What are you willing to die for? – 05.24.09 – Dr. Rev Carol Kerr

Captain Waskow died in WWII. He had an article written about him in 1943, by Ernie Pyle, the nation’s favorite war correspondent at the time. Captain Waskow was a company commander in the 36th division which was fighting in Italy. He was in his mid 20’s. He carried a sincerity and a gentleness that made people want to be guided by him “After my own father, he came next.” A sergeant told Pyle. Captain Waskow was one of America’s best.

He was brought down off a mountain lashed to a mule. His body was lifted off and temporarily placed in a long row along the side of the road along with the others who had died in the battle. They placed them there waiting for the officials to come and officially carry them off. As he lay there in the road, waiting, the reporter saw men come up to his body one by one. He explains, not so much to look but to say something in “Finality, to him and to themselves.”

They muttered words. One could say they were guttural sound bites of sorrow. One soldier came by and said, “Goddammit.” Then walked away. Another came and he said, “Goddammit to hell, anyway.” He looked down for a few moments and then turned and left. A bearded and grimy officer looked down into his face and spoke directly to him, “I’m sorry, old man.” Another whispered, “I sure am sorry.” Lastly one man said nothing. He squatted down and took his dead hand and held it. Then straightened the points of the shirt collar, and rearranged the tattered edge of his uniform around the wound. Finally, he got up and walked away in the moonlight.

It is a moving story isn’t it? It expresses what in my small way I feel when I go to CBS web site and read the list of men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can sort by alphabetical order or by date. Many have a snap shot of the soldier. They look strikingly young, optimistic, handsome and are now dead. The latest one that has died in Iraq is Lt. Roly L Schuld, May 20, 2009 from St. Louis, age 25 years. I clicked onto the screen where it lists the dead in Afghanistan, where it is not just the United States but pictures of young and beautiful people from all over the world such as Sgt Christopher Abeyta from Midlothan Illinois, age 23 is listed right above Staff Sgt Kingue Eithel Abrahm, age 22 France. Makes you think of the international character of Afghanistan and war in general.

When I was scrolling down the CBS list of fallen heroes one time I came across Army Reservist Christopher Coffin from Kennebunk Maine. Maybe someone here knew him, or his family, or a friend of his. I wouldn’t be surprised. According to one report Coffin’s vehicle was deliberately run off the road, then surrounded by an angry mob.

I know a little about him from reports in the newspaper that I looked up on line. To me he seems like one of America’s best like Captain Waskow. In the photographs I see of him, he has a wonderfully warm smile. He seems like he always likes the person who is taking the picture. He has trim gray hair, glasses, and a well proportioned face. Apparently he left notes hidden around the house for his wife to find when he was gone. He left surprise notes of love to her. Some she probably found after his death. Major George remembers that he called his wife every chance he got. Finally, his sister said, “If anyone exemplified the values and the understanding of the need to defend our values, it was Christ.” He was quite a guy. I wish I had a chance to get to know him. His being so close and all, if he hadn’t died, maybe some of us would have run into him and gotten a chance.

So when I hear on the nightly news about more deaths in Iraq or Afghanistan and when I see more photos of those alive, happy, brave, often gentle and innocent and mostly very young people, now dead, I feel like those guys who walked up to Waskow’s body. They summarize my feelings pretty well when they muttered, “Godddammit.” “Goddammit to Hell anyway.”

It is Memorial weekend where most of us drive to a vacation spot and have a cookout – barely thinking about why the “Memorial” in “Memorial weekend.” Charolotte sent me a cartoon. It has three panels. The first panel has a packet of hot dogs and says “Price of hot dogs $1.19 . The next panel has a gas pump and says “Price of gasoline $2.69. Then the third panel shows a graveyard and says “The price of freedom.”

In the passage we read today from the Bible Jesus says “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15: 13).” The Greek work used here for “love” is phileo. It is a form of the word translated as “friend” philos. In Greek, a “friend” is literally one who is loved. “As the Father has loved me,” said Jesus, “so I have loved you; abide in my love.” Jesus’ own idea of friendship was defined and shaped by God’s love for him. Jesus was “one who was loved” by God: chosen, equipped, guided, embraced and held all the way from the manger to the cross. As that love shaped and defined Jesus’ life and ministry, so would Jesus’ love shape and define his team of disciples, both then and now. “You did not choose me but I chose you.” Jesus reminds us. This is the kind of love that causes someone to be willing to sacrifice his or her own life springs from the deep well of having been loved that way him or herself. To be a “friend” of Jesus, then, means to be one who is loved in a sacrificial way. It also means to follow Jesus’ example and to be such a friend to others. It makes me think of these soldiers who gave their lives for us, for freedom.

