(1) 22 years ago next month, President Ronald Reagan, gave what I think is one of the best ‘Memorial Day’ speeches ever given. It was on the 40th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France that led to the destruction and ultimate surrender of Nazi Germany.
It in he said, “We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs.
Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers [at] the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing.
Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After two days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.
Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war. “
As we remember this Memorial Day weekend, I call your attention to verse 6 of our main text. ‘We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, (2) ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ It is a meaningful question to ask this day and this weekend because in our text it is a question that will be asked by the generations which follow those who witnessed and participated in the crossing of the Jordan River and the beginning conquest of the Promised Land.
It is a question that is also appropriate to reflect on this time of year with Memorial Day at our doorstep because millions of us have taken time, or will take time, to visit and decorate the graves of those who have served our nation, especially those who gave their lives in times of war for the freedoms and benefits we enjoy today.
Why should we remember those who have died on our behalf? What are the reasons for remembering those who have sacrificed not just for our country but for our faith as well?
Here are several reasons to remember that I would like for you to consider this day and this weekend.
(3) Reason number one: We remember because it is through others that freedom and faith have come.
The gentleman on the left is my Grandfather Kane, Army Air Corps, World War I. He did not make it to France in time for the war as it ended while he was en route. But he was willing to do his part to serve as needed and necessary for his country.
The lady in the middle was his wife, my grandmother. Both of them were people of great faith and I have recently acknowledged the role my grandmother has had in my own faith development.
The gentleman on the right is my late father. That’s his Army graduation photo. He was drafted in 1951 and went to Korea, 2nd Infantry Division. He saw action on the frontlines. He had a flame thrower blow up in his face as his buddy, who had the dangerous assignment of being his company’s flame thrower, was cleaning it in a tent they were in.
Dad made serving this nation a career and spent nearly 30 years in Civil Service at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
It is people, known and unknown to us (but known to God), that we remember this weekend because it is people, believing in ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,’ that has made the further pursuit of this ideal possible.
The same holds true for us as followers of Christ. Throughout the Bible, in places such as Hebrews 12:1 which says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,” and in our main text, we are reminded that our faith is passed from one generation to the next by people who obey the Lord and share the faith in word and action.
As I shared during the two Sundays after Easter, Jesus gave further directions to the remaining disciples about God’s mission and purpose for the church in light of His death and resurrection. This mission and purpose is about people who have demonstrated the love of Christ and lived out that faith in the community of faith and the community in which they live.
(4-7) Who are some of the persons that you remember this day that have contributed to your faith? Who are those that we remember this day who have been vital in the life and growth of this church? Let us give thanks to God for their life and testimony!
(8) The second reason we remember is that we cannot afford to forget.
At the end of what is now the World War 2 exhibit at the Air Force Museum in Dayton is a pillar that contains a quote from the American philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past,” he wrote, “are condemned to repeat it.”
While it may be politically fashionable to forget certain things about our history or to re-write them to fit a particular viewpoint or agenda, the danger from forgetting them is that history has a way of repeating itself.
(9) Forgetting opens us up to failure. A now dwindling number of veterans who have served as guides at the USS Arizona memorial in Hawaii have done so as a reminder to us that forgetting the need to be vigilant and prepared can be costly.
We are also reminded of this vulnerability within the book of Joshua just three chapters after this ceremony and after the great victory at Jericho, Israel forgets God’s rules of engagement and victory, and is soundly defeated at the town of Ai. As we read in verses 10 through 12 of Joshua 7, “But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen the things that I commanded to be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them; they have also lied about it and hidden the things among their belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat.” Some very painful things took place after this defeat and caused the Israelites great pain and suffering because of their forgetfulness and disobedience.
In remembering those who have sacrificed this weekend we are able to remember the good, and sometimes as necessary, the bad of our history as a nation. This also holds true for our faith and our church.
Granted Paul tells us in Philippians 3:13 that he is forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead and we should as well. But, he also acknowledges the history of his own life and journey in verses 1 through 12 that reminds him of the progress, through Christ, that has taken place in his life because of God’s great grace.
Finally, we remember because the act of remembering is an act of gratitude. (10) I am grateful for the service in times of war and peace of several in this congregation as well as in my family.
I am also grateful for those who have served as mentors of faith down through the years of my life.
Since combat began in Iraq three years ago, the inevitable parallels have been drawn, as the casualty count has gone up and the policy debate about the war has grown louder, to Vietnam.
In book highlighting some of his father’s wit and wisdom, Michael Reagan included an excerpt of comments Ronald Reagan made as governor of California to a group in Atlanta in December 1973 regarding the thoughts and feelings of some of the returning Vietnam POWs. One quote makes me wince with sadness when I read it. “You know, we thought you’d throw rocks at us when we came home.”
I was kid during Nam, and some in this room served there, and I remember how increasingly disrespected the soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen were treated by the public. I think that is not true, thankfully, today. (In a few moments, you will be given a chance to express your support in a practical way for several of our community who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.)
We need to be grateful and thankful for those who have served, in some cases sacrificing their lives, and those also now serving our nation. Not to do so is rude, selfish and ungrateful. What would have happened to this nation, if after December 7, 1941, millions of men and women would have not risen to the defense of this country?
War is a terrible thing. I recall a man who, after his combat service, lost his family because he was so deeply and terribly emotionally scared by his combat. I know that my own father relieved some of his combat experiences in his sleep when he returned home. Not to give thanks to those who serve and not to remember those who gave their lives in the service of our nation, is to gravely disrespect them and our national values. Remembering is act of gratitude.
We also need to remember those who have sacrificed so much for our faith. I think this day of my colleagues in uniform who are serving around the world in difficult and demanding situations. I think of those who serve the Lord in other countries (including two from this church) so that others might experience the saving grace of Christ in their lives.
A recent experience makes me realize just how global the Christian family is as I watched ‘The DaVinci Code’ with a group of international students from the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship Chapter at IPFW. There were students from Africa and elsewhere there, and as I wrote this section I thought, ‘Who were the people that said ‘yes’ to the Lord and helped these people come to faith? (We also had a couple of Muslim refugee students from Africa come along as well.)
What about you? Who do you remember this day as instrumental in your coming to Christ? Who has helped you grow in your faith? Have you expressed gratitude to them if you are able?
(11) So, what do these stones mean to you? (12) And, what do these stones mean to you? (13) Let me suggest, love, service, sacrifice, and commitment.
Let us conclude this morning by standing as we remember those who have served our nation with the ultimate sacrifice with the playing of ‘Taps.’ (14-16)
(As you leave this morning, we are going to practice remembering and thanking some men and women from our area who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their names were given to me by Denise Helmer who is a part of an area group, Families for Freedom, which exists to support families of military personnel.
There are 20 or 21 names and I have placed a one of those names on each postcard that I will present to Denise next week to send to them. I ask that you sign as many as you can before as you leave. There is not a lot of space so families may wish to sign. Let’s show our support to those who serve in this way of remembering.)
Reagan D-Day speech can be found at http://www.reaganlibrary.com/reagan/speeches
Reagan quote is found in book, In The Words of Ronald Reagan, page 201. ©2004 by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Complied by Michael Reagan.
Power Points for this sermon are available by e-mailing me at pastorjim46755@yahoo.com and asking for ‘052806svgs’ Please note that all slides for a particular presentation may not be available.
