Being surrounded is threatening. Even when what surrounds
you is not dangerous, you still feel threatened. How do you
feel if you are closed in? Suffocated if there is too much of
anything surrounding us. I know of people, for example, who
don’t like to be in a small room; they get anxious when there
are too many people around. They cannot ride the Metro,
because it’s crowded. They cannot go to sports events,
because there are too many bodies. And at least a few of
them tell me they don’t like to come to church, because this
place is full, and ask about the good old days when you
could get in and sit by yourself and not be bothered with
other people! Surrounded feels threatening. Even when it’s
not really a dangerous situation.
A soldier knows what it is to be surrounded. If a soldier is
surrounded, normally it is that the enemy has put him in a
place from which there is no escape. A battalion of soldiers,
finding themselves surrounded by the enemy, has little
choice. Either they fight to the death, or they surrender and
face imprisonment. It is threatening to be surrounded,
because generally it is the enemy who surrounds you.
But what if the surrounding were to come not from the
enemy, but from your friends? What if you were to be
surrounded not so much by those who are out to destroy
you, but by those who are on your side, by those you
counted on as friends and comrades? Remember – it
always feels threatening to be surrounded; even when what
surrounds you is not dangerous.
Gary Pervall the soldier was surrounded. Flying missions in
Vietnam, of course he was surrounded by danger. The
enemy was one he could not always see, and whose tactics
were unconventional. Every day was a threat. Gary lived
day and night with the awareness that Vietcong partisans
were out there, maybe nearby, maybe surrounding him, out
to do him harm. That was a threatening experience.
But Gary did his job and did it well. He did what his country
asked and performed the missions assigned. As a helicopter
crew chief, he and his men flew mission after mission, using
Agent Orange to defoliate the jungle and expose the enemy.
They surrounded the enemy with this chemical, so that he
might feel threatened and surrender. What they did not
know, at the time, was that they too were surrounded.
Something was set in motion that was going to become,
unknown to anyone, a serious threat to health. Surrounded
by an unseen enemy on the ground and a poorly understood
enemy in the air. Being surrounded is always a threatening
experience.
And, indeed, Gary was surrounded by something more than
a toxic chemical. Gary was surrounded by the political
atmosphere of the time. Many of you will remember those
days – how Vietnam veterans came back home to face the
scorn of their fellow citizens. How some of those who
opposed the war – and I do not dispute that moral vision –
but how some of those who opposed the war poured out
their disgust on those who had simply done their duty. The
nation’s agony over the politics of Vietnam soon surrounded
its veterans and threatened them, surrounded them with a
toxic atmosphere – not a toxic chemical, but a toxic mood, a
poisonous spirit. It must have been hard to come home and
face a nation which not only had no gratitude, but also had
little but ridicule for those who had borne the burden of
battle. Gary came back surrounded. Surrounded by a
health challenge that he did not even know about, and
surrounded by something less than welcome from some of
his countrymen. Surely there was something better than
this! Surely there was something more, something better, on
the horizon for Gary.
We are here this morning to bear witness that God has
surrounded Gary with something better. The threats of the
past have become the possibilities of the future. God has
surrounded Gary with something better.
The author of the Book of Hebrews goes through the long
and tortured history of God’s people, reciting their agonies ,
and then telling us that they did not receive what was
promised, but that God had provided “something better”.
“Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not
receive what was promised, since God had provided something
better”.
What has God provided? How has Gary Pervall been
surrounded by something better?
I
First, today, exactly six months after the terrorists’ attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we can say God
has surrounded Gary by a better political and emotional
climate. Today we as a people are more invested in
honoring those who served us than we were before. Today
we are more clear about our national purpose than we were
a couple of decades ago.
