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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
May 29, 2005
The Importance of Memorials
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
Tomorrow is the traditional day for Memorial Day. Back in 1971 it was changed
from May 30 to the last Monday in May. I guess the particular calendar day is
only important now because Diane was born on that day and consequently her
birthday was always celebrated with a picnic. That is something we still try to
do.
I suppose in a large way that is what has become of the day for most people.
It is a day to kick off the Summer season of barbecues, picnics and outdoor
activity. It is an additional day off work purposely placed on a Monday so that
it would be a long weekend. That is good for business, both recreational
businesses and industry since it is more expensive for them to shut down
mid-week rather than at the start or end the week.
Sadly, it would seem most people have forgotten the actual resaon Memorial
Day became a holiday. It was still often referred to as Decoration Day when I
was a kid, but maybe that is because I had a great-grandma that was a member of
the G.A.R. – the Grand Army of the Republic – but I get ahead of myself.
Our observance of Memorial Day dates back to 1868, when General John A.
Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic named May 30th as a
special day to honor the graves of Union soldiers. (The G.A.R. was an
organization of Union veterans of the Civil War which existed until the mid
1950’s.) General Logan’s order was that the day was "designated for the
purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades
who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion." Hence, it
was also called Decoration Day.
The selection of May 30th is attributed to a Virginian of French descent,
Cassandra Oliver Moncure, who may have selected this date because it was "The
Day of Ashes" in France – the day that Napoleon’s remains were returned to
France from St. Helena.
There is some debate as to the location and date of the first observance of a
Memorial Day. Some claim the custom of honoring war dead began in Boalsburg,
Pennsylvania. Others claim the custom was originated by some Southern women who
placed flowers on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers after the
Civil War. One writer states the first Memorial Day service took place on May
30, 1866, on Belle Isle, a burial ground for Union soldiers in the St. James
River, at Richmond, Virginia. The school superintendent and the mayor planned
the program of hymns and speeches and had the burial ground decorated with
flowers. The Federal Government eventually got into the debate and in 1966
proclaimed that Waterloo, New York, was the birthplace of Memorial Day since on
May 5, 1865, the people of Waterloo had honored soldiers who had died in the
Civil War.
The observance of the day was started in this country in remembrance of the
Civil War dead, and every war has added to those who are remembered for their
sacrifice for our nation. I hope that you will take part in one of the local
ceremonies that will occur tomorrow and that you will take your children. (Local
ceremonies include Fishkill Rural Cemetery at 12 noon. Wappingers Rural Cemetery
at 9 a.m. Village of Fishkill at 9:30 and Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery at 11).
I mention all of this for two reasons. One, it is important for the future of
our own nation that the next generation knows our history and the sacrifices
that have been made for the freedoms they enjoy. They need a sense of history.
Second, it illustrates the importance of having memorials. We need to have times
set aside and activities that will cause us to think about the past. It is true
for nations now, and it was true for the ancient nations, as we shall see in a
few minutes. It is also a central aspect of our worship of the Lord Jesus.
This morning I want to present to you some of the memorials we find in the
Old Testament and their importance. I also want to challenge you to think of
ways to make memorials in the life of your family. We will then conclude with a
memorial of the most important event that has occurred in history since Adam’s
fall.
Old Testament Memorials
Covenant & Contract Memorials
First, let’s consider a few of the memorials that were set up in the Old
Testament. Some are pretty simple and others more complex.
In Genesis 28 while Jacob is traveling to Haran, where he will work for his
uncle Laban and marry Leah and Rachel, he has a dream in which he sees angels
ascending to and descending from heaven and in which God speaks to him. It is at
this point that God repeats the promises He had made to Abraham to Jacob. The
next morning Jacob sets up a stone as a pillar and poured oil on it and named
it, Bethel, as a reminder of what God had said to him there. A simple reminder,
yet an important one to him.
