Memorial Day--Why Remember

May 26, 2013                                     NOTES NOT EDITED

Memorial Day:  Why Remember?

Selected Texts

SIS—There are many good reasons why we should “remember” those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

As those who are regular members and attenders of FBC, you know I am a “Bible preacher.”  I normally take a portion of the Bible explain, expand it, and apply it.  I don’t often do topical sermons, except on special holidays.  Today is such a time and so this morning’s message with be a little different. I really want you to feel the struggle and emotion I went through as I prepared this Memorial Day sermon.  Hopefully, we will come away with good, Biblically-based reasons for why we should remember those who have died in battle.

One of the most significant holidays of the year is Memorial Day.  It is the “symbolic” start of the summer vacation.  If the weather cooperates Memorial Day will be celebrated under the sun with food, family, and games. 

NOTE:  It occurs every year on the final Monday of May.  Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service

NOTE:  On Memorial Day the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon.  It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.  The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

Memorial Day is not a “holy Sabbath” or religious holiday as with Christmas, celebrating Christ’s birth, or Easter celebrating Christ’s death, or proscribed Biblical celebrations like Passover.  It is more a “civil holiday” that is part of the American culture.

That is not to say the Bible does not support the celebration of those who gave their lives in defense of others.  The Bible actually says a lot about “memorials.”  God wisely knows how quickly mankind forgets the lessons of the past and repeats mistakes in the present.  The Passover was a designated memorial (Ex. 12:14).  The storing of two quarts of manna was a prescribed memorial for Israel (Ex. 16:32).  Other memorials included the “stones in the Ephod, or breastplate of the priests (Ex. 28:12), the fringes on the garments of devout Israelites (Num. 15:39), the censers, or fire pans, used in the Temple ceremony, the twelve stones of Joshua (Jos. 4:7), and Joshua’s memorial stone erected shortly before he died (Jos. 24:27).  The N.T. adds one memorial that sort of sums up all memorials:  the Lord’s Supper.

While there is no specific command to observe “memorial day” service to honor men and women who have fallen on the battlefield, the importance of remembering such important events and experiences is a significant part of the Bible’s story.  Because, mankind tends to “forget” significant events and experiences, the Bible teaches it is proper and helpful to set up appropriate memorials.

I can think of no more appropriate and helpful memorial established in our day and time than Memorial Day, and I’ll give 3 reasons why.

1.  Because GRATITUDE is an important virtue. (Col 3:14-16)

I have been struggling with this issue of “Memorial Day” all weak.  As I was doing research for this message, I viewed hundreds of images associated with Memorial Day.  In my study I came upon this picture (Title Slide) that I am using today.  The war that most shaped my life was the Viet Nam War.  I remember the daily images on T.V. of row upon row of caskets with the body of young men being returned to American soil.  The Viet Nam War captivated the T.V. airwaves.  The official start date of the war is now 1 November 1955, six months before I was born.  It ended with the fall of Saigon, 30 April 1975, two months before I enlisted in the Navy.  It is America’s longest war.  I literally grew up with it.  Seven names are on the wall of young men from Moundsville, WV.  WV had the highest casualty rate of any state.

So, the images in the wall of the Viet Nam Memorial haunt me.  They gripped my soul and would not let go.  Here we have a generation of men forever enclosed in a wall, upon which their names are inscribed.  They for the most part, young men, who never had the opportunities to raise a family, enjoy a career, or “ironically” ever again celebrate Memorial Day.  They are “frozen in time,” forever young.

I am like that man on the other side of the wall.  I am not young.  I have, and am raising, a family.  I have and continue to enjoy a career.  I will enjoy the Memorial Day celebration.  It makes me stop and think, why am I on this side of the wall, and not “frozen in time as a casualty of war?”  I admit, the thought makes me shed a tear.  What I enjoy, I enjoy in a large part to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for my freedom.  While I enjoy food, family, fun, and games, they remain names inscribed in a wall.  Wrestling with a flood of feelings I scratched out these words to try to get a handle on what I was feeling:

What if I were a name on the wall,

Would it really matter at all?

Amidst the times of laughter, food, and games,

Would anybody really stop to remember my name.

“Freedom isn’t free,” I heard someone say,

But so many ignore the reason for this day.