This is not to suggest that we should come back to a “my
country, right or wrong” position. This is not to suggest that
flag-waving patriotism is the way to go. But I am suggesting
that the America in which Gary died is a different one than
the one in which he fought as a soldier. The horrors of
terrorism, terrible as they are, have at least brought us
together as a nation. And so Gary lived to see himself
surrounded no longer by suspicion, no longer by opprobrium
for those who have worn the uniform, but surrounded by
something better. Surrounded, instead, by a spirit of
appreciation for those who have served their country. God
has surrounded Gary by something better.
II
But there is more, much more. Gary would be surrounded by
something even better than a new national spirit. Gary
would be surrounded by the love of his family. And what
powerful love that has been! And how important. There is a
character in a story, named Edith. In that story Edith is
described in frightening terms. The author says, “Edith was
an island, surrounded on the north, south, east, and west, by
Edith”. What a horrible picture of being alone, isolated,
empty! But, praise God, not so, for Gary Pervall. He was
surrounded by the love of his family.
Gary and Barbara were married here in this room. They
began a pilgrimage of love that has given them children and
grandchildren whose respect and devotion is clear. When I
first visited Gary, Barbara, you sat on his bed, you held his
hand, and you shared with him as we read the Scriptures
and thought about what was happening. You prayed with
him. It was abundantly clear to me that your love for him
was not something you kept hidden, but something you
shared, you gave freely. You surrounded him with love. I
praise God for that your all-encompassing love. You have
done well, and we honor you for it.
But there is even more. Gary’s sisters and his parents have
loved him with deep-seated devotion. Gary’s children and
grandchildren have cared for him, each in their own way. On
my last visit to your home, last Tuesday, just hours before his
passing, I thought I was not going to find a place to park,
there were so many who had gathered. And when I went to
his room, some were sitting, some standing, others hovered
nearby – not because there was a show to see. Not
because there was a spectacle to witness. But because
when you love someone, you want to be near. Because love
surrounds and engulfs, love wants to touch and hear and
see. Love wants to feel others’ love. Love wants to
surround a dying man with something better.
Why, even the newspaper obituary got it right! I read it in
The Washington Post! Gary Pervall, surrounded by his
friends and family, it said! Surrounded by something better
than the hostilities of war; surrounded by something better
than the suspicions of this nation; surrounded by something
better than struggle and strife. Surrounded by love.
III
But even that is not all. That is by no means all. For the
Scripture says that the heroes of the past did not receive all
that was promised, since God had provided something
better. When God surrounded Gary with a new national
spirit, that was good, but there was to be more. When God
surrounded Gary with the love of his family, that was superb,
but there was to be more. God has surrounded Gary with
something better yet. Gary has been surrounded by God’s
own grace and love and mercy. God has gathered Gary up
in His arms and has surrounded him with something far
better than this world can possibly afford. God has
surrounded him with grace.
I’ve been preaching lately from the Old Testament story of
Job. It was fresh on my mind, so I began to share it with
Gary. He knew it, but he didn’t know it. Its details we
refreshed. As we spoke about Job, who lost and lost and
lost some more, we also spoke about Job’s faith. It was not
a textbook faith, not a pretty pious pie-in-the-sky fait; it was a
tough, gritty, complaining, grumbling, questioning faith. Gary
listened, and thought, and then responded. He said, “I can
see how I might be like Job, losing my health. But I’m not
angry. I’m not upset with anybody. I’m not upset with God. I
trust God. I was taught all my life to know God, and to trust
God. Whatever happens, I’m ready.” Gary was surrounded,
you see; Gary was surrounded by the grace of God.
Now remember: being surrounded is always threatening. To
face death is threatening. It was for Gary and it is for us.
But if we know we are surrounded by love; if we know we are
surrounded by God’s grace; if we know we are surrounded
by something better – then in the end we can give thanks. In
the end we can be grateful.
Surrounded. Gary’s health was surrounded by a cloud of
toxic chemical. Gary’s community was surrounded by a
cloud of national malaise. But God has surrounded him with
something better – with the love of his family, the respect of
his friends, and the grace of God’s own redeeming heart,
given through Christ Jesus our savior.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin that clings
so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set
before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,
who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right
hand of the throne of God.”
