Memorial Day, 2021

 

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:14-20).

 

There is a cemetery in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, said to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. There, three young women, Emma Hunter, Sophie Keller and Elizabeth Myers, began the custom of decorating soldiers’ graves in 1864, while the Civil War was still being fought. They wanted to recognize the contributions of villagers who had given their lives in defense of their country. It was a simple recognition done with what was at hand. Most of the floral arrangements would pale in comparison to those used today. They were the simple bouquets they made from some homegrown flowers. The idea of decorating graves caught on, and today, because of the thoughtfulness of Emma, Sophie and Elizabeth, millions of people across the nation this Memorial Day will remember with deep affection those whose lives once touched theirs.

 

Nowhere in the United States will this practice be more evidenced than Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. Part of the 612 acres of what is now Arlington National Cemetery was originally Robert E. Lee’s homestead. In 1864, with Lee away commanding Confederate forces in the Civil War and a pressing need for burial space in Washington, the government seized the property and made it a military cemetery. In 1868, the first national commemoration of ‘Decoration Day’ took place there, a tribute later renamed Memorial Day. There are men and women buried there from every war America has fought since the Civil War.

 

All of these made incredible sacrifices for our freedom to be maintained. However, I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t remind us that this hard won freedom is temporary. The only eternal freedom was secured by one sacrifice, freely and totally given by the only begotten Son of God, Jesus. Certainly we must remember all those who have died in service of our country; however, we dare not forget the sacrifice of our eternal Savior, Jesus. Remember Him today also!

The Work of Forgiveness

 

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:26-32 ESV).

 

The Apostle Paul is so clear in our reading today when he says, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (v. 32). There is little room for debate on the actions he calls for in the lives of believers. We are to be a people of forgiveness. Yet it is one of the most difficult things to actually do. Consider, though, how hard it can be for us to forgive others. How long have we held a grudge against someone, even for a simple mistake? Or how about refusing to forgive someone for saying something that hurt you, perhaps so long ago that you can’t remember what they said? Or maybe the offense was more serious. Perhaps a spouse betrayed you, a coworker lied and got you fired, a parent abused you, or a bully made life miserable for you.

 

There is no doubt it is difficult, yet the truth still stands. Just as it was enormously difficult for God to forgive us, we must practice that kind of sacrifice in forgiving others. Only the grace of God makes it possible to forgive people who sin against us. Only when we begin to realize how much God has forgiven us in Christ can we learn to forgive.

 

Of course I am not suggesting that we ignore the destructive consequences of the actions perpetrated against us. However, acknowledging the truth of what was done cannot keep us from releasing the offender from all debts to us because of their transgression. Isn’t that precisely what God did? Being wronged may change the boundaries we hold toward relationships with those who have hurt us; however, it cannot change our attitude of complete forgiveness toward them. We must give up the notion of “getting even.” Only the grace of God can accomplish that. He has proven it in Christ. As Christians, we are called to be echoes of God’s forgiveness. Let’s live like that!

 

A Balm in Gilead

 

My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me. Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?” “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? (Jeremiah 8:18-22 ESV).

 

In this frightening passage, the prophet Jeremiah refers to Gilead, a region in Israel that was known for its medicinal balm, or healing salve. In the midst of destruction, there was no place of refuge, no place even for the wounded to find help or healing. The prophets Isaiah and Jere­miah lived to see the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem by the invading powers from the north: Assyria and Babylon. The people were being punished for worshiping other gods since the days of Solomon. But they refused to repent.

 

Isaiah says, “Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great. . . . They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel. . . . Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil” (Isaiah 1:4-6). For Israel’s deep-seated rebellion, God allowed other nations to overtake them.

 

I find it of more than a passing interest that we live in a similar circumstance. As we approach Memorial Day this year, my hope is that we will do much more than observe a holiday. Some may not know that Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. It originated in the days following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe the day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in other local celebrations. For many more it merely marks the beginning of the summer season. It originally was designed to remember the sacrifice of so many who had given their lives for the freedom we now enjoy. As is true with many other memorial celebrations, the true reason is soon forgotten.

 

The death of Jesus is like that. When Jesus came, he did not come as the builder of an ark like Noah, or as a warrior like David. He came as the Great Physician, healing the lame, the sick, and the blind. He gave his life so that we might be eternally healed. Yet, still today, our world persists in rebellion against God and is full of wounds and welts. Only in Christ can we be saved, brought back to God, and healed. Remember his death along with others who have given so much for our privileges. Jesus is the only real “balm in Gilead.”

 

A Full Rain Gauge

 

Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:11-13 ESV).

 

Texas weather is often unpredictable (with the exception of the constant changing). The last week has been one of the wettest we have had in quite a while. At my house I’ve measured over nine inches of rain in the last six days. That is not normal for our area, though it will be welcome later this summer when we face the inevitable drought-like weather of full summer and above 100 degree heat. Just this morning while taking my grandson to school I drove through running water over roads that have not had that condition since I moved here over five years ago. There was some traffic as others faced the same dilemma. It was a bit chaotic.

 

Life can present those challenges. History reminds us of the chaos that can result from various changes in our culture or community. In the beginning of the French Revolution (1789-99), many churches in France were converted into “Temples of Reason.” People lifted up the “goddess of reason” to celebrate the new Age of Reason in place of the fading Age of Faith. Not long afterward the Age of Romanticism came along to replace the tyranny of reason by lifting up passions and feelings. Like a pendulum swinging back and forth, each age has its own ideology.

 

Sometimes there is a good reason for the change; however, usually only one side of truth is exalted. And when that becomes idolized, it prompts a reaction. There is a place for reason, a place for emotions, a place for art, a place for science, and much more. But when people highlight ideals over the sovereignty of God, they become idols (false gods) and are eventually found to be inadequate. Idols are ultimately unsatisfying. That is what happened in the days of Jeremiah. “My people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols,” said the Lord. “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Like idols, broken cisterns leave us thirsty and longing for living water, a gushing spring that never runs dry. Regardless of what people may say from age to age in history, Jesus is always the living water who fills us with the gift of eternal life (cf. John 4:14). In the midst of change, will you trust God or a construct of the world destined to deteriorate and leave you without hope…

 

Thorns and Thistles

 

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:4-15 ESV).

 

We seem to returning to some normalcy in our lives as more people have received their vaccinations and the disease that ravaged our culture subsides. The fifteen months of learning to cope with Covid-19 has taken its toll in many ways. Just one of those is a direct result of working from home. It has taken us away from the sanctity of our homes. There has been a blurring of the lines between the busy, hectic life of work and what has always supposed to be the security and peace of home. We have very little rest from our daily worries and schedules. We have fallen among the “thorns and thistles” of life.

 

We’ve all been distracted by our desires to be “bigger, better, and faster.” That’s the condition when we strive to reach that next pay grade, get that new car with all the bells and whistles, or scoop up that new iPhone that no one else has yet. It could even be that new lakeside property, or even that amazing new power tool. If something like that is driving you, it’s time to step back, take a deep breath, and ask God if you are doing the right thing. The pleasures and distractions Jesus is talking about in this parable don’t have to be sinful to choke our maturity in the Christian life.

 

Perhaps it’s time for you to do some self-examination. It’s not wrong to enjoy great blessings, to set goals for building a business, or to have a bucket list, but it would be a huge mistake to let anything but the Lord be your motivator. If we are distracted or driven by life’s troubles and worries, or by trends, gadgets, or gains and the pleasures they seem to offer, we won’t grow in the truly good life God intends for us. Instead, we will let those things take over in our lives, choking out the rich and full life God wants us to enjoy forever.