Fun and family and freedom for sure,

Were the reasons I fought, and so much more.

Am I now just a name on the wall?

Does it really matter at all? // It is not glory and honor I seek,

But merely a nod to those who now sleep.

We willingly gave to gain freedom for all,

But, please don’t let us be, // Only names on the wall.

So, my Memorial Day message this morning is “our nod to those who now sleep.”  For me, the answer to “Why Remember?” is first and foremost  a matter of simple gratitude for those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom.  The Bible tells me that “gratitude” is an important, an essential virtue, of the Christian life.  Colossians 3 exhorts us, thusly:

¹⁴ Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵ And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called  in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.

There is something particularly unappealing in someone who is not “grateful” for what they have received at the expense of others.  Is this not especially true of the freedom we have received at the expense of those who died in battle?  Why remember?  It’s a matter of simple gratitude. Remembering is also

2.  essential to a proper ATTITUDE. (Phil. 2:6-8)

REWRITE:  I believe that the downfall of our nation can be traced to a “rotten attitude.”  Specifically, and attitude of “getting” rather than an attitude of “giving.”  An attitude of self-centeredness rather than an attitude of sacrifice.

Someone has pointed out that democracies have not lived long upon this earth because quickly 51 percent realize they can vote to take what belongs to the 49 percent.  The result is a society in which the “takers” quickly outstrip the “givers” and the society devours itself.  We see this happening today.

Prior to the last couple of generations, our national mindset was an attitude of giving, contributing, and yes, sacrificing.  In fact, the name sociologists give to the generation born about 1901-1945 is the “Builder Generation.”  These were people we had and attitude of “giving and doing” not “taking and lounging.”  These were some of the most successful years in our nation’s history.  The generation that followed, the Boomer Generation (my generation), still held much of the values of the Builder Generation—an attitude that highly valued production and sacrifice.

When two World Wars threatened our freedom, the Builder Generation lined up to enlist to defend the country.  Over one half million deposited their lives on foreign soil to defend and secure our nation’s freedom.  Many lied about their ages so that they could enlist before graduation from high school.  A patriotic attitude ruled this generation.  An attitude of duty and sacrifice.

This attitude continued through the Korean and Viet Nam era.  Of course, many were drafted, but they still served with distinction and devotion.  Certainly, others enlisted in Korea and Viet Nam because of the attitude that highly valued service and sacrifice.  One very moving story is that of the Morenci Nine during Viet Nam.

Morenci is a small copper mining town in the middle of nowhere in rural Arizona—and I mean nowhere!  I’ve been there to watch a high school football game.  This town has about 1800 residents.  Perhaps the most famous are nine graduates of the class of ’66.  These nine graduates—a significant majority of the graduating class in high school with only a total of about 300 or so students.

Nine joined the marines.  Nine went to Viet Nam.  Six never returned alive.  There’s a saying in regard to war, “All give some, some give all.”  Six of the Morenci Nine gave it “all.” 

One of the three to return, Leroy Cisneros, once said of their service,

“We were just trying to keep the tradition, do our part.” That’s an attitude that has for the most part evaporated from the pool of American thought.  “Do your part, carry your weight, give back.”  This was an attitude that once defined our nation.  It is an attitude we all should strive to have—and attitude of humble, sacrificial service.  An attitude of “contribution, not consumption.”

Why remember on this day?  To remind us of the “attitude” that honors a nation, indeed honors Our Lord.  An attitude of sacrifice and service.  That’s what we remember on Memorial Day.  The Bible instructs us in regard to such an attitude:

^{Phil 2   6} who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. ⁷ Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, ⁸ He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.

“Assuming the form of a slave” is not something that appeals very much to the modern American psyche.  I must admit, it doesn’t taste so sweet in my mouth when I say it.  An attitude of service and sacrifice leads us down a very difficult and challenging path.  It goes against our nature—our sinful nature.  Even though we know the Bible says “It is more blessed to give than receive”(Acts 20:35), we spend an enormous amount of our time and energy trying to “get more stuff.”

Remembering those who gave their lives for our present pleasures, helps us move toward an “attitude contribution” and away from and “attitude of consumption.”

