A Memorial Day Message - To Remember Their Sacrifice

On Memorial Day, Pastor Rudiger had the privilege of sharing some thoughts during the Sligo Community Memorial Day observance. Below is the text and recording of his message.

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Before I say anything else, let me tell you how honored I am to be with y’all this morning. As the new kid in school, it’s a privilege to have the chance to share with y’all a few thoughts on this Memorial Day. And I’ll tell you, I was particularly pleased to hear that our gathering was going to be up here in the cemetery. You see, I’ve been involved in a lot of these services over the years, and most have been in churches or at some kind of public monument, but I haven’t been in a cemetery since I left my first church in Fairview, Montana back in 1991. But you know, even though all those other places were fine, I think there’s just something about being in a cemetery that helps me focus on what Memorial Day is supposed to be all about.

And you know, I think that’s really important now-a-days, because, in my opinion, the meaning of Memorial Day has sort of drifted away from its original focus. I mean, think about it, for a lot of folks, today is about celebrating the unofficial first day of Summer, and we do it by opening our pools and dusting off our grills and breaking out our white shoes. And don’t get me started about the sales. That’s one group. And for others, man, today is about celebrating America and veterans,  as though we don’t already have other days in July and November set aside for those very reasons. You see, that’s another group. And for still others, well, today is about celebrating bravery, courage, you know, men and women who did extraordinary things for God and country. Now, from where I stand, I think these are three pretty popular ways people see this day.

And even though I think all three make sense and are actually good things to do, I believe they really miss the point of Memorial Day. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating summer and there’s nothing wrong with celebrating country and service and there’s certainly nothing wrong with celebrating courage. Still, I believe today is important for another reason. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure Memorial Day is for celebrating at all; rather, it’s a day for us to remember, to remember those who sacrificed the most precious gift God has given any of us and to remember them regardless of the reason why the sacrifice was made. You see, today we have the chance to remember their sacrifice. And let me give y’all three examples of what I’m talking about.

You see, on this Memorial Day, we have the chance to remember the sacrifice of all those who were moved by patriotism and who volunteered and fought and died because they loved their country and who were  willing to lay down their lives for a cause greater than themselves. And I’ll tell you, I don’t think there’s a better example of what I’m talking about than all the men from this area who volunteered to leave their farms and their families in order to fight in the Civil War. Last week, after I told him that I’d be speaking today, a good friend of mine brought me a copy of a chapter from a book entitled History of Clarion County. It was written by a man named Aaron J. Davis back in 1887. And it said that, in 1860, the population of Clarion county was 24,988. And from that number, almost 3,000 fought in what the author called “the rebellion.” And although he recognized that some may have entered the army hoping for gain or adventure, he also wrote about... 

...the lives of the great majority, who had kindled upon their hearthstones the fires of patriotism long before they ever thought of seeing them burn upon the battle-field; who would scorn to traffic for profit where the dead were buried or where the wounded suffered, while they were not armed and equipped to defend the flag; who shared their last pinch of salt, for nothing, with a comrade; who would sooner die than rob a soldier and who would rather stand by the flag and suffer than forsake it. [History of Clarion County, page 144]

Now that’s what he wrote. And I’ll tell you, it’s men and women like these, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers who died for a country and for a cause, today we have the chance to remember their sacrifice. Now that’s one. But they aren’t the only ones. 

Because on this Memorial Day, we also have the chance to remember the sacrifice of those who were moved by an authority far higher and far greater than any state or country and I’m talking about men and women whose dedication to God motivated them to put themselves in danger because they believed Jesus Christ was speaking to them when he said, “Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them.” [John 3:12-13, CEV] For example, have y’all ever heard the story of the four chaplains? Their names were George Fox and Alexander Goode and John Washington and Clark Poling. They were all on the S.S. Dorchester, a civilian liner that had been converted to a troop ship during World War 2. Well, during the early morning hours of February 3, 1943, this ship was carrying 900 people when it was torpedoed by a German submarine in the North Atlantic. And in the face of this crisis, these four chaplains helped the other soldiers board lifeboats, and they even gave up their own life jackets when the supply ran out. But for me, I found this part of their story to be the most moving. As the ship was sinking, these four men, two Protestants, one Catholic and one Jew, they joined arms. And they said prayers in English and Latin and Hebrew. And they sang hymns as they went down with the ship. Now, again for me, that’s the very definition of what both the Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ had in mind when they talked about someone being a “good and faithful servant.” I’ll tell you, it’s men like those four chaplains who died because of their dedication to God, today we have the chance to remember their sacrifice. And that’s two.

And finally, on this Memorial Day, we have the chance to remember the sacrifice of all those who died because they were simply doing what they were told to do. I mean, they weren’t moved by a surge of patriotism and they weren’t motivated by a deep and profound dedication to God. Instead they were just caught up in something bigger than themselves and they were sent to a place they didn’t know to do a job they didn’t choose. They weren’t heros, but the sacrifice they made was just as real as those who were. In fact, they were men and women like my mother’s uncle who died during the Battle of the Bulge in December, 1944. Now, in my family, he was always called Clay Junior, because his father’s name was Clay and that’s the kind of thing we do in the south. And even though he died almost fifteen years before I was born, I heard a lot about Clay Junior growing up. In fact, as a kid, I played with some old steel and lead World War 1 soldiers he had when he was a boy. Now, I don’t think my family ever knew how he died. And in the army, well, he was just another one of the 10 million young men drafted and inducted during the war and one of the 407,000 who died in service. And at home, I don’t remember him ever being called a hero, because the word meant something different back in the 60s than it does today. Clay Junior was a draftee who followed orders and who fought and who died in service to his country. And even though my great grandmother Price never called him a hero, she felt his lost every day of her life. Today we have the chance to remember his and her sacrifice.

Why? Because unlike any other day of the year, that’s what we have the chance to do on Memorial Day. I mean, even though in our society, it’s become a day to celebrate Summer and country and bravery, celebration really isn’t what this day is about. Instead, as we stand in this cemetery, it’s really a time to pause and to become quiet and to focus on those men and women who died in service to their country regardless of their motivation. You see, today we have the chance to remember their sacrifice.