Remembering to Remember
by Candice Watters on 05/26/2009 at 1:00 PM
I love Memorial Day. I love remembering the soldiers who sacrificed everything, dying to protect the freedoms I too often take for granted. I think that's why I get choked up thinking about all the people who forgot why yesterday was a holiday. Living in a military town, it's a bit harder to forget. Though not impossible by any means.
I suspect a lot of you did the typical Monday holiday thing yesterday. We cut our grass, grilled hot dogs, took a long nap, and imagined that it was summer. But we also stopped to read a tribute to two of the most famous American soldiers, Audie Murphy and Alvin York. In discussing these two decorated heroes, Peggy Noonan wrote,
When I said "2,488 days," a number of people in the audience went "Oh!" I heard it up on the podium. They didn't know because he doesn't talk about it, and when asked to, he treats it like nothing, a long night at a bad inn. Warriors always do that. They all deserve the "Oh!"
If you're among those who discount Memorial Day, I recommend Kevin DeYoung's post about all the reasons Christians should celebrate it. He did a great job. But I think he left out one very important reason: We live in a world prone to atrophy. And that's no less true in the realm of liberty.
I'm always disheartened when I hear of churches who don't do anything to celebrate, or even acknowledge, our patriotic holidays. It's because we have the form of government we do, that such churches operate without fear of reprisal. And our military has done much to defend that freedom, not only for us, but for oppressed people's in far away lands.
If you didn't do anything yesterday to remember fallen soldiers--those who have so selflessly fought to defend our liberties--take a minute today to read "Those Who Make Us Say 'Oh!'". And if you've never seen the old black and white film, Sergeant York, you should. York left his pacifist ways behind only after studying everything the Bible had to say about war and the power of the sword.
If anyone should remember the exploits of brave and patriotic soldiers, it's those of us who, without their defense, have so much to lose.
1. Dan Gill said the following at 1:53 PM on May 26:
I was disappointed Sunday when my church didn't mention Memorial Day except for a picture on the front of our bulletin, and the mention of those who sacrificed for us in one prayer. In the past we have always recognized veterans in one way or another.
It distresses and appalls me that we have so cheapend the word "hero" in our culture. A basketball player who makes a lot of shots is called heroic. An actor who takes a political stand is called a hero.
Neither of these is heroic. The men and women who daily put their lives on the line for us are heroes. No basketball player or actor in this day and age is likely to be wounded or killed.
2. Jethro said the following at 4:14 PM on May 26:
Quote "I'm always disheartened when I hear of churches who don't do anything to celebrate, or even acknowledge, our patriotic holidays"
And where exactly in the Bible do you find an exhortation for the Church to celebrate American patriotic days?
To my mind there is some irony is someone who has been a vocal supporter of the Bush/Cheney years, as you have Candice, complain about the atrophy of liberty.
3. Holly (the married, parental one) said the following at 4:37 PM on May 26:
I hope it doesn't offend y'all to mention this, but what I heard in church about Memorial Day make me feel a little squirmy...
the pastor talked about how the young men and women serving in our military are the finest of the nation. The very cream of the crop, if you will. And that they are heros, every one of them, to be honored and thanked.
I'm all for appreciating the sacrifice of the servicepeople (and their families). For real. But the finest young people of our nation? Offering the biggest sacrifice? I sort of thought those words should be saved for the young missionaries that go to difficult areas of the globe to further the gospel.
No? I mean, I know it's Memorial Day and everything, but were we there at church to worship Jesus, or the military? I know why I went...
4. Mike said the following at 5:22 PM on May 26:
While I honor the sacrifices soldiers make for their countries, I can't say I honor their work. Most Christians don't realize that Jesus and the early church were strictly nonviolent, including condemning military service. Thom Stark has an excellent introduction to this topic:
http://thomstark.jesuspolitics.net/?p=282
"Everyone but Christians understands that Jesus was nonviolent."
-Gandhi.
5. Keith said the following at 7:28 PM on May 26:
Several things to consider:
First, remembering those who have passed in defense of their nation is something that should be done every day, and not just once a year. Every day is a gift because their sacrifice, and every day is an opportunity to give thanks for that gift.
As for those who choose not to celebrate because of moral reasons, I feel they should be fully respected. As Christians, we are to love peace. There is nothing wrong with a person refusing to celebrate a day they feel is immoral and which violates Christian principles of peace and love.
Utimately, no human effort guarantees our safety or freedom. It is God who is a defender, our rock, our shelter, and our shield. Putting our trust in any human is foolish. God is the only one that keeps us safe. Let us all, pacifists and others, thank Him also for our freedom and safety.
6. Aidyl said the following at 7:53 PM on May 26:
To be honest I have never paid much attention to Memorial Day other than to briefly mention it to my students and to look forward to a day off of work. Then, I married a Marine.
Yesterday, Memorial Day hit home for me. My new husband is fighting in Iraq right now. To imagine the loss that many other wives have faced in the past...of one wife in particular whose husband, recently killed, was in my husband's battalion....well, it is too difficult, too painful, to imagine.
