Why We Need a Memorial Day
Dr. Larry Thorson
Scripture: John 15:12-14
John 15:12-14 (Today's New International Version)
12 My command
is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than
this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. 14 You are my friends if you do
what I command.
A group of children were asked, 'What
does Memorial Day mean?' And they said, 'It's the day the swimming pools open.’
For a lot of people Memorial Day is just another day the mail doesn’t run or
the garbage isn’t picked up. A lot of
people think of Memorial Day only in military terms; remembering fallen
soldiers. I want to give you three
reasons why we need a Memorial Day.
The first is the need to love. That term has become so commonplace that it
has almost lost its meaning. "I love my new car!" I love
my house!" "I love my country!" No you don't. You enjoy them, perhaps,
but love just isn't the right word. Love is a verb. It’s an action.
Love is doing.
In this morning's scripture,
we heard Jesus say, "Greater love has no one than this, than that he lay
down his life for his friends."
That is action. That is love. That’s what he did.
In
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
She then conceived of an
idea to do something about what she cherished.
She came up with the idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day and to
sell them to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit
servicemen in need. That was love in
action.
At Virginia Tech professor
Liviu Librescu, 76 years old, threw himself in front of that crazed shooter
when the man attempted to enter his classroom. The Israeli mechanics and
engineering lecturer was shot to death, but all his students lived because of
him. That is love in action. We
need Memorial Day because we need a day when we do something to show love for
our fallen soldiers, their families and especially to God who made the ultimate
sacrifice of his own son.
The second reason we need Memorial Day
is to remember. It’s a
time to remember the war dead
because it’s important for them not to be forgotten. We remember the dead because we need to face
reality.
We have had many a battle
cry based on the word ‘remember’: Remember the
But when Jesus died,
there was no rallying cry. His followers didn’t expect him to die even
though he clearly told them. Nor was there a rallying cry immediately
after, for they fled in fear. But later, the apostles Peter and Paul
started the rallying cry in their passionate preaching and letters to the newly
formed churches. That’s where worship on
Sundays came in. Sunday worship is a
celebration of Jesus’ resurrection so we’ll never forget
the price Christ paid for the forgiveness of our sins. I want us to never forget that price of
freedom from our sins that Christ paid.
Coming to church is a way to show Christ you love him. Giving your tithes and offerings is a way to
show Christ you love him. Listening to
the resurrection story is a way to remember.
Listening to the stories of our soldiers is a way to remember.
Remembering is good for
us because it brings the third reason why we need Memorial Day: healing.
Memorial Day was originally created to
heal the wounds between the North and the South. It goes back to
After World War I the day was
set aside to honor the dead from all American wars, and the custom was extended
to pay homage to deceased relatives and friends, both military and civilian.
Memorial Day was observed every year
on May 30 until 1971, when for federal employees, the date was changed to the
last Monday in May. With the exception of
But some Southern states like Georgia,
Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Virginia observe Confederate Memorial
Day at various times in the spring.
Memorial Day was
originally called Decoration Day because families decorated the graves of not
only their loved ones, but others as well. In the kneeling at a grave,
the planting of a flag or flowers, and the saying of a prayer, believing was acted
out. The very act of decorating a grave can bring healing.
Healing comes in many
forms, through many sources, over differing lengths of time. The deepest
wounds take longer to heal. The older we get and the deeper the
relationships, the longer the wounds of loss take. But the promise of God
remains if only we listen. What we believe drives our actions and makes
us who we are.
And so it is with
healing. What we believe will affect our healing. The power of
prayer works because we believe it will work. The wounds to our bodies
heal faster when we believe they will heal faster. It isn't that believing
is wishes come true. But believing is a state of mind that drives our
actions and tells our body and our mind and even our heart that all things are
possible with God. But sweeping our
conflicts under the rug as if they had never happened doesn’t bring
healing. Memorial Day is that day of
healing.
We need Memorial Day because it reminds us of three things: 1) that love in action caused somebody to sacrifice their life for me 2) and I need to remember who it is that made that sacrifice for me 3) and healing from the ravages of conflict comes when tangible action is taken.