Chaplain Patrick McLaughlin wrote a book called No Atheists in Foxholes. He served as a chaplain to the troups in Iraq. Let me read you the story of one fallen soldier.

I work with angels, but not the type you might imagine. The angels I’m talking about are American service members who are killed in action or killed by accidents in the combat zone. “Angel” is an actual designation used by the Marine Corps for the deceased….

I want to tell you about a very special angel who taught me a powerful lesson about living. I know it may seem a little odd that a person killed in action would teach us about living, but this is true and important story that all of you need ot hear. It is a story about a marine.

While on patrol, this nineteen-year-old marine lance corporal was shot and mortally wounded by a sniper. The round that did the damage was found in the shoulder strap of his vest.

He was a proud member of his Corps. On his left shoulder was a beautifully done tattoo of the eagle, globe and anchor.

He was also a proud member of another group. On his right shoulder was a tattoo of a large Celtic cross, and his dog tags confirmed his Christian faith.

His personal effect filled out the rest of the story. He had his hunting license – always a plus in the Corps. He also had something else among his personal effects of driver’s license, bank card, ID card, money and the like. It was scouting information that identified him as an Eagle Scout.

Still another card identified him as a Red Cross blood donor. Around his neck with his dog tags awas a pendant. Actually, half a pendant – the kind where you keep half and give the other half to a significan other.

So let’s tally this up.

A proud marine
A nineteen-year-old lance corporal
Died in combat fighting on behalf of his country and for Iraq’s freedom
A Christian
A hunter
An Eagle Scout
A blood donor

The last clue came a quite a shock. They found a picture in the band of the webbing inside his Kevlar helmet. As they opened it the room grew quiet… It was a sonogram. You could hear a pin drop. You could hear hearts sink. The last blessed trait was – father to be.

The lesson of this young marine can be given to us all – use the talents God has given you to the best of your abilities. Live a glorious life in service to God and others. Live a life for Christ. Live the life of Christ even if that means giving up your life for your friends.

How many people here think that some day we will find a cure for cancer? How many people here think that some day there will be an end to war? I wonder myself if we can ever overcome human propensity to break out in war that is found in every country throughout all of history and before history . However, I am reminded of the words of the prophent Isaiah when he says, “Comfort, O comfort my people… Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places plain.” So we are assured that God will some day, some how enter into our broken human endeavors and the glory of God will be revealed to all, and the domino of God will pour out upon the earth and peace will be established for ever.

Let me leave you with a poem by Langston Hughes. It is called, “The Underground.” In 1939 and 1940 the German army was unstoppable,. Its blitzkrieg through Europe flattened the little opposition it met. And by then the Japanese were already entrenched in Manchuria and other Asian territories. Almost as soon as invading armies arrived, however, underground resistance forces were formed. At the time, the United States was officially neutral, Langston Hughes was among those whose compassion extended beyond the safety of distance. He may not have known how every valley would be lifted up and the mountains made low. But, he did know how ice, hard as rock, could and would melt in spring. He wrote:

But you can’t kill all of us!

You can’t silence all of us!

You can’t stop all of us!

From Norway to Slovakia, Manchuria to Greece,

We are like those rivers

That fill with the melted snow in spring

And flood the land in all directions.

Our spring will come.

The pent up snows of all the brutal years

Are melting beneath the rising sun of freedom.

The rivers of the world

Will be flooded with strength.

And you will be washed away.

You murderers of the people –

You Nazis, Fascists, headsmen,

Appeasers, liars, Quslings,

You will be washed away,

And the land will be fresh and clean again,

Denuded of the past –

For time will give us

Our Spring

At last.

Today on Memorial day, we remember the fallen soldiers. We remember how they gave their lives for us and as such lived out what Jesus said. Even though they did not know us they were our friends.

Let me leave you with this thought: It is a scary thing to think of sacrificing your life for something but once, during the Vietnam War a college chaplain was speaking with a group of students. One student, thinking of war, declared “There’s nothing in the world that is worth dying for.” To that, the chaplain replied: “Well then, since we all must die, that means you will one day be confronted by the absolute necessity of dying for nothing.”

Soldiers die for our country, for their comrades in arms, and for freedom. What would you be willing to sacrifice your life for? (Have them write down on their bulletins.) In a small village there was an elderly woman who had died penniless, uneducated, unsophisticated, but during her lifetime her selfless service had made a tremendous impact for Christ. On her tombstone they chiseled the words, “She did what she couldn’t.” That could be the epitaph for every Christian who allow Christ to live through us and so give us strength to do what we thought/think we never could.

Amen! – 05.17.09 – Dr. Rev Carol Kerr

Full text of sermon coming soon!

Blue Point Congregational Church : Sermon 05.17.09 from Blue Point on Vimeo.

