SAINTS IN HEAVEN, HEROES ON EARTH
The Rev. Mark Sherwindt, Pastor
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Memorial Day Weekend: May 28-29, 2005
I spent Saturday morning over at the Sunset Hills Burial Park, actually at their Memorial Gardens off Frank Road, presiding at the Service of Christian Burial for Brian Kay's dad, Monroe Kay. Monroe was just shy of his ninety-third birthday. So, as you might imagine, given the fact that he had lived such a long and full life, with no real health problems to speak of, where the circumstances of his death were such that age just caught up with him while he slept through the night in his own bed at home, well, despite the tearful sadness that touched all who knew him, there was a deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness for a good life and a gracious dying. I guess what I am trying to say is that the service at the funeral home and the luncheon afterwards here at Zion were filled with good memories, great stories, plenty of smiles and a lot of laughter.
In fact, I had great fun with the message I prepared. Monroe was a life-long Protestant, with family roots in West Virginia and membership for over fifty years at Crystal Park Methodist Church in Canton. So, I decided to begin my funeral sermon for this life-long Protestant with a reference to a Catholic pope - and not just one, but two! I recalled how millions had walked by Pope John Paul's casket in St. Peter's Square, and how billions watched the ceremonies marking his death and burial on television. I added a reference to a second pope, commenting that Pope Benedict XVI had placed Pope John Paul II on the fast track to sainthood, with church officials now at work investigating and documenting the authenticity of at least two miracles attributed to John Paul II.
Most people know that I have a deep appreciation for the life and witness of the Catholic Church, given my years at Notre Dame. But many also know that in addition to growing in my appreciation for the impressive expanse of the Catholic Church, I also grew more appreciative for my Protestant roots. In this case I wanted to drive home the point that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of his church in Wittenberg on the night of October 31st, Halloween, otherwise known as All Hallow's Eve, the evening before All Saints Sunday. Think about that. The first act of this Protestant Movement was to affirm the Good News that we are all saints, saved by the grace of God that has been freely given through Jesus Christ. Monroe Kay does not need to wait for church investigators in order to verify two miracles attributable to him to arrive at sainthood, because God has made him a saint based on the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for which we praise God with our worship every Sunday.
Sainthood is not based on what we do, but on what Christ has already done for us. That is a point we need to remember and repeat time and again. We are saved by grace through faith because God is that good, and Jesus really is the revelation of how much God loves us. That's the point of our Second Lesson. In the First Lesson God gives us the law. In the Gospel Lesson, Jesus exhorts us to live it. But our record with the Law does not determine our standing before God. As our Hymn of the Day sings out, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. No merit of my own I claim but wholly lean on Jesus' Name. On Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand." [LBW #294, verse 1] The solid rock is not the lives we lead, but the life Christ gave. We'll not find that solid rock by focusing on what we've done, how impressive we are, or how much better than the rest we've become. We've got to take your eyes off ourselves, and look to Jesus Christ and him alone, as the source of the strength we need and the grace God gives to sustain us day by day and throughout eternity.
Of course, growing in grace is a good thing. Building character through cultivating virtues rather than vices, is a good thing; but it is not the source of our salvation, nor is it the way to find it. "I am not ashamed of the Gospel," Paul writes in the Second Lesson, for "it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who has faith." [Romans 1:16] The Old and New Testaments came together in Christ. Paul quotes the prophet Hosea in proclaiming that "the righteous-by-faith shall live" - truly live, free from the condemnation of God's judgment, free from the power of our own sin, free from the burden of the law's demands, free from the grip of the grave and the curse of death. [Romans 1:17] It's not based on our good works. It's grounded in God's great love, Christ's strong sacrifice. Again, as Paul writes, "We are justified by God's grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement" - his body broken, his blood outpoured, a gift that can only be received by faith. [Romans 3:24-25] God's gift cannot be earned, nor claimed or demanded based on the record of our own achievements, even if these achievements have been documented and verified by a commission of church-sanctioned investigators. No, our hope is built on nothing less - and nothing else - than Jesus' blood, His righteousness. On Christ, the solid Rock, we stand. All other ground is ultimately nothing but sinking sand.
But I digress - big time, but in a good direction. Anyway, I think I was talking about being over at Sunset Hills Memorial Gardens, which provided a striking visual reminder of what it means that this is Memorial Day Weekend, with flags and flowers honoring the graves of America's heroes and our loved ones. Memorial Day is about taking the time to remember those whom we loved (and love still) who have served our country, putting their lives on the line and offering the sacrifice of their own lives for a greater good. The grateful are called not to forget, but to honor those who served by remembering their sacrifice. In doing so we honor America by reaffirming our commitment to their great adventure in freedom. As I stood and enjoyed the flags and flowers set on the rows of grave-site markers, I couldn't help but marvel at the power of Memorial Day, reminding us of the duty to remember, to remember the friends we've valued and the values we've shared. This living loyalty to friends and the causes we've shared reminds us of why we're alive, what makes us tick, what makes life worth living, and the mark we want to make, the mark we must make, with the lives that we lead.
The mad rush of crowded schedules and the overflow of too many tasks filling our days and our lives, often make it difficult to rise above the daily grind of each day. Holidays like Memorial Day invite us to take time to remember, to give your life some space for a deep breath ... and giant pause ... in order to not lose touch with what really matters. Maybe it was just the setting of a cemetery, but what struck me about Memorial Day was how remembering those whom we love and the values we shared proves to be an important focal point in dealing with things like death and mortality. I have noticed, too, that more and more movies and television shows often try to offer comfort and consolation in the face of death and dying by appealing to a "transcendent" quality, so to speak, in the ongoing challenge of the causes we've shared with the people we love, and our obligation to honor those who die by living in a way that might please them, by contributing to causes they've battled. In a sense, isn't that what Team Roman is about, honoring those whom we love by making progress against the enemies our loved ones battled? In the case of Team Roman, engaging in the battle of some day beating cancer drives their interests and their efforts. That's a good thing. Memorial Day itself invites us to engage in the battle to keep freedom alive, to extend its reign both here and abroad through the strength of service and sacrifice. Again, that's a good thing.
These causes give life meaning ... and hope. But again, it is good to remember that our hope - ultimately and right here and now - is built on nothing less, and nothing else, than Jesus' blood and righteousness. This is the hope, and God's kingdom is the cause, that not only gives meaning to life, but also the promise of true life to all whom we love, to all whom God loves. Apart from Christ, our loved ones are only memories, locked in a past that lives only in our minds as we recall the people we love and the values we've shared. But God has given us more than the power of our memories. With the promise of baptism, he claims us as His own, fills us with His Spirit, gives His life to us in Christ - and that's the life that never ends. Commella, Nancy, Oscar, Monroe, Ray, Sr. Ray, Jr., Anna Mae and Bill: these are the names of God's children, who are sitting around the table of fellowship that Jesus has gathered together in that mansion on high. They are more than memories; they are children of God, inheritors with Christ, alive in the company of angels singing praises to God.
It is good to take up the causes of those whom we love. It is even better to take up God's causes through the worship we offer and service we render. But the Good News we celebrate today is that God has taken up their cause, or I should say, they have been taken up into God's cause, the cause of proclaiming the reign of God, the cause of living the love of Christ, which is ours each and every day as we live simply, humbly, and faithfully ... in Jesus' Name. Amen