When we try our best to live in the presence of the sacred, we recognize the inherent worth of all that is made by God.

To live aware of the sacred teaches humans to move through this life honoring the dignity of all, declaring that all humans matter, in large part, because each of us is created in the image of God. But to live aware of or even in the thrall of the profane teaches humans to, instead, move through this life uncaring, even mocking humans and the human condition. Living within a profane worldview encourages humans to believe that some children of God are in fact, unworthy, less than, and therefore easy to treat with contempt, disrespect, and even hatred.

The sacred or the profane? It’s an ethical and spiritual choice we make every day. Will we choose to look up at the stars in the heavens with awe or instead, will we spend our time down in the mud on the earth, viewing life with cynical derision?  Mocking even, that which is clearly holy and sacred?

When the President chose recently to post an AI generated image of himself as if he were the pope and did so within days of Pope Francis’ death, it made me think, “Now that’s profane.” But not really surprising, given that when asked by a reporter who he thought should be the new pope, he, of course, replied, “Me.”

Funny, huh? A laugh riot!

Of course, folks in the President’s camp were quick to defend him, rationalizing his mean-spirited behavior and middle school humor by essentially saying, “Hey—can’t you take a joke? He was only kidding.” But the damage was already done and the “Insulter in Chief” had once again demonstrated that either he is completely tone deaf and lacks any mercy when it comes to the feelings of other people, institutions, and beliefs or (and this is even scarier), he actually believes that he would make a good pope.

As a person of faith, as one who grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition, I get why so many Catholics were hurt and insulted by this mocking of a holy office and in a larger sense, of a holy faith and people.  Though I left the Catholic Church for another faith tradition many years ago, I remember still, how much the pope was and still is held in high esteem and love by his followers.  How that office of Saint Peter, in place on earth for more than 2,000 years, is held as sacred, and not just by Catholics but by millions of other Christians, millions in other faiths, even by many of no faith.

And yet, one who wields more power, perhaps, than almost any other secular or religious office on earth…that person intentionally chose to put down, to deride, and to ridicule someone who embodies for so many, goodness, and the spirit of God on earth. And that just breaks my heart, so disappoints me. I’m sad not just for my Catholic friends and family members, but for any of us who hope and expect so much more out of the President of the United States.  And that goes for whoever sits in the Oval Office: Democrat or Republican, Catholic or Protestant or Jew or Muslim. You see, some of us who love our country still actually believe in the human virtues of simple decency, honor, respect, and care.  And we expect our leaders to embody these essential moral ideals for living.

But I guess that is just too much for us to hope for in these strange days that we are living in. Days when the line between the sacred and the profane seems to be up for grabs, perhaps even being erased, removed, or obliterated, and all for a bad joke.  

Is nothing sacred?                

The sacred still matters in this world. I believe with all my heart that there are still sacred ideas, sacred beliefs, and sacred institutions that try their best to reflect the goodness of God on earth, like the pope just deceased, Francis, and the newly elected, Pope Leo. Religion does not always succeed as it should and yet, I thank God, that faith keeps trying to keep the faith. And people keep trying to respect the sacred.

Do not mock us, Mr. President. Do not mock us.

(The views expressed in this essay do not necessarily reflect the views of the people and church I serve nor the United Church of Christ.)

The Reverend John F. Hudson is Senior Pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn, Massachusetts (pilgrimsherborn.org). He blogs at sherbornpastor.blogspot.com and is a resident scholar at the Collegeville Institute at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. For twenty-five years he was a columnist whose essays appeared in newspapers throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He has served churches in New England since 1989. For comments, please be in touch: pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org.