Softly Call the Muster - Pt 2

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” (John 15:12-17 ESV).

Our reading today comes from the time just prior to the crucifixion of Jesus. The thirteenth verse is particularly important to me. Along with many other traditions I was taught my first few weeks at Texas A&M, this principle was one of the most important. Remembering those who had gone before us, those who had fought and died for our freedom, those who were willing to sacrifice for others were at the heart of being an Aggie. That verse (John 15:13) is at the entrance of the Memorial Student Center. Even the grass is a means of honoring the memory of others gone before. Muster is a time to remember. As we continue in this little series, a little deeper look back to the origins of the tradition is important. It used to be that Muster was simply a celebration of our being former students; a command that all Aggies within 100 miles of each other gather to remember their time at A&M; telling their tall tales and enjoying good food. But then came 42… the year ’42. And 25 of our finest were under siege on Corregidor, led by Major General George P. Moore, Class of 1908. With the sound of Japanese guns as their backdrop, they paused to remember classmates and Aggies already lost, even with their own fate uncertain. Soon, all 25 would be captured…and only 12 would survive. As providence would have it, this particular Muster was made famous by a war correspondent who heard of the story and published it on the wire for all the world to hear. It was told again and again in countless communities and circles all over the nation. It gathered a significance that went so much further than a mere memorial for friends and fellow Aggies. What made it significant was not that the story was told, but that it happened. That, men under siege, found it worth their time and devotion to remember their fallen friends. Their own lives at risk, they thought of others. And, really, that is the meaning of being an Aggie… fighting for and living for causes greater than self. Should it be any less for any believer in Christ? We have the ultimate example of love and devotion in Jesus. Love one another beyond the convenient. Love one another beyond the differences. Love one another!