When I was a kid, Memorial Day weekend was a big deal and we all looked forward to it.
At the center of the event was the parade. Our two towns, Derby and Shelton, got together to put it on and it was great.
The high school bands led out, and there were the numerous marching groups and floats representing boy scouts, and cub scouts, who by the way we are recognizing in our parish today; girl scouts, and a number of patriotic and veterans’ groups.
There were bagpipe bands, and a number of fife and drum corps, and then the Connecticut governor’s foot guard, with their bear skin hats and long tailed red coats; they were the official state militia tracing its lineage back to 1771.
Then there were the fire departments and their equipment, both old and new. I still remember the vintage 1930ish Ahrens fox engine with the big chrome globe up front.
And then the soldiers and their vehicles: jeeps, “deuce and a halfs” pulling an artillery piece, maybe a tank or personnel carrier.
There was always a float or car or two of old World War 1 veterans—some would wear their old uniform with their flat pie-plate helmet on—and we would wave to our neighbor who was part of that group. For a little kid, this event was a 10 on the excitement scale.
I remember at one point there were a couple of cars with a bunch of old ladies in them. The cars were decorated with banners hanging from the side that had gold stars on them and the title: Gold Star mothers.
It seemed out of place to my little brain and I asked my dad why they were in the parade. He said they are part of the reason we have this parade that they were mothers whose sons had died fighting for this country. And why we have this parade, remembering them and their sacrifice for us.
That was a sobering moment for me as a kid— it made me sad for them–and I never again looked at those carloads of old women with the gold star, nor Memorial Day, in the same way.
As I grew up, I found myself marching in that parade, as a cub scout, as a boy scout, and later as a fireman, proud to be a member of our company color guard. After the parade we would load up our engines with flowers and have a solemn procession to the local cemeteries where we would put flowers on the veterans’ graves.
I never forgot why we were having this parade—it was not entertainment—it was remembrance—memorializing those who sacrificed for us—remembering who we were—who I was –in light of that sacrifice.
Memorial Day is about remembering—as Americans—remembering who we are, memorializing—remembering –and being thankful to all those who conferred to us all that we have inherited by their sacrifice.
In a real sense, it is the same thing we do as Christians in that same way every Sunday. Every Sunday is a memorial day for the Christian. It is a day to remember, a day to be thankful.
We don’t have a parade—well there is the procession in and out—but as dignified as that is can it compare to bagpipes and fife and drum corps, and firetrucks and deuce and a halfs, and jeeps.
But we have a liturgy that makes us consider what we need to be thankful for, and to whom we need to be thankful. We memorialize –we consider the sacrifice made for each of us to inherit the promises, indeed the life we are given as Christians.
If we really pay attention to what we say in the liturgy every time we worship we should certainly be affected.
Consider what we say and pray when we worship:
—we acknowledge that we are broken people—desperately in need of God’s help and forgiveness and grace,
-we hear that God loves us with such immensity that he gave his only son Jesus to pay the price for our freedom from sin and death—God is the first gold star parent—
-we are given the opportunity to ask God for forgiveness and given the assurance that he does,
-we are given the opportunity to approach God’s throne in Jesus name with our needs and given the assurance that he does indeed hear us, and answer us in his time and in his way.
-We hear of God’s promises to be with us in the power of the Holy Spirit, giving us the very body and blood of Christ himself.
We are given the grace to overcome the trials of this world—to keep the issues of this worldly life in perspective– by the hope and promise that ultimately we will pass through this life to a new life, a new world- with Jesus forever.
Besides these standards we hear in every liturgy, every week we are given variety of other truths and promises, in the cycle of scripture readings and prayers every week.
Consider this week’s offering:
In the Collect of the day we prayed that God would protect us from hurtful things, and give us only things that are profitable for us.
Now that is a scary prayer—for in God’s eyes—hurtful things for us may be things we want; money, free time, success, notoriety.
And profitable things for us in his eyes may be things we absolutely do not want; maybe even suffering and trials.
Yet we affirm that he ultimately is Lord over all—his never-failing providence sets in order all things in heaven and earth, and in our lives.
In the old testament lesson from 1st Kings we hear king Solomon’s prayer asking God to allow the foreigner—the non-Jew—the pagan—to be converted- to come to worship the one true God, that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as do thy people Israel. Solomon prays a prayer that is ultimately answered by God in the person of Jesus Christ.
The Psalm 96 is a song of praise that exults God above all other Gods and calls all nations and peoples into the joy of acknowledging and worshipping the one true God.
Saint Paul in his epistle to the Galatians reminds us to stay focused on the truth of the gospel that we have received—the Creedal faith. He warns us that there are others who would detract from the truth of who Jesus is and what he has done—there are those who would distract us from that truth with “alternate” interpretations –and they are cursed for doing that, because the truth comes from God, not from man, and thus has eternal consequences.
In the gospel lesson, Luke reminds us of Jesus’ love for all people—even the outsider—or enemy as the Roman soldiers were considered by those Jews in Jesus’ time. We are reminded of what faith in Jesus means— the humility by which to approach the Lord—acknowledging our sinfulness and his holiness–I am unworthy to have you come to me—and that as we come to Jesus, he has the ultimate authority: What he says will be done—because he is Lord.
Every liturgy might be considered as a Memorial Day parade. It is a parade of truths, promises, warnings, encouragements, glories, and praises that march by us in moving splendor, that intends to catch us up in it.
So if we are paying attention, we might find cause to weep or praise, feel joy or conviction, be granted courage or encouragement, be moved to decision or peace.
So that at the end of it, we are left reminded of who we are as Christians, thankful to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and grateful for the sacrifices made by a gold star God, who gave his son, that we might have that identity as a gift, with all of its promises—forgiveness, eternal life, his never failing loving presence, and its responsibilities.
Today and every Sunday we celebrate a memorial day as Christians.
This week we celebrate a memorial day as American citizens, may we never forget those gold star mothers, as we should never forget the cross, because they both remind us of the high cost paid for us to be who we are; what it cost for us to inherit the lives and blessings we have today.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Richard C. Marsden
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
2nd Sunday of Pentecost
29 May 2016