Memorial Day
Old soldiers cry when alone in the night for the hurt never leaves. By the summer of 1967, our unit, the 199th Light Infantry, had suffered a number of causalities decreasing our strength by about a quarter. Our first replacements began arriving; among them was Private Locklear. Private Locklear was a Lumbee Indian from Robeson County North Carolina. He had finished high school, turned eighteen and been drafted. In the Army less than six months, he had finished both basic training and infantry training, had a couple of weeks of leave and then was send to Vietnam. He was a handsome muscular man standing more than six feet four, maybe six five. The tenth day in our unit, Private Locklear lost his life. He would never have a wife, never have a family, and never know the joy of having grandchildren. His Mother, Father and family suddenly had a huge hole in their lives.
Private Locklear is one of the 1.2 million men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation. They were real people but remain mostly anonymous usually with nothing more than a stone slab to mark their burial place. Who were they? They were young men and women whose lives were just beginning to bloom but, because of their loyalty to our Nation, lost their lives.
Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Today, our nation mourns the loss of all Americans who died defending our country throughout the world since 1775. This remembrance is all-inclusive spanning 248 years and some 62 military actions that claimed 1.2 million lives. Most Americans are familiar with the major wars, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan, but few think of those killed in lesser-known engagements.
Examples of the lesser-known actions range from the Franco-American Naval War (1798-1800) to Grenada to the tragedy of the USS Cole (2000) to the recent death in The Philippines. No American death is too insignificant not to remember when that a life was lost at the behest of society. GI's do not choose when or where they serve or what foreign policy they must enforce. The death of a sailor in the Persian Gulf is every bit as important as one in the Pacific during WWII. All distinctions are irrelevant.
These men and women have remained mostly anonymous except to the families who loved them. Who were they? They were relatives, friends and neighbors melded together to perform a service for our entire society. They came from all walks of life, all religious paths and from all regions of our country. Nevertheless, they all had one thing in common, the love of and loyalty to God and Country.
They were the nation’s defenders. On Memorial Day, we Americans commemorate those who made the greatest sacrifice possible, giving one’s own life selflessly. Far too often, the many in our nation take for granted the freedoms we enjoy. Freedoms paid for by the lives of others few of us actually knew. Today, we collectively remember those who gave their all.
Our passage this morning is John 15:13 is fitting for this Sunday. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” In this verse our Lord spoke of the greatest expression of love: sacrificial love.
I. The Sacrificial Love of the United States soldier, sailor and Air Force service personnel
A. When a person has enlisted in the Armed Forces, they repeat the following oath: I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
B. These men and women volunteer to leave home and family to protect the freedoms we treasure. Our freedom of religion, of speech, to bear arms, and all civil liberties codified in the Bill of Rights are defended and protected by our military. Former Senator Fred Thompson once said, “This wouldn’t be the land of the free if it were not the home of the brave.” It is good and proper for us to thank God for the men and women who have sacrificially loved each of us through their military service.
II. Sacrificial Love is the average in America
America’s isolation from World War II ended on December 7, 1941, when Japan staged a surprise attack on American military installations in the Pacific with the most devastating strike hitting Pearl Harbor. It is estimated that 16,000,000 Americans served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II, with around 400,000 killed and 671,000 wounded.
Private First-Class Kiyoshi Muranaga, the son of Japanese immigrants, volunteered for Army service from an internment camp in Colorado. He voluntarily remained in place to neutralize an enemy position that was threatening his company, even though it cost him his life.
Commander Howard Gilmore was the commander of the submarine U.S.S. Growler. He ordered the sub to dive while he was on the bridge to save the boat and her crew.
The United States entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism and to assist the South Vietnamese state with both financial and military support. Almost 60,000 Americans died in action during their service there.
Staff Sergeant Felix Conde-Falcon successfully eliminated three bunkers that were threatening his unit. He died in the line of service while taking on the fourth.
First Sergeant Rodney Yano was a crew chief on a helicopter. When a phosphorous grenade exploded prematurely, he exposed himself to injury by grabbing the explosive device and throwing it out of the aircraft. His sacrifice saved the lives of his crew members.
III. The Sacrificial Love of Jesus Christ
A. Look again at our verse this morning, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” With these examples of sacrificial love and we now reflect on the greatest act of sacrificial love provided by God on our behalf. Jesus laid down His life for His friends and died on the cross for us.
B. Jesus led a life of sacrifice. John 1:14 tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
1. In Philippians 2:7-8, Paul wrote that God the Son, “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
2. This love is sacrificial and undeserved. Paul writes in Romans 5:7-8, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
3. The greatest act of sacrificial love was when Jesus willingly sacrificed His life to free us from our bondage to sin Romans 6:6, “so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
4. Jesus laid down His life for you and calls you friend.
5. We who are Christians are friends with the Creator of this world. Jesus said in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
IV. We rightly honor those who sacrifice themselves for their friends and their country.
A. The greatest gift ever made was by God himself. We read of it in what is called the golden text of the Bible, John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Quite obviously, God is a giving God, a loving God, a God of mercy and grace. How marvelous indeed are His expressions to each of us!
