Memorial Day

Memorial Day is our most expensive holiday. It has been paid for in advance by those who gave their all to pay for it. Every hot dog, every burger, every beverage came at a price paid by others.

Countless courageous men and women have served our nation well and their day comes later this year, but on this day we acknowledge our debt to those who paid their all for this day. On Memorial Day we honor those who paid with their lives. Every mom who will never hug her child again, every dad who cried privately for the pride of his life, and every spouse who will no longer embrace their beloved, and every child who will never know their parents apart from a photo, shared in the payment by their grief. In reality theirs is an ongoing payment.

This day should be more than a day off from our regular routine, it should be a day when we at least pause to memorialize those who paid for it.

We owe an enormous debt. In addition to those who have died in the current war and in defense of freedom consider these numbers:

Revolutionary War: 25,324

Civil War: 498,332

Spanish American War: 1,862       

World War I: 116,710

World War II: 407,316

Korean War: 54,546

VietNam War: 58,098

Persian Gulf War (1990-1991): 382 U.S. military deaths

Iraq-Related Operations: 4,605 U.S. military deaths

Afghanistan-Related Operations: 2,459 U.S. military deaths

Post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere: Over 7,000 U.S. service members and over 8,000 contractors have died.
(These figures vary based on various sources.)

Our gratitude should be shown by more than a single day. It should be shown by the way we live every day. Our work ethic, our moral conduct, our devotion to our national loyalty, and our regard for our family are ways of showing our thanks for the price paid enabling our freedom.

In the religious community every day of worship is a memorial day. In the Christian community it is a day for memorializing our beloved Lord who paid for it and much more by His sacrificial death.

Don’t neglect any one such day and honor the One who paid for it with His life.

A Living Memorial

Americans, like the ancient Druids, Greeks, and Romans realized the value of paying tribute to its war dead. It was an acknowledgment of gratitude to those who had died serving their country in defense of what they valued as truth. Here in America the day is called “Memorial Day.” The practice sprung up after the end of the (un)Civil War. Exactly where and when is disputed. Various communities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. Places such as Columbus, Georgia, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Lynchburg, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Boalsburn, Pennsylvania, a small village in the central part of the state has a sign declaring, “Boalsburg, an American village, birthplace of Memorial Day.”

In 1967 President Johnson issued a resolution officially naming Waterloo, New York as “the birthplace of Memorial Day.”

Regardless of where it began it established a day to pause and pay tribute to defenders of truth.

Over the years America’s finest youth have dedicated themselves to serve our nation in various branches of the military with the resolve to defend and to protect it. Of them it has been said “All gave some, some gave all.” Without their love for and commitment to the principles that made America great, the hoards that disgrace our national dignity would not be free to riot and degrade our institutions. They are antithetical to those whose valor has enabled such freedom. May their anarchy not destroy their own freedom and weaken America.

Our gratitude demands a day of memory. From it comes inspiration to commit ourselves to honor those who paid the ultimate price. On such a meaningful day pause and thank God for our heritage.

Some mock the idea and scoff at those who do. They call attention to the flaws in our history while overlooking our many attributes. I saw a bumper sticker recently that gives hope: “America, she ain’t perfect, but we ain’t through with her yet.” Pray that such be true.

We each should evidence the spirit of William Procter, co-founder of Procter and Gamble. The day after he died the “New York Times” devoted nearly a page to a summary of his remarkable success, his wholesome character, and his faith. The story was highlighted by a picture of him about four columns wide in the top  center of the page. Under it these words: “Whatsoever things are pure.”

He had enthrone Christ in the seat of Sovereignty in his life. For us to do this we need to be able to pray with Jesus, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

“If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” Psalms 11: 3.

He Is Risen

Herod, king of Judea married and unceremoniously divorced the daughter of Aretus, King of Petra. Her enraged father marched his army up the region west of the Dead Sea and encountered the army of Herod which he decimated.

When the time of the Jewish Passover arrived Herod lacked sufficient forces to adequately supervise the festival. The lack of military governing forces was compounded by the furor over the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, when the Jews involved in the crucifixion came asking for a guard to be placed at the tomb Herod said, “You have a guard, go and make the tomb secured.” His reference was to the Jewish Temple Guard. The guards at the tomb were Jews not Romans.

I hasten to acknowledge this is in no way a condemnation of the Jewish race. All associated guilt was related to those involved at the time with no generational guilt.

It is the commemoration of an incomparable impossibility defied by an unsurpassable reality. As a confirmation of His divine nature and transformative role Jesus’ lifeless corps was reinvigorated with vibrant life and He arose from what His Roman executioner pronounced Him as dead.

“He is risen” reverberates through the corridors of the centuries, and rests like a memorable mantle on the celebration called Easter which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

It is called Easter because the Romans wanted to divert the worship of the sun god Estra into a Christian festive occasion. Estra was the goddess of light. The fact the sun appeared at a certain point on the horizon they associated it with her and called that direction east. To overshadow this fading tradition the church declared the time an occasion to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

The date of His resurrection cannot be fixed for certain but the day can. It was on the first day of the week, Sunday. For many of His followers every Sunday is a celebration of His resurrection. Thus, it is the only holiday celebrated 52 days a year.