7. Ted Slater said the following at 9:55 PM on May 26:
Mike (#4) -- would you consider it "nonviolent" to spend time making a whip, which you then take to the Temple and with which you threaten people?
When appropriate, Jesus was quite violent. He suffered the violence of His Father at the cross. And some day, he will express violence on this earth to an extent that has never yet been witnessed.
I feel very uncomfortable with violence. It's rarely appropriate for *me* to express it. But Jesus did not condemn the sometimes-violent vocation of soldier, and did not express an outright condemnation of violence.
Jesus was not, and is not, "non-violent."
I find your quote, from a follower of Vishnu or something (or nothing), kind of odd.
8. BDB said the following at 10:06 PM on May 26:
Holly (#3) wrote:
>>I sort of thought those words should be saved for the young missionaries that go to difficult areas of the globe to further the gospel. <<
I heard an interesting rememberance on the local Christian radio station. They were discussing how many of the people who went into foriegn missions went back to the places where they served in the military.
This was definitely true for Mission Aviation Fellowhip. If you study their history you find that they began with a handful of military aviators who saw the need while flying around the Pacific.
Their first missionary pilot, Betty Greene, flew bombers from the manufacturing facility in Long Beach, CA to meet their crews in New York, NY, to take to the fight in Europe.
9. DannieA said the following at 11:00 PM on May 26:
Let's put it this way:
As a provider of speech services in the public schools I get thanked once a year in May on the National Day of the Teachers...which includes everyone who teaches the students in the schools...so why would I not stop and just acknowledge and thank the people who are in the military and would die if need be doing their job?
It just makes sense to me. We do it every year, just a stand and applause to our servicemen...on Memorial day at church we also in addition have a moment of silence while the names of our church members who have died in that year are read as well.
Please people, it definately isn't a sin to be thankful, and to remember people and their sacrifices.
But then again, I support my local firemen and police officers so there ya go!
10. obewan said the following at 6:35 AM on May 27:
I'm always disheartened when I hear of churches who don't do anything to celebrate, or even acknowledge, our patriotic holidays. (Candice)
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Our church for sure has an OVER THE TOP "celebration" at Memorial Day and 4th of July. For starters, they drape a 30-foot flag OVER the cross. That's right, the flag displaces the cross. Then, they have almost all-patriotic music in the "worship" service.
Then, there are lots of government "propaganda" videos in full color on giant overheads "promoting" the war machine. They show fleets of planes dropping bombs, buildings being blown up, and lots of high tech jets being flown in combat and launched from carriers. What they do not show are the thousands of caskets being flown back home or the maimed heroes with missing arms and legs. They might as well change the words of "O Worship the King" to "O Worship the Bomb.."
Then, there is no sermon. They just utter a few political words of patriotism.
While I support our troops, I have to ask what is appropriate for a "worship" service. Personally, I go there to meet the "prince of peace". I don't want to participate in a Masonic "celebration" of war. And for our prayers, I would like to hear more of the "make me an instrument of THY peace", and "please bring an end to wars and suffering" than the simple ones limited to "thank you for OUR freedom" type. And lately, at our church, there have been selfish prayers regarding Iraq – prayers limited to “safety” of our troops, but not protection of the innocent civilians, or for an end to the conflict, or for the hundreds of thousands of Christians there who now face more persecution then before the invasion, and who have now fled the country.
Do we really have freedom? We live on a "prison planet." There are many who opposed the current Iraq war and yet were forced to participate in the mayhem through payment of taxes taken by force.
I think Memorial Day is a time to morn for those who are killed or maimed through wars and to reflect on ways to pursue lasting peace. And it is not that I disrespect our service people, on the contrary, it is that I respect their lives and health, and only want to see them exposed to JUST wars that are fought in direct support of our OWN freedom and security needs.
And all the above is why some churches may not celebrate Memorial Day from the pulpit. I think they have a valid viewpoint. We do claim to want separation of church and state in this country. Jesus himself told us that HIS kingdom is NOT of this world. Many people in our church have written letters to the pastor complaining about the method of “celebration” – especially the part about covering the cross with the flag. Don’t we already have enough public celebrations in the “secular” area for these days? I mean, just turn on the T.V. It is all there. Then, we have our park rallies and parades too.
11. John said the following at 7:04 AM on May 27:
It is despicable the way Americans and American Christians feel about their country.
I think it was an arch-atheist and harsh critic of Christianity who said:
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master, such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their free choice,is often the means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other."
Those who have died fighting for this country deserve the utmost respect and commemoration we, as Americans AND Christians, can give them.
It is a shallow, disgusting soul who benefits from their sacrifice then turns around and ignores it or worse, as some who've posted here, degrade it.
12. Jethro said the following at 3:59 PM on May 27:
John,
And as Oscar Wilde rather famously said "patriotism is the virtue of the vicious"
13. Jim H said the following at 6:21 PM on May 27:
Jethro #12,
I think Memorial Day is more about honoring those who have fallen in the defense of freedom than it is a pure celebration of patriotism like the 4th of July.
