SPECIAL DAYS: Memorial Sunday

May 25, 2003 - Lesson: Luke 19:41-44

Sermon Title: Peace or Law and Order?

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INTRODUCTION:

Lyrics to "Kneel Where Our Loves Are Sleeping" Words: G. W. R.; Music: L. Nella Sweet.

Published in 1867, before the end of the Civil War when organized groups of women were decorating the graves of the Confederate dead.

1
Kneel where our loves are sleeping,
Dear ones loved in days gone by,
here we bow in holy reverence,
Our bosoms heave the heart-felt sigh.
They fell like brave men, true as steel,
And pour'd their blood like rain--
We feel we owe them all we have,
And can but kneel and weep again.

Chorus:
Kneel where our loves are sleeping,
They lost, but still were good and true,
Our fathers, brothers fell still fighting
We weep, 'tis all we can do.

2
Here we find our noble dead--
Their spirits soar'd to him above,
Rest they now about his throne,
For God is mercy, God is love.
Then let us pray that we may love,
As pure and good as they have been,
That dying we ask of Him,
To ope the gate and let us in.

Chorus

  1. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

    1. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day.

    2. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920).

    3. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

    4. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings.

  2. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11

    1. It was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

    2. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states.

    3. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).

    4. It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May

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MAIN BODY:

  1. Why do we have to observe a Decoration or Memorial Day?

    1. This is not a dumb question.

    2. I realize that it has, at least in our minds, an obvious answer.

    3. We have a memorial Day because war is a necessary part of keeping the peace.

  2. We are people who desire peace.

    1. We pray for peace.

    2. We die for peace.

    3. We sing about peace.

Let There Be Peace On Earth

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be

With God as our Father
Brothers all are we
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow

To take each moment and live
each moment in peace eternally
Let there be peace on earth
and let it begin with me

  1. When has there ever been peace on earth?

    1. Nelson DeMille, in Up Country. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 2002. pp 540-541. concludes that war is always a present possibility.

    2. Here is a brief excerpt from the book

They had just toured Khe Sanh. Paul Brenner is remembering what it was like to be in combat there during the Viet Nam war.

We got back in the RAV, and I said to Mr. Loc, "Quang Tri."

He pulled onto Highway 9, and we headed east, back toward the coast, to the place where I'd spent most of my time here, when they weren't air-assaulting me into the middle of another nightmare.

Susan said, "That was incredible. What an experience."

I didn't reply.

She asked me, "How are you holding up?"

"Fine."

"Paul...why do you think you survived this place?"

"Beats me."

"I mean, half the men who were with Mr. Tram died, and he survived. Ted Buckley survived, you survived. Do you think it was fate? Or skill? Or luck? What?"

"I really don't know. The dead, if they could speak, would tell you why they died, but me living have no answers."

She took my hand, and we rode in silence down Highway 9 through the peaceful valley of Khe Sanh, which means the Green Valley, and which must have seemed like a cruel joke to the twenty thousand North Vietnamese who came here and watched the valley turn red with their blood and bomb-blasted earth, gray with ash, and black with rotting corpses.

And the South Vietnamese, who were fighting for their land, must have wondered if inviting the Americans to help was a blessing or a curse because no one can level terrain like Americans, and the destruction must have been beyond anything the South Vietnamese could comprehend.

And for the six thousand American marines surrounded and besieged at Khe Sanh combat base, so far from home, they must have wondered how they wound up in the epicenter of hell on earth.

And Khe Sanh, the Green Valley, had passed into military legend for the marines, right up there with the Halls of Montezuma, the Shores of Tripoli, Okinawa and Iwo Jima, and all the other blood-soaked battlefields around the world.

And for the First Air Cavalry Division, casualties were mercifully light, victory was claimed, we put another battle streamer on our regimental flags, received a commendation from the president, and flew into the A Shau Valley, where fate awaited us in yet another dark and misty place.

I looked at the countryside as we passed through the valley, and I saw it was green again, and life had returned, coffee and vegetables grew over the bones, and the human race marched on toward something hopefully better.

Yet, standing there on that plateau, I knew that I, and Ted, and Mr. Tram could hear the whispers of ghosts on the wind, and the distant sound of that bugle that split the quiet night and roused the beast in each man's heart.