Jews have their meaningful Passover celebration and Muslims Ramadan. These are times in which they commemorate meaningful events in their faith.

The concept of a dead man coming back to life is as radical as the sun rising in the west. When it was first preached 5,000 who had been in Jerusalem at the time professed their belief in the fact and were baptized. Within the first century history records that over 5,000,000 were martyred because of the faith in the fact.

When it was first reported in Jerusalem the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of the day, appointed a brilliant young jurist, an intellect of renown, from their ranks to investigate the rumor. He gleaned more information on the case than anyone of the time. It was by him most of the first person facts were recorded. He was Saul from the town of Tarsus. He came to be known as Paul.

At the peril of his life he reported what the investigation revealed. It was contrary to the bias with which he approached the case. He believed it so fully he died in defense of his report.

Inductive reasoning supported his conclusion. Christ was dead. The official death certificate was prepared by His executioners who knew death. His lifeless body was placed in a tomb. Three days later it was gone. If so, it had to be stolen. If stolen by His enemies all they had to do to stop the resulting revolution was present the lifeless body and make a mockery of the sham. If stolen by His friends all they had to do was present His cold dead body and relieve themselves of the resulting persecution. A wave of martyrs has followed those of the first century gaining hope of an afterlife because of their belief in the bodily resurrection. If not stolen by friends or foes there was no one who could have taken it.

The court of man condemned Jesus to death. The appellate court of heaven reversed the decision.

The best news the world ever received came from a graveyard just outside Jerusalem: “He is risen.”

The Docket of Witnesses

Let’s review the resurrection and the aftermath.

         Jesus had died a quivering corpse on a cruel cross.

The Centurion thrust his lance into His side piercing the flesh, slitting the epericordium, and puncturing the heart. 

Calloused Roman soldiers who gambled at the cross cursed and swore – – – –

                “He is dead.”

Elders, whose deception lead to His death attentively listened to the report – 

                “He is dead.”

Sadducees who shunned the supernatural rejoiced to hear – – – – 

                “He is dead.”

Caiaphas, intoxicated with envy, sighed in relief at the account – – – –

                “He is dead.”

His lifeless body was placed in the tomb. Death reached a new depth.

For three days death celebrated around the tomb.

Death’s cold hand stamped His life – – – – “Fiction.”

Death’s dirge drowned out life’s song.

There would be no appeal from His lifeless lips. Then God said – – – – SURPRISE!

Jesus had forced open the old door of death that had been locked since the death of the first person. The Easter story does not end with a funeral, but a festival.

Not a casket, but a celebration. The resurrection deserves not our applause, but our allegiance. Not our compliment, but our compliance with His will. The resurrection is heaven’s amen and earth’s hallelujah. The courts of earth had condemned Jesus to death.

The appellate court of heaven reversed death’s decision and pronounced Him as  being alive.

A variety of people walked with, talked with Him, touched Him, and dined with Him. He was seen indoors, outdoors, on a sunny beach, and on a shadowy roadway. 

Note these observances: “…He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen of James, then all the apostles, Then last of all He was seen by me…”  (I Cor. 15: 5 – 9a). He who was decidedly dead was obviously alive.

In light of these insights make certain you have asked His forgiveness of your sin and committed you life to Him for time and eternity so that you will hear from Him:  “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25: 34).

I’ll Be Back

Reflect on this summary of Jesus’ last days. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (I Corinthians 15:3-8).

A creditable, available body of eye witnesses were still available to testify of having seen the resurrected Christ.

Many of those in the first century were so fully accepting of the fact of His bodily resurrection that millions of them died as martyrs rather than disclaim it.

If these people were not absolutely certain of the resurrection they would not have allowed themselves to be tortured to death in order to proclaim it as fact.

Among those who came to the tomb the morning of the resurrection was the Apostle John who noted the facial napkin. In that era it was thought that life did not leave the body for three days after the person died. A napkin was placed over the face of the “deceased” in the event they revived so they could blow it off and call for help.

Like a detective investigating a crime scene John scanned the chamber looking for clues. In that napkin he found a clue with a message. John reported the napkin was “folded together in a place by itself” (John 20:7).

It was the custom of monarchs that upon the completion of a meal they would crumple their napkin and leave it on the table indicating they had finished and would not be back.

If they were leaving the table with the intent of returning they folded the napkin and left it neatly in place.

In that clue in the tomb Jesus was saying, “I will be back.”

He said, “I will come again and receive you unto myself.”

                                That is the reason to REJOICE!

He left us with many unanswered questions, but not a single one is a “need to know” question. He taught us all we need to know to be able to follow Him. Our inquisitive nature will always have one more question than there is an answer. It’s a good thing. It is a stimulus to our faith.

In light of all the information He left us, what will be your response? Will you have the right answer to His definitive question? It was asked of Simon Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Or, in old English, “Lovest thou Me?” Summarily your faith response embodies your answer. Answer it now with a truthful resounding “Lord, you know I love you” and spend the rest of your life proving it.