So, why remember?  First and foremost for me it is about simple gratitude—saying thanks to those who died in my stead.  Second, it is to help stimulate the right attitude—giving instead of getting, contribution rather than consumption.  There is another valuable reason for observing Memorial Day:

3.  Fortitude. (1Sam 17:37)

Over the years I’ve read some fabulous stories about real American heroes on the battlefield.  I watched some great movies about the unconquerable resolve of the American Warrior.  John Wayne movies like, The The Flying Tigers, Sands of Iwo Jima, or Fort Apache, with describing the heroism of WWII, or The Green Berets, describing the heroes of Viet Nam.  Or, Heartbreak Ridge, with Clint Eastwood, chronicling the heroic efforts in a bloody battle during the Invasion of Granada. These movies always instill in me a feeling of pride, and perhaps even invincibility.  There is no Armed Forces on earth comparable to the U.S. military. 

Technically, America has never lost a war.  Politicians have mismanaged more than a few conflicts, and we have lost a few battles, but we have never surrendered.  Afghanistan will likely turn out much like Viet Nam in the end, but it won’t be because we cannot defeat them, but it will be because Washington, DC, lacks the resolve to defeat the enemy.  In the wars fought by Generals and not politicians, we always come out on top. Victory is always assured.

Fortitude is defined as mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously.  Fortitude is confidence in the face of the enemy.  It is resolve in the time of challenge.  Fortitude is bolstered by a history of victory.

Nothing builds fortitude like victory.  The fact that we have lost over a million Americans in wars defending our freedom is a testimony of our fortitude.  The price for our freedom has been very high—anybody who has lost a loved one in war, especially a tender age, knows just how costly freedom really is.  I always like to remind people as they look at the Grand Old Flag, there is a reason the stripes are red.

Every monument marking the grave of an American warrior, whether in Arlington, Virginia, or Normandy Beach in France, is a reminder to the world of America’s fortitude and resolve.  When our freedom is threatened, we will send our very best, and we will pay the ultimate price if need be.  The symbol for our indomitable spirit is not a Musket or M-1, a tank or a fighter jet, but the symbol of American fortitude and resolve is the “grave marker.”  It reminds the world that there is no price we will not pay for our freedom.

We have lost many a soldier, airman, sailor, and marine—but we have never lost a war!  Our fortitude derives from a clear understanding of our history—a history of victory in the face of sometimes insurmountable odds.

The is so true in regard to the spiritual battle of life—and life is mostly spiritual.  The symbol that breeds fortitude and resolve in the life of a believer is not “crown, or a shield, or a sword,” but an “empty grave.”  A familiar hymn reminds us:

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

And because He lives, I too will live.  Because He conquered death, I will conquer death.  My fortitude in displaying my faith comes from “remembering” what Jesus Christ has already accomplished through His death and resurrection.  Victory is assured.  That builds fortitude.

Why remember?  It will build fortitude.  Every week Jonathan goes through a class called “Heritage.”  This class outlines the remarkable history of the U.S. Navy—the greatest navy sailing the high seas.  The purpose is to instill pride and confidence—fortitude—in the minds of young men and women who may one day find themselves in a life and death firefight with the enemy.

Why remember those who died?  Fortitude:  confidence in the face of great challenge comes from remembering those who overcame similar challenges.  The Bible says much about this type of remembrance that breeds fortitude:

^{1Sam 17   37} Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Our fortitude is built upon centuries of victories through God’s providential power.  God has never let us down—and never will.

So, here we are celebrating a “secular holiday.”  But, God’s sovereignty covers the secular, as well as the sacred.  The Bible gives us ample reasons for why we should observe Memorial Day.  Why remember?  It is a matter of simple gratitude.  It is a means to develop a proper attitude, and it will build a much needed fortitude.

What if I were a name on the wall, // Would it really matter at all?

Amidst the times of laughter, food, and games,

Would anybody really stop to remember my name.

“Freedom isn’t free,” I heard someone say,

But so many ignore the reason for this day.

Fun and family and freedom for sure,

Were the reasons I fought, and so much more.

Am I now just a name on the wall?

Does it really matter at all? // It is not glory and honor I seek,

But merely a nod to those who now sleep.

We willingly gave to gain freedom for all,

But, please don’t let us be, // Only names on the wall.

Let’s Pray.