May 30, 2010
Memorial Day
I want to begin today by reading something I received in my e-mail last week.
It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag,
It is the VETERAN who serves under the Flag.
It is the VETERAN who rests under the Flag.
Did you notice those last three refer to our flag?
We talk about our flag and we talk about the colors of courage. Did you know that when the Stars and Stripes were officially adopted in 1777 that the red, white and blue used for the flag had no meaning? Those colors did, however, have specific meaning in the Great Seal of the United States.
Charles Thompson, Secretary of the Continental Congress, while reporting to congress on the seal had this to say:
"The colors of the pales - the vertical stripes - are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence; Red, hardiness and valor; and Blue, the color of the chief - the broad band above the stripes - signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice."
In 1977 the House of Representatives published a book about the flag. In this book it states:
"The star is a symbol of heaven and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the strips is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."
This flag is a symbol of our nation. It is the banner under which men and women fought and died to preserve the way of life for which our flag stands. In every battle, in every land, wherever our armed forces are found, the flag flies above them, around them and before them.
SERMON:
This weekend we celebrate a national holiday - Memorial Day. Memorial Day is about so much more than parades and picnics and backyard barbeques. It is a day we are to remember those who laid their lives on the line to give us and to maintain the freedoms that we enjoy today.
Freedom is not free. The freedom we enjoy came at a great cost to many people through the centuries.
We have our freedom and our liberty as citizens of this great country because of those who came before us.
Those who gave there all did it willingly because they believed that the outcome was more important than their own lives. Those men and women who sacrificed for us did so for the future good of their nation putting aside their personal comfort and safety.
The apostle John recorded these words of Jesus:
13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 - NIV)
We honor those who fought for our freedom giving their lives not just for friends and family but for total strangers.
I know that today is the day we remember those who lost their lives in the fight for our freedom but we also need to remember those who fought and survived and who are still fighting today.
Yes, we have Armed Forces Day to honor those who are presently serving in all the branches of service both here at home and all around the world.
And we have Veterans Day to honor those who have served in the past and are still with us today.
Yet this Memorial Day I think we need to honor not just those who died for our freedoms but those who fought in the past and those who are still fighting to guarantee our freedoms and way of life.
It is easy to remember those who died for the cause. Yet our veterans and those still serving have also had to make some sacrifices.
Many of them have had to leave their families for weeks, months and even years. They are off serving their country while their friends finish school and start working on their careers. Too often they lose their innocence because many men and women in the military see things that people shouldn't have to see.
I think of my father-in-law. He was called up to serve during World War 2 in the Burma-Chinese Theater of action. He was one of the lucky ones that made it home alive, but there was a cost for him.
He had to leave behind a young wife as he went off to war, a war he didn't want, but a war that was necessary. He wasn't able to start his family or career until the war was over and he was able to return home.
For years he was off in a foreign land fighting for the freedoms of those back home. While others slept in comfort in bed, he was in a foxhole often in the rain trying to catch a few minutes of rest before moving back into the fighting.
He didn't talk much of those days. When you asked him questions he would just say that the things he saw don't bear repeating. Until he died his sleep was often interrupted by nightmares that woke him up screaming in the middle of the night, nightmares caused by the memories of things he saw and experienced as a young man in the army.
So in a way, as a veteran he also sacrificed for his country. And the things that he sacrificed are still being sacrificed by young men and women today as they serve in the armed forces all around the world.
And then there are those who are not in the military but who still put their lives on the line for the safety and freedom and liberty of the citizens of our country. I am talking about our police officers, fire fighters and EMS personnel. That verse from John's Gospel applies to them as well because they willingly put their lives and personal safety on the line every day as they go to work.
As I reflect on what Memorial Day means this passage from Scripture comes to mind:
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 - NIV)
I think that this verse tells us two reasons we need to focus on the true meaning of this holiday.
The great cloud of witnesses that surround us are those who have gone before us and paid the price for our freedoms. We need to be living our lives in a manner that proves their sacrifice was worth every bit of the price they paid for us to live in that hard won freedom.
Past generations began the good work of laying down the foundation of freedom on which our country is built. And that leads to the second thing I see in this verse. It is up to each succeeding generation to build on the firm foundation that they started. And that includes us in this generation. We are to continue to persevere in the path that was laid out from the time our nation began. We need to persevere and hand off the good work to the generations that follow us.
So far this morning we have talked about Memorial Day. But I want to make a comparison of what we spoke of so far to the Christian life.
