Supposedly, an ancient curse said, “May you live in interesting times.”  This past century saw World Wars I and II, the Holocaust, and conflicts in many parts of the world, including the wars in Korea and Vietnam as well as much senseless violence in our own country.  This Memorial Day the bloodiest century in history is behind us, and most of humanity still doesn’t get it.  Each of us is someone’s mother, father, sister, brother or child.  We are each absolutely priceless and irreplaceable.

If we pause to take a breath and look around, we find our generation stands in a unique spot, historically speaking.  It has been a thousand years since a generation stood with half a century of memory alive within them and a new millennium stretching ahead.  We are the link between lives lost in the world’s most terrible violence and a younger generation that will struggle to create a new age.

A thousand years ago, someone of sixty was ancient.  The difference between our generation and any generation before us is that we have a second chance to use all that we have learned.  Scratch the surface of a Second Halfer and underneath still breathes a 60’s flower child, a 50’s hot rod driver, or even a World War II veteran.  We have become camouflaged by our aging bodies.  Who would guess that we are survivors of the most interesting of times? 

We once had friends who either fought in Vietnam or marched in protest against the war.  Some believed love and peace would change the world while others dropped out and drifted into alternate cultures.  Somewhere between singing “We Shall Overcome” and watching Neil Armstrong leave footprints on the moon, we cut our hair, packed away our tie-dye and disappeared into the jungles of parenthood.  Inside, most of us still carry hopes and dreams begging to be heard.  We ask: Now that the kids have flown the coop, is it safe to come out?

Christ fulfilled his mission in three short years.  The message for us may be that it doesn’t take much time for a truly focused, spirit-filled vessel to make a difference.  With one foot firmly planted on either side of the millennium, our generation has an opportunity to head in a new direction.  Instead of sliding softly into oblivion, what if we renewed our efforts and committed ourselves to fulfilling our dreams for a new world?  The flower children of the 60’s had some things right.  “War is dangerous to children and other living things.”  Love is the answer.  In these opening years of the new millennium, our generation still has enough time to sing the true notes of a new song.