  1. the sound of the distant trumpet is one that is always present.

  1. How will peace on earth be achieved?

    1. You can try Law and Order.

    2. List of wars from 1899 to the present.

      1. Philippine-American War (1899-1902)

      2. Boxer Rebellion (1900)

      3. The Moro Wars (1901-1913)

      4. U.S. Intervention in Panamanian Revolution (1903)

      5. The Banana Wars (1909-1933)

      6. U.S. Occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico (1914)

      7. Pershing's Raid into Mexico (1916-1917)

      8. World War I (1917-1918)

      9. Allied Intervention in Russian Civil War (1919-1921)

      10. World War II (1941-1945)

      11. The Cold War (1945-1991)

      12. Korean War (1950-1953)

      13. Intervention in Lebanon (1958)

      14. Second Indochina War (1956-1975)

      15. Vietnam War (1964-1973)

      16. Cambodian Civil War (1970-1975)

      17. Laotian Civil War (1960?-1975)

      18. Dominican Intervention (1965-1966?)

      19. Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979-1980)

      20. Lebanese Intervention (1982-1984)

      21. Grenada Invasion (1983)

      22. First Persian Gulf War (1980-1988)

      23. "Tanker War" (1987-1988)

      24. Panama Invasion (1989)

      25. Second Persian Gulf War (1991))

      26. Somalia Intervention (1992-1993)

      27. Occupation of Haiti (1994)

      28. Bosnian War (1995) Also known as Operation Deliberate Force.

      29. Kosovo War (1999)

      30. The War in Afghanistan (2001-Present)

      31. The Third Persian Gulf War : "Operation Iraqi Freedom" (2003)

    3. Don't forget the War on Terrorism.

    4. We declared are in a war against terrorism.

    5. People are apprehensive and frightened.

    6. What are we going to do to protect ourselves.

    7. In the final analysis you cannot because history plainly teaches that terrorism is systemic to the human condition.

  2. What makes for peace?

    1. To have peace there needs not be an absence of conflict.

    2. There will never, as long as the present human species survives, be peace.

    3. A limited peace may be achieved through conflict resolution.

    4. But it depends on the type or kind of conflict resolution into which you enter.

    5. Law and order cannot achieve peace.

    6. You may repress or reduce conflict but you will not eliminate it.

    7. Has the world gotten any better?

  3. This passage from the mouth of Jesus is so important.

41As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42saying, "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God," (Luke 19:41-44, NRSVA).

    1. If you, even you had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!

    2. What makes for peace?

      1. John 14:27 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

      2. John 16:33: 33I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!"

      3. Romans 5:1: 1Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    3. We are at war because we are enemies of God and servants of the Prince of the World.

    4. We will be at peace only when the ultimate enemy is finally defeated

    5. It is important to remember that the prophetic words of Jesus came true.

      1. In 70 CE the armies of Rome besieged the city of Jerusalem.

      2. The city eventually fell and was destroyed.

      3. The people were dispersed.

      4. The tragedy might have been averted if they had known what made for peace.

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CONCLUSION

  1. In the meantime we can:

    1. We pray for peace.

    2. We sing about peace.

    3. We die for peace.

    4. We can work for peace.

  2. There is a tale of two mothers (1) which provides us with inspiration and an example

Two mothers with small children were going through the checkout counter in a supermarket.

The first mom saw her son pick up a jar of mayonnaise and screamed at him, "Put that jar down right now! You're going to drop it. You always drop things!"

Then she turned to the clerk and said, "He''s so clumsy! He's always dropping something or knocking something over. He's driving me out of my mind."

Sure enough, there was a terrible crash, and mayonnaise was all over the floor.

There were angry words, a spanking, a wail of a child as the mother cried out, "Now look what you''ve done! Can't you do anything right?"

The second mother had a similar problem.

Her 4-year-old picked up a bottle of catsup.

She firmly but decisively took the bottle out of his hand, handed him a loaf of bread and said, "Here, carry this. I really need your help."

Then she turned to the clerk and said, "He really likes to help. He helps me pick up things at home. He is my wonderful helper."

  1. If Jesus were here he might say, "Go and do the same!"

1. Thanks to Wesley Taylor, Tualatin United Methodist Church, Tualatin, Oregon.

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