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As a nation, we like to remember…and there are memorials that have been erected and dedicated all over this country that remember those who served within the military and armed forces. The story behind the Memorial Day observance is this:
America was experiencing some of its darkest days as a nation, for there was a great civil war that was dividing this nation and “testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure” (Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg). It was on a pleasant Sunday in October of 1864, that a teenage girl by the name of Emma Hunter was found gathering flowers and placing them on the grave of her father who had died in service to the Union Army as a field surgeon. At a nearby grave was Elizabeth Meyer who was placing flowers on the grave of her son Amos, a private who had fallen at the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. On that October day Emma took a few of her flowers and placed them on the grave of Amos and Elizabeth, in turn, laid some of her flowers on the grave of Dr. Hunter; upon doing so, both women felt a lightening of their burdens by their act of honoring each other’s loss…and they agreed that they would also visit the graves of those who had no one left to honor them. The following year, on Independence Day, 1865, nearly the entire town joined Emma and Elizabeth…the pastor offered a sermon and the community joined in decorating every grave in the cemetery with flowers and flags. It was in 1868 that General John Logan, first commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a General Order establishing May 30 as an official Memorial Day to pay respect to all those who had died, in war or in peace. One of the best ways to remember the events of the past is through speeches and songs. The following is a quote from General Dwight Eisenhower in a letter he wrote to his wife a few weeks before the Normandy landing: “It is terribly sad business to total up the casualties each day…and to realize how many youngsters are gone forever…war demands real toughness of fiber, not only in the soldiers who must endure, but in the homes that must sacrifice the best.” One of the most powerful songs that I know that describes the loss of life, and the intense grieving that it creates, was expressed by the Statler Brothers in the song titled “More Than A Name On the Wall”. The song was about a young soldier, named Claude Allen Smith, who had died on September 23, 1967, as a result of small arms gun fire. Here are the lyrics from that song: I saw her from a distance, as she walked up to the wall In her hand she held some flowers – as her tears began to fall And she took out pen and papers, as to trace her memories, She looked up to heaven, and the words she said were these: She said, “Lord, my boy was special, And he meant so much to me And oh, I’d love to see him, just one more time you see All I have are my memories and the moments to recall, so Lord, Could you tell him, he’s more than a name on the wall.” She said he really missed the family And being home on Christmas Day And he died for God and country – in a place so far away, I remember just a little boy, playing war since he was three Lord, this time I know, he’s not coming home to me. She said, “Lord, my boy was special, And he meant so much to me And oh, I’d love to see him, just one more time you see All I have are my memories and the moments to recall, so Lord, Could you tell him, he’s more than a name on the wall.” Margaret Mead was a famous anthropologist back in the 1960s…and as she was watching and assessing the response of the American culture to the Vietnam War, her perceptive question was: “is there anything worth dying for?” Throughout the history of our nation, there have been men and women who thought that there was something worth dying for: +. 625,000 died in the Civil War +. 110,000 died in World War I +. 420,000 died in World War II +. 54,000 died in the Korean War +. 58,000 died in the Vietnam War Behind all of these conflicts, there is a hidden reality that was verbalized in a song from the Civil War: “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” God is seeking to establish justice and punish oppression and evil through His terrible swift sword. Soldiers and nations are His instruments who seek to end tyranny and punish evil (as God uses one sinful nation to punish another sinful nation -- yet there is a mystery in all of this -- since the victor is not always the most righteous nation…Martin Luther). In closing, these famous words from Abraham Lincoln, spoken at Gettysburg…may these words be helpful to you as remember this Memorial Day: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we can not consecrate – we can not hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. We pray… Lord God, in whom there is life and light; accept our thanks this day for those who died for us and accept our prayers for those who mourn. Forgive us when our patriotism is hollow, when our nationalism is arrogant, when our allegiance is halfhearted. Stir within us thanksgiving for all we have inherited, vigilance for the freedoms of all people, willingness to sacrifice for fellow citizens. Comfort us with the joy that Christ died for all those who died, bringing life and immortality to light for all who believe in Him. O blessed Lord, our Rock of Ages, we ask You to guard our nation constantly and to defend her especially in times of crisis. May love and justice everywhere in our country, and grant that we may ever seek Your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was visiting with my son Joshua two days ago and he, along with his young family, were going to spend the day at a beach in Florida where I used to go on Friday afternoons during my year of vicarage in Bradenton, Florida (Anna Marie Island). During the early spring of 1980, my Friday ritual was to watch a Pirates’ spring training ball game and then work my way to the beach to relax for the rest of the day…and it brought back some nice memories when Josh said that they were going to that same beach forty years later. I was able to experience a very good year of vicarage at Hope Lutheran Church in Bradenton and one of the reasons that it was such a good vicarage experience is that Pastor Paul Ruff allowed me to do quite a bit of ministry that year. Most remarkable was that I was able to make about 1,000 hospital and 200 shut-in calls that year (six afternoons each week were devoted to hospital and shut-in visitations, rotating between the Blake and Manatee hospitals) and about half of those hospital calls were to people who designated themselves to be Lutheran yet did not have a church home (“cold turkey” kind of calls since most of those people had not attended church for quite a while). I grew a lot through those visitations, especially in my knowledge of Scripture and how to apply them in the lives of people who were experiencing significant health issues. There are many fine Psalms that are appropriate for the hospital setting yet my favorite “go to” Psalm was Psalm 121, especially before a person was going to experience a surgery: I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. This Psalm is especially helpful to us as we deal with the physical and financial anxieties that the virus has brought into our lives. The One who made the heaven and the earth is the One we turn to for help in our time of need. He will not allow your life to be moved any farther than what His plan is for your life; and He will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. We pray: He’s got the whole world, in His hands; He’s got the whole world, in His hands; He’s got the whole world, in His hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands. He’s got you and me brother, in His hands; He’s got you and me brother, in His hands; He’s got you and me brother, in His hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands. He’s got you and me sister, in His hands; He’s got you and me sister, in His hands; He’s got you and me sister, in His hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands. He’s got the little bitty babies, in His hands; He’s got the little bitty babies, in His hands; He’s got the little bitty babies, in His hands; He’s got the whole world in His hands. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. |