Last month we had the chance to stand above the tomb of nearly 1,200 sailors whose lives were snatched too soon in the brutal attack on Pearl Harbor.  On a sleepy Sunday morning, the Japanese came in from the north, catching the Pacific fleet unprepared and devastating it.  During the second wave, one bomber happened to place a bomb in the magazine of the USS Arizona, and she still lies on the bottom, a tomb for those who perished and a reminder of the cost of war.

  It was humbling to stand on the white platform, that elegant, simple monument, and think about what was beneath my feet.  It sits perpendicular to the ship's remains, so one can look down the bow and stern and imagine this mighty ship as a proud and tall icon of naval power.  Here and there, parts of the ship poke up through the calm waters, and the flag pole is attached where the Arizona's flag would have stood.

  I tried to understand, to contemplate what it meant to stand there.  I could not shake the feeling of loss--of how tragic it was that over 1,000 people died in this place.  I am extremely grateful to those who served then and serve today, who put themselves in places where things like this can and too often do happen.  I am saddened by the fact that, for centuries, for millennia, war seems to be the answer to conflict.

  When will we learn?  It is my hope and solemn prayer that we might learn to live together in peace, that we will cease to rattle our sabers every time we feel intimidated, and instead will be known by the size of our love.  Paul talks about the power of Christ in 1 Corinthians 1, pointing out how much greater God's wisdom is than our own--may we be willing and courageous enough to follow God's wisdom, rather than our own.