In Genesis 31, some 20 years later, Jacob is returning to his homeland with
his family, and his Uncle Laban chases after him. A covenant is made between the
two because they do not trust each other. A heap of stones is made at the spot
as a memorial to them both that God is a witness to their covenant and would
require it of them if they broke it. Again, a fairly simple memorial, but an
important one to them. The pile of stones was to be a reminder to them of the
promises they made and that God would judge them if they broke it.
Similar things take place throughout the Old Testament and they take place
today. Essentially a written contract is a memorial to the agreement that people
make with each other. It is more complex than a pile of stones because it also
communicates in writing the details of the promises people make to each other in
the contract, but in essence it is still a memorial to the covenant made. (And
considering how easily people forget what they promise now, it is a good thing
that a written contract is the reminder instead of a pile of stones).
Teaching Memorials
Turn to Joshua 4. I want to point out another pile of stones that were set up
as a memorial. These were not witness to a contract, but rather an item of
curiosity purposely set up to teach future generations. We can learn from this
example.
In Joshua 3 the Israelites have crossed the Jordan River on dry ground by
means of a miracle from the Lord. God had the priests take the Ark of the
Covenant into the water first. When the soles of the feet of the priests
carrying the ark entered the water, the Lord caused the flow of the Jordan to
stop and rise up in a heap at Adam, which was some distance away. The people
then crossed the River bed on dry ground. This occurred while the Jordan River
was at flood stage. In chapter 5 Joshua commands them concerning making a
memorial to the event that had just occurred.
"Now it came about when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan,
that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, "Take for yourselves twelve men from the
people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, “Take up for
yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the
place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you,
and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’" So Joshua
said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of
the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the
number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. "Let this be a sign among you, so
that when your children ask later, saying, “What do these stones mean to you"’
then you shall say to them, “Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off
before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the
waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to
the sons of Israel forever."
This pile of 12 stones was specifically set up to peak the curiosity of
children in the coming generations so that they would ask what they were and the
parents would then tell the children about it. That tells a couple of things
important about setting up memorials.
One, a great time to teach children is at a time of curiosity. Children are
by nature curious about the world around them and why things are as they are.
They do want to know the why and how of things. I am sure all of you with
children, and anyone that has spent any time with a two or three year old, has
found they ask "why" a lot. After the 10th "why?" in a row in a
morning that has been filled with explaining everything from why plants are
green and the sky is blue to why Cherios are round can get a little
exasperating, yet what a wonderful opportunity to teach your children about the
world God has created. We need to take advantage of those opportunities.
Teaching children is not a job that is done a few hours a day. Children are
learning every moment they are awake. One of the great tragedies occurring in
our nation currently is that so many parents think that they are not responsible
to teach their kids. They think the schools and the government will do it. The
tragic High School shootings that have taken place the last decade or so are
shocking enough, but the response of some of the parents is more so. The parents
of one of the two teens that committed the murders at Columbine High School
claimed that they did everything right in raising their child. That has to rank
as one of the top cases of blindness and irresponsibility. Their son viewed
Hitler as a hero, was anti-social to the larger population and then murdered
other teens, and they still think they did everything right? They were failures
because they thought other people were responsible to teach their son right from
wrong.
Remember what Moses said in Deut. 6 about how the knowledge of God and the
world He has created is to be passed down from generation to generation.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And you shall love the
LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart;
and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you
sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when
you rise up."
We have to be diligent to teach the next generation. It is a full time job
and you have to take advantage of every situation that occurs throughout the day
to teach your children what it means to love their Creator with all their heart,
soul and might. In every situation of life we are to be pointing out what God
thinks of the current situation and how He wants us to live.
Setting up the memorial stones gave an opportunity for the Israelites to do
that as they were traveling through the area with their children. "Hey dad, look
at that pile of rocks. Why would someone do that?" And dad could respond, "Son,
let me tell you a story . . ."
Another thing this section of Scripture teaches us is that we need to plan in
advance to have something remind us to teach our children important lessons. You
would think every Israelite there that day would naturally tell their children
about the miracle of not only that day but the many that followed. You would
think that those stories would become part of family history that would be
instilled into all their descendants, yet even such important events can be
quickly lost to the succeeding generations.