Memorial Day is when we honor our fallen heroes, those who paid the price to lay that foundation. In the church we have our fallen heroes as well. We call them martyrs, those who die for their faith.
Martyrs paid the ultimate price by giving up their lives so that others could see the importance and truth of what they believed in.
Just as there are fallen heroes in every war, there are martyrs in every generation of Christians. In China, the Christian church has had to go underground to avoid persecution. Just by owning a Bible a person can be imprisoned or even executed. In India Christian leaders are taken from their homes and churches and beaten in the public square. And even in America we have martyrs. In 1999 there was a shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. One young victim was shot after admitting that she believed in God.
But the martyrs, the fallen heroes are exceptions to the rule. Millions of men and women have gone to war and the majority of them come home alive to their family and friends. So it is with Christians. The veterans are those who lived their life for Christ and now live and rest forever in the shadow of God's throne in their eternal home. There are more veterans than there are fallen heroes. They get to see the fruits of their labor and sacrifice. We are responsible to carry the burden they carried and to keep the cross of Christ moving forward in our nation. We are responsible to show them that what they did was not in vain.
We are that third group today. We are the ones in active service. The old hymns have these words to them:
Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war.
Or this one:
I am a soldier in the army of Christ.
We are the ones who pick up the banner that has been carried by others through the years. We are the ones who keep the faith alive and growing for future generations. We are the ones now setting an example for those who one day will follow us.
Right now we are surrounded by a crowd of witnesses eager to watch us run the race marked out for us, the race they ran in their times. And someday we will be among the crowd of witnesses watching future generations as they pick up the banner and follow the cross of Christ as darkness is chased out by the light of Christ that they will bear.
APPLICATION:
Men and women have given their all. They have given their time and talents and even their lives for a righteous cause. What motivates people to be willing to sacrifice for a cause? The answer is found in one word - courage.
It takes courage to be a hero but it doesn't take a hero to have courage. There is a lot to be said about courage and I would like to share a few quotes I found:
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave. ~Mark Twain
Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow. ~Dan Rather
And I like the way that John Wayne puts it:
Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway. ~John Wayne
Courage is not something we are born with nor is it a skill we can acquire through practice. Courage comes with knowing what is right and then doing it. Courage comes from trusting something or someone bigger than ourselves.
For many people that something is a cause or a dream or a career or even money. But for those of us who follow Christ, courage can only come from One who is much bigger than us and much bigger than the universe itself.
Courage comes when we trust in God. God tells us that He is our refuge and our strength. He is there to catch us when the shaky supports we trust in crumble and we fall. When we take refuge in God, no storm can overcome us. Even though death may overtake us, we still live because we live in God. God promises eternal life to those who accept Christ as their savior. God tells us in His Word that this present world is passing and we need to be concerned more with the future, eternal life that awaits us.
I have said many times that we need to live life her on earth but live for eternity. The Bible tells us to fear the one who can kill the soul and don't worry about the one who can merely kill the body. Yes we fear for our lives here on earth but we also know that when our life here on earth is done, we are not dead. We live on forever with our Lord and Savior and all those we know and love who went home before us.
Who are those in the crowd of witnessed watching the race we run? It is those who we will one day join in eternity. It is those who ran their race and now have their eternal reward.
God set a plan in motion and each of us when our time comes runs the path that He laid out before us. We can take courage in the fact that God is with us as we run His race and we can take courage in the cheers of those who went before us urging us on to the finish line.
Before we close our service today I want to share a tribute to all those who served and gave it all, to all those who served and walk among us, to all those away serving now and to all those who one day will serve.
PLAY VIDEO: Honor To Serve by Ray Boltz
They felt honored to serve and we honor them on this holiday.
This week's challenge is found in the right panel of your program. It can be summed up in three actions I challenge you to take this week: THINK, THANK and PRAY.
Think - Remember those who served in our armed forces and gave their lives to preserve our freedom and our liberty. Remember those who served our communities and lost their lives in preserving our safety and health and way of life.
Thank - Seek out the veterans - military, firefighters, police officers and all who served us both at home and abroad.
Pray - Keep those who are presently serving in your prayers that they will be found faithful in the cause laid upon their shoulders and that they will return home safely when their duty is done.
Also at each table are some small flags and a sheet listing the numbers of those who gave their lives in the wars in which our nation was involved. Take home a flag and one of those sheets to remind you that freedom came at a great price.
