United Church of Pittsford

Deuteronomy 16:20
Matthew 5:43-48 and Romans 12:14-19a

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a national holiday
set aside to remember
and pay tribute
to all of our compatriots who have died in battle.

The commemoration originated in the south, shortly after
the Civil War ended,
and eventually grew
to encompass
the entire nation
and all
of our departed warriors
from every conflict.

In many churches,
worship on the Sunday before Memorial Day
also includes some time
to remember and honor those members and friends of the congregation
who have passed away
in the previous year.

We have paused
to do that as well
this morning.

The traditional intent
of Memorial Day:
to recall
with humble gratitude
and appreciation
the profound sacrifice
of those fellow Americans
who have lost their lives
in battle,
certainly is appropriate
and fitting,
especially by those
who have survived
the ravages of combat: those veterans
who know first-hand
the horrors of war,
who know better that any what that sacrifice involves.

However,
speaking as one who professes the Lord God
as the heavenly parent
of every person,
in spite of their race, religion, or national origin;
I will do more than
just remember and honor
our fallen warriors
on Memorial Day;
I will include
a very somber and sober recollection of all
of those fallen combatants
of every conflict,
who answered the call
of their country
at the cost of their lives;
as well as
all of those
helpless, defenseless, innocent civilians,
who have been
swallowed up
in the angry hailstorm
of violence and destruction.

For, no matter how
we might try to justify
the use of deadly force,
we all know very well
that it is not
the means of choice
for resolving conflict according to the One
Christians of every
race and nationality
call Lord, Master,
Ruler of their lives.

No . . . Jesus did not encourage us to take-up
the sword or the rifle
when confronted
by our enemy,
but to attack that person with the power of love.

Jesus expects his followers
to bless their enemies:
to pray for them;
to respect them
as sisters and brothers;
as children of God;
to love them.

Such a radical idea,
such bizarre behavior
goes against
all of
the common logic,
all of
the conventional wisdom,
all of
the accepted practices,
all of the universal customs
of this world.

That is obvious,
that is a given,
but, that does not mean
for one moment
that it is wrong.

It may not be popular
or even practical,
but that does not mean
that it is wrong!

For God’s way
is the right way,
the true way,
the only way
humanity shall survive.

It is the way our Creator
designed it to be;
the way humanity
was created to live.

Our use of violence,
our desire for revenge,
our capacity
to kill one another
comes naturally
for fallen humanity,
but that certainly
does not make it right, good, desirable ,or true.

The hope of this world
is not to be found in more
sophisticated weaponry,
or a might-makes-right attitude and approach
when dealing with
one’s neighbor;
but in that radical, outrageous, absurd, preposterous capacity
to lift one’s sights
above the obvious, inevitable, unavoidable, inescapable differences that will always exist between
peoples and nations,
and recognize and respect the uniqueness
and the humanity
in every person.

Otherwise, we are destine to destroy ourselves!

Following
the Battle of the Marne
back in September of 1914, the Germans
were forced to retreat.

Their commander
decided that his troops must, at all costs,
hold onto those parts
of France and Belgium
that Germany still occupied.

So, he ordered his men
to dig trenches
that would provide them with protection
from the advancing enemy.

The Allies soon realized that they could not
break through
this line of defense,
so they too
began to dig trenches.

After a few months
those trenches had spread all the way
from the North Sea
to the Swiss frontier.

As the Germans
were the first to decide where to stand fast and dig, they had been able
to choose the best places to build their trenches.

Their trenches were dug
on the high ground,
which not only gave them
a tactical advantage,
but it forced
the Allied troops
to hunker down
in much less
desirable conditions.

You see,
most of the area
was rarely more than
a few feet above sea level.

So, as soon as the Allies began to dig down,
they would invariably
find water two or three feet below the surface.

Water-logged trenches were a constant problem for our troops,
coupled with dysentery, body lice, trench foot,
and the horrifying present of the trench rats.

On one
particularly intense day, when the exchange
of gun fire
was extremely heavy,
a German soldier
crawled into
that narrow strip
of no-man’s-land
that lay between the Allied and German trenches,
in an effort
to get close enough
to hurl a hand grenade into the trench of his enemy.

However,
before he was able
to arm and throw
his hand grenade
he was hit by enemy fire.

He cried out in anguish, and while struggling
to crawl back
to his own lines,
he became entangled
in the barbed wire separating the combatants.

For the longest time
he lay helplessly trapped within the barbed wire, bleeding from his wound,
and moaning
in pain and despair.

Soldiers
on both sides of the conflict were aware of his condition and his situation.

Finally,
one of the English soldiers could no longer stand
the sight or the sound
of that dying man desperately alone
and suffering.

As the shooting continued,
he set down his weapon and began to crawl
out of his trench and
onto that no-man’s-land
of mud and barbed wire.

When his comrades
saw him crawling toward
the wounded soldier
they ceased their fire.

Moments later
the German commander also realized
what the Englishman
was up to,
and ordered his troops
to hold their fire.

An eerie silence
fell over the scene
as troops on both sides peered out
from behind their weapons
at the dramatic event
that was unfolding
before them.

Slowly dragging himself through the mud,
the English soldier
made his way
to the downed enemy
and disentangled him
from the barbed wire.

Then . . . he stood up
with the wounded
German soldier in his arms,
walked straight
to the enemy trench,
and placed the young man in the waiting arms
of his commander.

Having done so,
he turned around
and started walking back toward his own trench.

Suddenly,
a hand was placed
on his shoulder.

It startled him . . .
and he quickly turn around to find himself standing face-to-face with
the German commander.

Now, this officer
had already been awarded an Iron Cross;
the highest German honor in recognition of bravery.

Standing before his enemy,
he proceeded
to remove the medal
from his uniform,
and ceremonially
attached it
to the uniform
of the Englishman.

He then came to attention
before his enemy in
a moment of silent respect, before turning around
and returning to his trench.

Stunned by
what had just taken place, the English soldier
hesitantly turned around
as well
and slowly stumbled back
into his trench.

Moments later,
the two sides
resumed their firing,
and the insanity of war continued.

Scripture tells us
that there will always be wars and rumors of war, until God reigns
in the hearts and minds
of his people.

There will always be
wars and rumors of war
as long as justice is denied; as long as respect for
the inevitable differences that exist between peoples and nations is withheld;
as long as concern for
the well-being of all people is selfishly ignored;
as long as commitment to the peaceful resolution
of conflict
is sabotaged
by violent individuals;
as long as
the people of God
refuse to acknowledge
one another
as sisters and brothers;
as long as people of faith refuse to care for
and pray for one another.

I believe Memorial Day
should be a somber
and sober reminder
of the horror
and the destruction
and the terrible cost
in human life
involved in waging war.

And . . . I believe
its observance
should inspire
every human being
of good will
to sincerely seek after
justice and peace,
both in one’s private life, and as a citizen
of his or her country
and an inhabitant
of this earth.

For . . .
the hope of the world
is found only
in the ways of God:
the ways of truth
and justice
and love.

Amen.