I can tell you from personal experience that there have to be some great
stories that occured in my family history that I know nothing about. When my
older brother started tracing out the family tree we found quite a few
grandfathers that fought in the civil war, three of them died in it. A couple
fought in the Revolutionary war. A grandmother came over on the Ann, the ship
that came after the Mayflower. There were quite a few preachers or wives of
ministers in the bunch. What wonderful things they must have experienced and
seen God’s hand at work, but I know little expect some basic information about
them – birthday. Marriage. Children. Death date. I have no stories of what they
saw God do in their lives.
The book of Judges tells us that the Israelites served the Lord only until
the Elders who had survived Joshua also died. Then "there arose a generation
after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for
Israel" (Judges 2:10). How quickly the important events which attest to
God’s hand in our lives are forgotten. The memorial stones were set up to not
only prick the curiosity of the children, but to remind the adults as well.
That brings up a question for us. What memorial stones have we set up
ourselves to both prick the curiosity of others and to remind ourselves of what
God has done? It may be that we have set something up already without thinking
about it, but we also need to go beyond and do something on purpose.
For example. My insect collection in my office at the Parsonage is something
that stirs up people’s curiosity. They ask about it and then I have an
opportunity not only to say something about these fascinating little creatures
God has made, but to also tell how God called me from making a living chasing
bugs to serving as a pastor. Diane and I purposely have some pictures of our
grandparents around so that we can tell stories about them and what we know of
God’s working in their lives. Diane loves to tell about her grandfather who knew
the Lord and had a profound effect on her. She knows a few specific stories of
how God worked in his life and she likes to recount those. Some would find it
odd that a Pastor has a couple of plastic models of B-25’s in his office, but
they give me an opportunity to tell of my father’s stories of how God preserved
his life during WWII.
Traditions that we develop can also be used as memorials as long as the
reason for them is also communicated. God set up a tradition for the Hebrews to
carry on every year from the time He brought them up out of Egypt. It is the
Passover.
The story of all the miraculous plagues God brought against Egypt and her
false gods is told in Exodus 7-12. What I want to point out comes from 12:21-28
when Moses tells the people about the coming Passover and what they are to do.
Exod 12:21 (NASB) Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said
to them, "Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay
the Passover [lamb.] "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the
blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to
the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of
his house until morning. "For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians;
and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will
pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to
smite [you.] "And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your
children forever. "And it will come about when you enter the land which the Lord
will give you, as He has promised, that you shall observe this rite. "And it
will come about when your children will say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to
you?’ that you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed
over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but
spared our homes.’ "And the people bowed low and worshiped. Then the sons of
Israel went and did [so;] just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so
they did.
Every year the Jews were to hold this sacrifice and have this particular
meal as a reminder of what God had done in delivering the nation out of slavery.
God was serious about this tradition being done every year for He repeats the
command to do it several times. Here in Exodus 12:21-27, just prior to the event
itself, the people were given this command to hold the Passover and then repeat
it every year. The next day, in Exodus 12:42-49, when they leave Egypt, they are
told again about observing the Passover throughout their generations. The
command is repeated again in Exodus 23 & 34; Leviticus 23:5, Numbers 9 & 28; and
Deuteronomy 16. God wanted the story of what He had done for them in Egypt to be
remembered.
Traditions can be good things because they can tie us to the past and what
God has done in past times. But it is critical that the reason for the tradition
is taught, or the tradition simply becomes an empty ritual which may be forsaken
altogether. A study of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles shows that many generations of
Israelites did not celebrate the Passover, and only when Godly kings came back
on the throne, such as Hezekiah and Josiah, was the Passover celebrated again
after generations of neglect.
We all should be aware of how quickly the reasons for a celebration can be
lost. Even in our own society the days that have in the past been important days
of the worship of God and remembrance of what He has done have been changed by a
secular society into excuses for a day off work to play. School systems around
the nation have Winter Break instead of time off for Christmas. In those same
schools you may speak freely about the mythical Santa Claus, but you are
restricted from speaking about God becoming a man in Jesus Christ. The
celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus is now called Easter or Spring Break
and has become a time for the celebration of the arrival of Spring with
fertility symbols and the wearing of brightly colored clothes. Thanksgiving is
now "Turkey Day," and it is given over to football and gluttony. My purpose in
mentioning these as examples is that if our children are to hold any of them as
having any significance, then it is up to us to teach them the significance.
