Places of Remembering, May 25, 2014

Places of Remembering

Memorial Day

Joshua 4:1-7, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

May 25, 2014

Grace Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

Places of Remembering    A few years ago, my daughter, Kathy, went with me back to our home in Iowa where she had grown up. It was a large brick house that had been built in 1895. It had ten foot ceilings and an entry way that was nine feet wide and eighteen feet long. In that entry way were the stairs to the second floor. About half way up was a landing where the stairs turned to ascend on to the second floor. When the sun was shining, an oval cut glass window illuminated the landing with an array of colorful rainbows. This is where Kathy used to for hours as a little girl playing with her dolls or simply day dreaming. When we entered the house, Kathy immediately ran up the stairs to the landing and sat down among the rainbows. For her, it was a special Place of Remembering.

All of us have treasured Places of Remembering. It might be our childhood home, or grandparent’s house, or our old grade or high school. It could be the place where our beloved asked us to marry him. For many, going to the cemetery and sitting by the gravestone of a loved one is powerful place of remembering. Such Places of Remembering might fill us with sadness and tears as we remember departed loved ones.

Twelve Stones  The Bible has many places of remembering. In Genesis 28, Jacob has a dream in which he sees angels ascending and descending from heaven and in which God gave him the same blessing that he had given Abraham and Isaac. When he woke up, he set a stone up as a pillar to serve as a place of remembering what God had done. That spot was called Bethel.

Twenty years later, Jacob and Laban make a covenant. A heap of stones is made at the spot as a place of remembering that God was a witness to their covenant. That place of remembering was called Mizpah. [see Genesis 31] This

Our morning scripture from Joshua tells of another place of remembering . It came about in this way. Having been freed from Egyptian slavery and having wandered in the wilderness for forty years, the Israelites are finally ready to enter the Promised Land. To do this, they must cross over the Jordan River. Since it was both wide and deep, God caused the river to part so that the Israelites could cross on dry ground. As they entered the land of Milk and Honey, the days of their wandering came to an end.

To remember such an important occasion, their leader, Joshua, instructed one man from each of the twelve tribes to take a stone from the river and build a memorial to God’s miraculous and delivering power. When the twelve stones were assembled into a monument, Joshua said to the people, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’” [Joshua 4:21-22] And so the twelve stones became a place of remembering for generations to come.

Day of Remembering  Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day in which we purposefully pause from our hectic activities and remember the men and women throughout the history of our nation who died while serving in the military. Some of you remember them by putting flowers on the grave of a loved ones who died while in defense of our country.

The Sullivan Brothers  One couple that went to the cemetery every Memorial Day was Tom and Aletta Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa. They lost their five sons all at the same time when the ship, the USS Juneau, was sunk on November 13, 1942. I grew up in Waterloo and lived just a few minutes from the Sullivan brothers’ house. As a place of remembering, the Sullivan Brothers Memorial Park was built across the street from their home.

Jefferson Barracks  Closer to home, we could go to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. It, too, is a place of remembering since it is dedicated to veterans and their spouses. Many of the veterans died in battle. But all are honored for bravery and valor on Memorial Day.

Memorials  Through the years, many memorials to our fallen military have been erected as Places of Remembering. In Gloucester, Virginia stands a 25 foot tall marble obelisk. Inscribed in the marble are the names of all the men from Gloucester County who lost their lives during the Civil War. The inscription simply reads, “To our Confederate Dead.” Listen to other inscriptions that appear on some of our great war memorials - places of remembering.

Tomb of the Unknown Solder

“Here rests in honored glory an American Soldier known but to God.”

United States Marine Core War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial

“In honor and memory of the men of the United States Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since 10 November 1775.”

Vietnam Veterans Memorial “Let all know that the United States of America pays tribute to the members of the Armed Forces who served honorably in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam Era.” Jimmy Stewart visited this memorial countless times and could find his son’s name instantly on the memorial.

Korean War Veterans Memorial  “Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.”

Liberty Memorial for the First World War  “These have dared bear the torches of sacrifice and service. Their bodies return to dust but their work liveth evermore.”

National World War II Memorial  “We honor those twentieth century Americans who took up the struggle during the Second World War and made the sacrifices to perpetuate the gift our forefathers entrusted to us: a nation conceived in liberty and justice.”

The Gettysburg Address Perhaps the most famous eulogy to fallen soldiers took place on November 19, 1863. This is when Abraham Lincoln dedicated the Soldier’s National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. As a part of his speech he said,

“We are met on a great battlefield 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 cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.”

All of these memorials, biblical or national, are made of such materials as stone, marble or granite. Places of Remembering are meant to last and endure through the centuries.

