At cemeteries all over the land, the mournful notes of "Taps" will be played tomorrow. Memorial Day is one of America's most important annual observances.

We pause to remember with gratitude the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the service of our country, including 1,703 in the war in Iraq.

We have done so since 1868, when the first Memorial Day was first observed. It was then called Decoration Day, as flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. After World War I, the holiday was changed to honor those who died while fighting in any of our nation's wars.

The most moving story I read in preparation for this Memorial Day was the account of Canadian Army Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD. He spent 17 days treating the wounded and dying during an especially horrific episode of World War I. One of his friends and former students was among the dead; Dr. McCrae performed his burial in the absence of a chaplain. He then sat down, looked over the makeshift cemetery where his friend and so many others were buried, and wrote a poem into his notebook. It has become one of the most famous war poems of all time:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Today we give thanks for such sacrifice. And we pledge that we will not "break faith" with those who have died. The torch of freedom has been passed to our keeping, and the torch of eternal freedom as well. That second, spiritual torch is the subject of God's word for this Memorial Day weekend. When today's worship is complete, I pray that both torches burn more brightly in our hands and hearts than ever before.