Didn't Happen To Me
Originally scheduled for October 7
Every church congregation develops a series of
customs which soon become familiar. For many years in our
congregation it was customary on the Sunday before December 7, Pearl
Harbor Day, to have the veterans of the World War II rise and be
recognized. When a new preacher was hired he was evidently not told
of this custom. The veterans of the war were then few, and no
recognition was given. To the old-timers in the church this seemed
almost sacrilegious. The custom is now gone.
The problem is repeating itself, however. The
older generations take note of the anniversary of September 11,
2001. But if you ask the next generation for the significance of
that date, you will get a blank stare. They have no idea why you
hold this date with regard. The reason for this is simple: September
11 didn’t happen to them. It happened to you. For many of our
people, if it didn’t happen in their lifetime it’s not worth
remembering.
Older heads know better. We know that there are
some things that are worth memorializing even though they happen
before we were born. For example:
·
We remember and memorialize great
changes in our society. Who could fail to be stirred by a visit to
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, touching the Liberty Bell?
·
We remember and memorialize great
sacrifice. To go to Gettysburg and walk the battlefield is a moving
experience. The sheer number of marble monuments tells you that the
survivors were compelled to remember the great number of their
fallen comrades.
·
We remember and memorialize great
men. If you go to Washington DC you can see the Lincoln Memorial,
the Washington Monument and many others.
These things took place; these men lived well
before our time. How do we memorialize something like that?
Sometimes we do it in stone; sometimes we do it in ritual.
You see, of course, that all three of these
kinds of great things to remember apply to Jesus Christ. What
greater change has ever happened to the human race than the advent
of the grace of God? What sacrifice could be greater than the
sinless One on the Cross? What man could be greater than the man who
was God in the flesh?
The sacrifice of the Cross happened about 2000
years ago; we remember it in ritual so that we might be reminded of
an event that none of us have ever seen — but all of us know. As you
take the bread and the cup this morning, remember the greatness of
the grace of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, the man who was God in the
flesh. Take, eat and drink, and remember.