Church - A Place of Remembering We must never forget that the church is also a Place of Remembering. We remember our confirmation when we were received as members of the church. We remember the day when we established a covenant of marriage with our sweetheart. We remember bringing our baby to be baptized. And we remember gathering to celebrate the resurrection of a loved one.

Ten years ago, I preached in the Iowa country church in which I was baptized. The baptistry where I was immersed was right behind me. It was a Place of Remembering for me.

In one church, it had a plaque upon the wall with the names of members who had died defending our country. As one little boy was leaving, he looked up at the plaque and asked the minister what it was. He said, “Why those are the names of the men and women of our congregation who died in the service.” The little boy thought for a moment and then said, “Was that the 9:15 or the 10:45 service?’

In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he states that our Lord has asked that we remember him whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup of communion. And thus this sanctuary becomes a place of remembering of Jesus whenever the sacrament is served. For he, too, is one who died in battle to free us from the power of sin and death - and triumphed in the end through his glorious resurrection.

So how will you spend your time tomorrow? Getting together for a back yard barbecue? Going on a picnic? Catching the evening Cardinal baseball game against Cincinnati? All well and good. But did you realize that nearly 80% of all Americans have no clue as to what Memorial Day is all about? One group of school children were asked, “What happens on Memorial Day?” Their response? “That’s the day the pool opens!”

National Moment of Remembrance  To help remind all Americans about the true meaning of Memorial Day, all citizens are urged to stop whatever they are doing at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow to observe the National Moment of Remembrance. This is an act of national unity during which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, are asked to spend one minute in silence honoring all the men and women who fought and died for this great nation that we might enjoy the freedoms that are ours today. [Passed December 2000, Public Law 106-579]  But we won’t be alone. At 3:00 p.m., about 500,000 Major League Baseball fans will stop for a minute of silence. At 3 p.m., two hundred Amtrack train whistles will sound across the county. Taps will be played at cemeteries while graves are being decorated. Drivers will drive with their lights on. Flags will wave across the country. Parades will take place in all the towns of America. And by so doing, we remember and honor our fallen sons and daughters who died that we might live in freedom.

I leave you with this parting thought: “They are not dead who live in hearts they leave behind. In those whom they have blessed they live a life again, and shall live through the years.” [Hugh Robert Orr, “They Softly Walk.”] Amen.

Joshua 4:1-7 NRSV

When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: ‘Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, and command them, “Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.” ’ Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. Joshua said to them, ‘Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, “What do those stones mean to you?” then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial for ever.’

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NRSV

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ ²⁵In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Some say that the observance of Memorial Day began in 1865 when Henry C. Welles, a druggist in Waterloo, New York, formed a committee to make wreaths, crosses, and bouquets to be placed on the graves of each veteran who had died in the Civil War. On May 5, 1866, the veterans of that war marched, a band played, and they traveled to three different cemeteries to decorate the graves of those who had died in battle.

Many in the village of Waterloo flew flags at half-mast, and displayed black streamers for mourning. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan. A few weeks later, on May 30th , flowers were placed on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery. Some people still call Memorial Day "Decoration Day," because it's a time to decorate the graves and remember those who have died for our freedom.

 

Taps, Volleys, and the Flag  I have conducted many military funerals at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. In every case, three meaningful events always take place: the playing of Taps, the firing of three volleys by riflemen, and the presentation of a United States flag to the family.

The three volleys comes from an old battlefield custom. The two warring sides would cease hostilities to clear their dead from the battlefield, and the firing of three volleys meant that the dead had been properly cared for and the side was ready to resume the battle.

The playing of taps at a military funeral began in 1862 and was officially adopted by the U. S. Army in 1874.

The words of Taps capture the solemnity of the moment: “Day is done, gone the sun, from the lake, from the hills, from the sky. All is well, safely rest, God is nigh. Fading light, dims the sight, and a star, gems the sky, gleaming bright. From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.”

The flag that drapes the casket is a custom that began during the Napoleonic Wars [1796-1815]. The dead carried from the field of battle on a caisson were covered with a flag. Today the flag of our nation is draped over the casket of our fallen heroes. Then an honor guard folds the flag 13 times. Each fold means something significant. For instance, the first fold is a symbol if life, and the thirteenth fold points to our national motto, “In God We Trust.”

Gold Star Mothers Back in 1917, a simple way to remember men and women in the service came into being. A small flag with one blue star on a silver background and red border was placed in the windows of homes who had a loved one serving in the military. Out of this grew the “American War Mothers” composed of mothers who had a child in the military. If a son or daughter was killed in action, a gold star was sewn over the blue one, completely covering it. Mothers who had lost a child became known as “Gold Star Mothers.”