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How to Honor your Mother and Father – 05.10.09 – Dr. Rev. Carol Kerr

The fifth commandment tells us to “honor our father and mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you. Then you will have a long life and it will go well with you in the land Yahweh your God is giving you.”

 

“Honoring” could mean many things. It could mean obeying your parents. A boy playing basketball with his friends remembers that his mother said for him to be home by five. He stops the game and goes home. It could mean showing love for our parents. A child buys a Christmas present for his parents and wraps it himself. It could mean caring for our parents when they are old. A man is flying across the country on a business trip. On the way home, he deplanes at a city in the Midwest, rents a car, and drives 200 miles to visit his father in a nursing home.

 

None of these ways of “honoring” is wrong. But, they are not what the Bible would put first. In the Bible the most important role a parent has is to teach the child about God and the Ten Commandments. This is very clear in the book of Deuteronomy, after it lists out the commandments, it says: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” This close connection between parenthood and instruction about the faith appears in many places in the Bible. For instance in the book of Proverbs it says, “My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace. (Prov. 4:10)” The child must accept the words of his father, so that “the years of your life will be many.” In other words, honoring parents in order to receive a long life is coupled with respecting the teaching of parents.

 

This first take away from the fifth commandment, therefore, is that the Bible does not leave the primary role of teaching your child about God to Sunday School, or Veggie Tales, or the minister, or songs on the radio. Rather the primary responsibility for teaching the faith to children lies with the parent. First of all, the parent is supposed to have the words of God on his or her heart. That is, we are supposed to have our own active faith. Is the Bible is alive for us? We ourselves are supposed to think about the Ten Commandments and work hard applying them to our own lives. Second, we are supposed to talk about them at home with our children. If we are trying hard to apply them to our own life, this conversation will come up pretty naturally. At dinner the conversation comes around to – “I have an announcement to make, I have decided to switch tennis league so I don’t have to play on Sunday morning and keep the Sabbath. “ Third, we are supposed to talk about the Ten Commandments when we are walking with our children. Driving with my kids in the car is a great time to talk about life together. Fourth, we are supposed to talk about them when we go to bed and when we rise up. Debrief about the day, and where God was for you that day. Maybe a bed time prayer and a morning blessing.

 

The primary job of the parent according to the Bible is to pass down the faith. That is what the child is supposed to honor the most.

 

Now, in the book of Deuteronomy after it lists out the Ten Commandments and tells the parents we are suppose to teach them to our children, it says that these commandments will bring up questions in the children. It says they will ask, “What is the meaning of all these commandments?” It tells us to begin the answer with the age old story of the Exodus. “We were the Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes… He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land which he promised to our ancestors…” Then after we tell the story of God’s act of freedom from the Egyptians, we are to say that God then gave us the commandments so that our lives will continue to be blessed.

 

If God is the grape vine, then the parents are the little tiny branches grafted onto the vine. These branches in turn convey the sap of the Commandments to the grapes which are the children. “Honor your father and mother.” Grapes honor the vine which draws the sap of God into them as the vine teaches.

 

Of course, no kid of mine has asked exactly : What is the meaning of all these commandments? Mostly this kind of question comes out in other ways such as in the following example:

 

As Tom tucked in little Tommy, he felt that tonight his eight year old son might want to relive the happy events of the day. Tommy’s team had won the little league championship that morning. Tommy had three hits and his friend Phil had hit the game winning home run. “Pretty good day,” Tom said to Tommy as he sat on the side of his son’s bed. But Tommy did not respond. The boy looked pensive.

“Dad, you know when Phil hit the homer and everyone ran into the field and we jumped up and down?”

“Yeah?” said his father, not knowing where he was going.

“I was happy, but inside I felt sort of bad too. How come I felt so bad when Phil got the winning hit?” Tom wished his son had asked where do babies come from instead.

 

The son is honoring the father at that minute, whether he knows it or not. He is asking the father for wisdom. Now, the father could embark on some sort of explanation of comparison and competition. That in our society we know who we are by how we measure up. As Phil is rounding the bases, Tommy is reduced to a fan. Of course as this sociological psychobabble rambles one, Tom ends up deeply grateful that his own father, Tommy’s grandfather, happened to overhear the conversations and lobs the real answer, commandment ten, “Don’t covet my son, don’t covet.” Tommy honors his father for his wisdom, and in turn Tom honors his father for his wisdom rooted in the commandments, short and sweet, long before psychology got on the scene.