The dangers of empty tradition also face the church. Sadly, many churches are
full of ritual which has lost its meaning. Whenever I have attended a more
liturgical church I have wondered at the meaning of their many ceremonies, yet I
also find that the people there do not know the reasons and meaning of what is
done. They simply think that is what they are supposed to do. This church, like
all churches, must also be aware and on guard otherwise we can also quickly fall
into the same trap.
New Testament Memorial
In Matthew 26 Jesus gave His followers a new tradition that they were to
repeat as a memorial to Him. Starting in verse 17 we find that Jesus has
directed His disciples to prepare the Passover meal. This tradition which had
been instituted by God nearly 1500 years earlier was still being celebrated, and
with the Son of God present, we can be sure that the disciples understood its
meaning. Jesus then used this ceremonial meal of remembrance and gave its
elements new meanings for His disciples and all that would follow Him in the
future.
In verse 26,27 we read, "And while they were eating, Jesus took [some]
bread, and after a blessing, He broke [it] and gave [it] to the disciples, and
said, “Take, eat; this is My body.’"
Without going into all the details about how the Passover was celebrated
please notice that the text here says "while they were eating." The
Passover meal was well in progress, and in fact many of the elements would have
already been finished including eating the lamb. At this point in the meal the
unleavened bread is passed along with a third cup of wine called the "cup of
blessing" because a special blessing was pronounced over it. It is at this point
that Jesus changes the Passover into the Last Supper.
The unleavened bread was baked in large, flat, crisp loaves. Jesus took some
of it and broke it into pieces. He offered a blessing of thanksgiving for it as
He always did for whatever He had to eat, and then passed the pieces out to the
disciples. Then He said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Luke adds that
Jesus also said, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in
remembrance of Me."
The unleavened bread had been a symbol of the severance of Israel from their
bondage in Egypt. It denoted a separation from the pagan or oppressive – the
leaven – that would be left behind as they went to the Promised Land where they
would begin a new life of holiness and godliness. Now the matzo would symbolize
Jesus Christ Himself who gave Himself up in our behalf that we might be
separated from sin and unto godliness.
After the bread was taken, Jesus continued in verses 27-29, "And when He
had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave [it] to them, saying, “Drink from it,
all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many for forgiveness of sins. 29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this
fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My
Father’s kingdom.’"
The blood symbolized here is significant in three ways.
First, a covenant had to be ratified with blood. In the common covenants made
between people some animal, often a dove, a sheep or a cow, would be sacrificed
to seal the vows made. The individuals would cut the animals in two, and then
walk between the halves. It was in effect saying, "may this be done to me if
I break my promises to you." God did this with Abraham in Gen. 15 with God
Himself going between the animal halves. Jesus was going to ratify a new
covenant in which salvation is brought by faith in Him and a life of holiness is
assisted by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Second, there is no remission of sins without the shedding of blood, for the
life is in the blood (Lev. 17:14; Heb. 9:22). Sin brings death, so the sacrifice
had to die a bloody death as the payment for sin. Jesus would die the next day
as sacrificial payment for man’s sin.
Third, the setting is a Passover meal which was a memorial of the first
Passover in which a lamb had to be slain and its blood spread on the doorposts
and lintel as a covering for the family so that the death angel would "Passover"
them and the first born would live. This was now being changed as Jesus pointed
out with the cup that it would be His blood that would be shed to deliver man
from sin’s judgment. Jesus, the lamb of God, would become the final Passover
lamb when He was crucified the next day.
As a footnote here, let me make a brief comment about the Roman Catholic
doctrine of transubstantiation in which the bread and the cup become the literal
body and blood of Jesus.