B. Normally, in human terms, when we receive a little gift from some friend or loved one at Christmas or on a birthday, we like to show our appreciation. However, so glorious indeed are God’s mercies that we overflow with thanksgiving and join the psalmist in our text, asking, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits?"
1. Our blessings from God are so numerous and so rich that we are made to testify as the Apostle Paul, Romans 11:33, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"
2. What we can give to God is small, so very small, when compared to what He has given us; nevertheless, we must not fail in presenting our gifts to Christ. Let us now consider four gifts we can render unto Him: our love, ourselves, our loyalty and our talents.
V. Our love: Even in human terms, love is the greatest of gifts. Joining the military is an act of love of nation, of friends and of family.
A. It is significant that Paul lists love as the first manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22, "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ...".
B. Important as well is the fact that love is twofold, reaching first toward God and then toward our neighbors. When asked of a lawyer, Matthew 22:36-37, "'Which is the great commandment?' Jesus answered, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, Jesus said, but the second is related, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'"
1. Adam Clarke puts it succinctly, "Our Lord shows us that the whole of true religion is comprised of us loving God and our neighbor."
2. All gifts are worthless and unacceptable unless accompanied by, and given from, a heart of love.
3. True love has no limitations, no boundaries. Love cannot be purchased; it is always freely given. No, wonder the Scriptures place so much emphasis upon our love for God.
VI. Ourselves: Along with our love, in full confirmation of our love, those in the military give themselves as vessels. Paul writes, Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living’ sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God." In light of all His great gifts to us, how can we do less? Paul faced this question, adding the observation that such is our "reasonable service."
A. When a young man or woman enters the military, he or she is trained and schooled in the hardships of military life. He or she holds none of his strength in reserve.
1. He or she gives all. Our spiritual Commander, Jesus Christ, calls today for those who will bring all their powers into subjection and serve without reservation in the army of the Lord.
2. There has never been a time in history when the cause of righteousness needed consecrated people more than it does today. 2 Chronicles 30:8, "Let us yield ourselves unto the Lord."
B. What better gift to bring to Christ than a yielding of our total selves to His will, saying with the Apostle Paul, Acts 20:24, "Neither count I my life dear unto myself. Unless He is Lord of all, He is not Lord at all." Thus, we offer ourselves-a gift unto Christ.
VII. Our loyalty: Serving in the military is the utmost demonstration of loyalty to our Nation and our freedom. The wise men who saw Christ’s star, upon the occasion of His birth present a lesson in loyalty worthy of note. Not only did they pursue their journey with diligence, against great odds, but also they refused the bribes of an earthly king, their loyalty firmly anchored in God himself. Others were unseeing, others refused to believe, but the wise men grasped a promise. They clung to God’s Word. We will never find Him, or serve Him, if we do not believe His Word.
A. The wise men were not satisfied just to find Him and leave. They recognized His divinity, and they worshiped Him reverently, whom even angels bow before. Hebrews 16, "Let all the angels of God worship him."
B. What is more, they verified their love and worship through presentation of gifts-gold, frankincense, and myrrh, some of earth’s most valuable treasures. They gave to Christ their very best. We must do no less. Christ must be first in our life.
VII. Our talents: There are many talents needed in our Armed Forces for it take nine soldiers to supply and support one solider in the trenches. In one form or another each military man and woman have special and unique training. Our talents are not the same. They may not be equal in number or variety, but they are gifts, or graces, from the Creator and we must consecrate them to God.
A. When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a young man, he expressed himself in a letter to his father, "I am not sure as yet for what my talents fit me, but I am determined to be eminent in something."
B. I truly believe God has endowed each of us with capacity, with potential, with talent to become eminent in something. That eminence may not appear to men and women of this world but it will certainly register on God’s perfect scale of values. The beautiful thing about giving what we have, our talents, to God is seen in what they then become under His leading and the direction of His Holy Spirit. Every Christian soon discovers himself, in the power of Christ, doing more and becoming more than he is personally capable of doing or becoming.
C. Paul wrote to young Timothy, his son In the Lord, 1 Timothy 4:14, "Neglect not the gift that is in thee."
1. Nor must we either neglect our gifts or use them selfishly. Life is more than earthly existence, more than that which is presently seen.
2. It is also the laying up of treasures in heaven.
3. I we use our talents for His glory, we will hear Him say, Matthew 25:21, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
Conclusion: Because our Country’ Armed Forces have been willing to give the last full measure, we are able to meet together and say, Acts 17:28, "In him we live, and move, and have our being."
Closing prayer: Dearest Father in heaven, Monday we pause to remember the brave soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave their lives for our freedom. Father we are thankful for them all, all these courageous men and women. They fought on land, at sea and in the air sacrificing their lives that we may live in freedom and worship You in peace. We honor them now, their bravery we cannot ignore. Heroes of war, they were so much more, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and friends. Our beautiful red, white and blue flies at half-mast for those of the past to whom our gratitude we send. We place flowers on the graves of those who were brave. We salute them. Seeing poppies galore while our hearts soar, remembering proudly those who gave the last full measure of devotion. They fought not for glory, nor for wealth, nor honor but only and alone for freedom which no good man or woman surrenders but with his or her life. Father, let us not have on our conscience that they died in vain. Guide us to live with hatred toward none and love for all through freedom in Christ. Amen.