 

This brings me to the second take away point of this sermon on the fifth commandment to honor your father and mother. It is the idea that with age comes spiritual wisdom. If in childhood we are grapes by the time we are old those grapes have aged and have become choice wine. As such getting old is good and not bad. This is an idea completely foreign to our society that worships youth and not wisdom. Ian, Dave and I enjoy the TV show “American Idol.” It basically auditions amateur undiscovered talent from all over the US. Then one by one it eliminates the contestants; having the nation vote on the ones they like the best. Paula Abdul is one of the judges and she is fifty years old. This week Paula sang a song and danced for the show to promote her new record. The song was about listening to the music and being picked up at a bar. She wore provocative clothes and danced like a cross between Madonna and Michael Jackson with a flock of young male dancers swirling around her. I have to admit she is really fit and did some pretty impressive dance moves. But, I couldn’t help thinking she was trying to act like she was sixteen years old instead of fifty years old. I had a sense that she thought acting young was the only desperate measure she could employ in order to be respected as an artist and talent.

 

The fifth commandment offers us a better way at looking at aging. Even though our bellies might sag, and our hair thin out, and we get more and more wrinkles, our wisdom – more precious than gold – increases. Interestingly, Paul Baltes, the director of the Human Development and Education Institute in Berlin, conducts studies on whether living long can produce a higher level of mental functioning. He learns that the speed and accuracy of processing information in fact slows down. However, and this is a big however, the older person is better at utilizing knowledge and strategies that he has learned over the years. This provides the significant compensatory effect of greater wisdom if less speed. For example, when asked the way to Rom, the young trace the most direct route very quickly, while their elders ponder: “Why Rome? Is the trip really a good idea? At what time of year? For business or pleasure? Alone or with others? (“The Atlantic Monthly”, May 1993)

 

I like to think that as Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden but as we age and become wise souls, we journey back to that Garden in our own ways as we accept our limitations and even death fearlessly, thereby embracing all of life to the fullest. Here is one of my favorite poems:

Scatter my ashes in my garden

So I can be near my loves.

Say a few honest words, sing a gentle song,

Join hands in a circle of flesh.

Pleas tell some stories about me

Making you laugh. I love to make you laugh.

When I’ve had time to settle, and green

Gathers into buds, remember I love blossoms

Bursting in spring. As the season ripens

Remember my persistent passion.

And if you come in my garden on an August afternoon

Pluck a bright red globe,

Let juice run down your chin and the seeds

Stick to your cheek. When I’m dead

I want folds to smile and say, “That Patti,

She sure is some tomato!”

 

The fifth commandment has helped me visualize my own aging. My goal as I age is to become a wise old coot loaded with fruits of the spirit. Now the Ten Commandments is found in the Old Testament before Jesus. After Jesus the New Testament will emphasis not just the rules but internalizing these rules through the spirit. We have Paul talking about the fruits of the Spirit. – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I have come across a book of old coot ideas that in their quirky funny ways are results of the fruit of the spirit combined with the wine of age. Here are a few:

 

“I will take little trips inside my head and visit with departed friends. I will dance with angels whenever I hear the music.” Sounds to me like the fruit of the spirit, joy.

 

“I will test the patience of my golfing partners by taking little naps while frozen over an important put.” That is teaching the fruit of the spirit, patience.

 

“I will carry a black robe and a Bible and administer the wedding vows to any couple who appears to need marrying.” I guess a wise old coot can recognize love pretty well after so many years of life himself or herself. Might as well let them do all the marrying.

 

“I will get down on my knees from time to time and try to sneak up on old dogs, grandkids, brook trout, and the Good Lord.” If you ask me, that is just about the way we should approach faith by the time we are old, sneak up to God on our knees.

 

I hope to add on to the list Paul gives us in the Bible with a few of my own. How about this for the fruit of sharing: “I will teach my dog to fetch my neighbors morning paper, but I will always return it after I have read the sports and comics!”

 

Or, the fruit of just being an old coot: “I will ask people for directions and then argue with them.”

 

The fifth commandment tells us to honor our mother and father. Honoring is about valuing our parents as they pass down the faith to us and teach us the story of the Exodus, the Ten Commandments, and the love of Jesus. It also value aging itself as a we gain in wisdom.

 

I’ll leave you with one more story of honoring. (100 Meditation: Selections form UUA Meditation Manuals).

 

Miss Sweeny was almost gone. A wisp of white hair, two brown eyes, small thin lips, and a quivering body were all that remained. She stared out the window and smiled. After 48 years of teaching and 87 years of life and 6 years paralyzed from the neck down Miss Sweeney seemed to be part of another world. She stared out the window and smiled. She was tied to the bed. She could no longer speak, or move her head from side to side, or even chew her food. She stared out the window and smiled.

 

After she died I returned to her room to collect her belongings. From the bed I could see the expanse of sky and the single limb of a tree. A robin was nesting in Miss Sweeney’s world. I stared out the window and smiled.