First, there had been no confusion among Christians about the meaning of this
until about the 11th century. Pagans had accused Christians of cannibalism
because they ate bread that was supposedly "Christ’s body," but the Christians
understood perfectly that it was done "in remembrance of [Him]" and defended
that position. It could only be symbolic, not actual flesh and blood, for Jesus
said it was to be in "remembrance of Me." In addition, Jesus was standing there
with His body fully intact when He offered the bread to the disciples. His body
and the bread were clearly distinct. And finally, the disciples would have
rejected the bread if it was to be considered to actually be Jesus’ physical
body. Cannibalism was abhorrent to the Jews and was considered a sign of God’s
judgement when it occurred.
The same is true of the cup. The wine here is purely symbolic. Jesus’ blood
was still in Him and the wine in the cup was just wine. For them to view the
wine as the physical blood of Jesus and then drink it would have been directly
against God’s commands in Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:12,14 & Deut. 12:23 not to eat the
blood of any manner of flesh. To believe that Jesus was asking them to eat and
drink of his physical flesh and blood would have caused the disciples to
legitimately question and reject Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah. The disciples
understood very clearly the symbolic nature of what Jesus was talking about.
Yet, despite the clearly symbolic language used, the context in which it was
said, and the Jewish reaction to cannibalism, the Roman Catholic Church declared
in 1215 at the Fourth Lateran Council that transubstantiation was an official
dogma of the church. Even by that time, the Roman Catholic Church had moved so
far away from a foundation in the Bible that the wild speculation of the
scholastics and the mystical stories among some of the people prevailed over the
clear reading of the Scriptures themselves.
We must be careful ourselves as we partake of the bread and the cup of
communion that it continues to have the meaning which Jesus gave to it, and that
it continues to be precious reminders to us of what Jesus has done on our
behalf. It is a memorial that, as Paul states in 1 Cor. 11:26, "proclaims His
death until He comes" again. We must not let this become either a meaningless
ritual, nor let it be perverted as the Roman Catholic Church has done.
Sermon
Study Sheets
KIDS CORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives.
Here is some help.
Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the
sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children –
Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the
sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many times the term "memorial" is
used in the sermon. Talk with your parents about items or traditions in your
family remind you of special times and God’s work in your family. Ask your
parents about times they remember God’s hand working in their own lives and
perhaps in your grandparents. Talk with them about God’s actions in the history
of our nation?
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others.
What is the reason for Memorial Day? What do you do on that day? In Genesis
28 Jacob sets up a pile of rocks – Why? Jacob sets up another pile of rocks in
Genesis 31 – Why? In Joshua 3 the Israelites make a pile of 12 stones – Why?
What lessons can we learn from what they did? What items do you have that could
be used for a similar purpose with your children? What was the purpose of the
tradition of Passover? What memorials or traditions do you have that cause you
to remember God’s hand in your life? What memorials or traditions could you make
or start to cause you and your family to remember God’s work in your lives? The
Israelites eventually forgot the purpose and then neglected the practice of
Passover – why? Whose responsibility is it to teach the children about God and
His work? Are those responsibilities being fulfilled? Why or why not? What needs
to change? Do it. What was Jesus doing when he instituted the practice of the
Lord’s Supper? What does the Bread signify? Why? What does the cup of wine
signify? Why? Why is the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation the bread
& wine become the physical body of Jesus) against the teaching of the Bible and
therefore wrong? How can we be careful not to fall into the trap of meaningless
tradition or a perverted ritual? What can you do to keep the Lord’s Supper
meaningful to you?
Sermon Notes – 5/30/1999 a.m.
The Importance of Memorials
Selected Scriptures
A History of Memorial Day
Early Memorials in the Old Testament
Genesis 28
Genesis 31
Lessons from Joshua 4
Teaching Children
Reminding Ourselves
The Tradition of Passover
Exodus 12:21-28
It’s Importance
It’s Neglect
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
Matt 26:26 (NASB) And while they were eating, Jesus took [some] bread, and
after a blessing, He broke [it] and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, "Take,
eat; this is My body." 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave
[it] to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 "But I say to
you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when
I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."
The Bread
The Cup
Footnote on Transubstantiation