While I love this country and believe it has done far more good than harm (a point you will probably disagree with), I do agree with you that ABSOLUTE patriotism is dangerous and can lead to to such evils as Nazi Germany. When a nation has abandoned its moral founadtion and becomes tyranically evil, the time for patriotism is over. I am of course speaking in general terms and by no means implying the US is even close to the state of evil, tyrannical, capricious rule now, but I believe we are headed in the wrong direction and we could be approaching that state in my lifetime.
14. Jethro said the following at 10:28 PM on May 27:
Jim H (#13),
A thoughtful reply. I must say I agree with you completely, the USA has done far, far more harm than good.
That does not mean She is exempt from criticism though (and I don't suggest you are saying otherwise).
15. Jim H said the following at 12:16 PM on May 28:
Jethro,
I said the USA has done more good than harm and you said "far far more harm than good." If that is what you really meant (as opposed to being a typo), then we are NOT in agreement. Or maybe that was a Freudian slip? Or maybe that is what you really meant to say and you misread my original response?
Of course we are also in agreement that the USA should not be exempt from criticism, but some on the hard left go far beyond a critical eye and actually hate our country. That is another general comment, so don't think I am trying to apply that to you.
16. Keith said the following at 12:17 PM on May 28:
It is misleading to believe that the United States has done more "good" in the world than "bad." The truth is that evil is something that lurks in the heart of every American, as it does every Iraqi, every Swede, and every person on this planet. To define entire nations as more morally superior than others is equally as foolish. Former President Bush's claim that Iraq, North Korea, and Iran constitute an "Axis of Evil" distracts us from perceiving the evil practices lucking within our borders. Like a magician who uses one hand to perform a distracting trick while with the other hand he pulls out a bunny that "magically appears", those who focus on the corruption of others become blind to the evil that is appearing and multiplying on their own side.
If we want to do “good” in the world, we start by admitting our own sinfulness, repenting of our misdeeds and of our mistreatment of humanity, and must begin trusting that God can do something in us that we cannot do in ourselves. Rather than standing on rubble of a collapsed tower proclaiming that foreign peoples are “are going to hear from all of us soon,” the former President should have gone to a church and collapsed on his knees in prayer for the salvation of the attackers.
Some people believe that we will be destroyed if we appear too nice. When I was in high school, I was being bullied and beaten by a classmate. Rather than hating, or wallowing in self pity, I prayed and prayed for his salvation. Years later, I got a phone call: It was the former bully calling me to apologize for what he had done. Not only that, he said he had given his life to Christ, and that he wanted to go to Bible College. Wow, God answers prayers...
Human militaries cannot accomplish anything without the help of God. Let us start praying for the soul of Osama Bin Laden. Let’s sincerely pray that he will be released from the bondage of Islam, and that we will see him attending a Bible college. Sound foolish? Not according to God’s will...
17. Pak said the following at 1:53 PM on May 28:
#16 "It is misleading to believe that the United States has done more "good" in the world than "bad.""
Please explain in more detail or provide examples if you believe this to be true. Even from someone who's critical of his country (and you appear to be, assuming you're from the U.S.), I find this hard to believe. Unless you want to count the contributions of Margaret Sanger and Rachel Carson, I would have to disagree with that statement.
18. Jethro said the following at 2:02 PM on May 28:
Sorry. For the record I meant far, far more good than harm. An error on my part.
19. Mark W said the following at 2:09 PM on May 28:
Regarding the discussion in comments #14-17, I think it's important to define "the USA." Is "the USA" the citizens of the United States? Is it the federal gov't? Is it the military? Is it the civilian institutions of the USA? You're going to be dealing with radically different issues depending on how you define your terms. For my part, I agree with Keith in that I believe that the citizens of all countries are totally depraved human beings who can only be saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ through the gospel, so it's kind of absurd to argue about whether a given country's citizens are "good" or not. Beyond that, I believe the contributions to science, industry, and culture that have come from the U.S. to the world have been, on the whole, immeasurably good. Conversely, I believe that nearly everything our federal gov't (including the military) has done to other countries for the past century or so has been, on the whole, immeasurably harmful.
20. Keith said the following at 2:55 PM on May 28:
Pak,
God is the only one who does "good" in this world, because no one can do "good" without His assistance. Therefore, to get into debates on whether or not the United States is a force of good or evil in the world is pointless.
If we want to change the world, we must begin by changing ourselves. And even that is not by human effort; it done by being open to the work of the Holy Spirit.
When I said that "It is misleading to believe that the United States has done more 'good' in the world than 'bad' I was referring to fact that Americans (I am not American) are being distracted from the evil within their own borders. This, of course, is true of any country which claims moral supremacy, whether it be Canada (my home country), Australia, or any other Western democracy.
Of course I deeply respect everyone who has laid down their life for freedom. At the same time, it is really only by God's grace we are safe, and we should remember that prayers are more powerful than man-made weapons.
Let's keep praying for Osama Bin Laden.