Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to remember those who have died in our nation's service. In the spring of 1866, Henry C. Welles, a druggist in the village of Waterloo, NY, suggested that decorating their graves should honor the patriots who had died in the Civil War. Townspeople made wreaths, crosses and bouquets for each veteran's grave. They decorated the village with flags at half-mast. On May 5 of that year, veterans led a processional to the town's cemeteries.

Decoration Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan and was first observed officially on May 30, 1868. In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day, and soldiers who had died in other wars were also honored.

In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday in May. Memorial Day Weekend is a three-day holiday that is typified by the first family picnics and barbecues of the year. The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race takes place on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is still a time to remember those who have died, whether in war or otherwise. In his book, Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral, Tom Long writes, “We [followers of Christ] know that death changes, but does not destroy, our relationship to the dead. We stand on a great continuum of worship with the saints who have gone before us. We pray, and so do they. We praise God, and so do they. Only the prayers and praises on our side are . . . all set to the music of ‘Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Revelation 22:20) . . . . The saints, however, stand day and night in the presence of God and the Lamb. . . . The victory has been won, not just their victory but God’s victory over all that destroys creation. For them . . . ‘the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah’ (Rev. 11:15). Our earthly intercessions blend into their acclamations of pure praise and joy.”

Real Love on TV; Bahamian Pastors

Real Love by Greg Baer has helped me to understand why people do what they do. Greg Baer’s seminar on DVD and his Real Love Bible Workbook have been the most important materials I have found for changing my attitudes and becoming a more loving person. In the fall, I am going to start a Real Love Group at New Hope.

The television show "World's Strictest Parents" asked Dr. Baer to consult with the producers to integrate Real Love into the show. The episode follows the Cooper family as they take in two children and help integrate them into their family unit.

The show will air on CMT (Country Music Television) on the following dates: Saturday, June 5, 8:00 pm; Sunday, June 6, 2:00 pm; Wednesday, June 9, 4:00 pm; Thursday, June 10, 6:00 pm; Tuesday, June 15, 5:00 pm; Saturday, June 19, 4:00 pm. I look forward to watching this show to see how Real Love helps this family.

Fleda and I will fly to The Bahamas on July 12. I will spend five evenings teaching a group of Bahamian Baptist pastors some of the basics of Pastoral Care. I will give each of them a copy of Understanding Your Grief, the book we used here at New Hope as the guide for our Grief Support Group. I’ll sharing with them my experience with leading groups. I’ll also teach them the principles of Real Love to help them with pastoral counseling. I will lead them in a survey of Cecil Sherman’s book, The Life and Work of the Pastor.

When you pray, ask God to give me wisdom as I prepare to teach and to give Fleda and me some relaxation and renewal as we enjoy the island of Abaco.

How Can I Keep from Singing?

In John 17, Jesus says to the Father, ”I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” The pessimistic part of me says we who believe in Jesus through the word of the disciples (The New Testament) are not one at all. We are divided into many denominations and splits within denominations and within churches. We seem to be far from the oneness of heart and mind that Jesus prayed we would have.

Not only that, when I look at the hostility between groups of people, the high rate of addictions and marriage failures, and the general lack of commitment on the part of so many church members, I find myself crying out, Why are we not having more of an impact on the world? Look how evil and suffering and hatred continue in the world. I need some hope.

Here is the best statement of hope I have seen lately. Our choir is going to be singing these words this morning.

My life flows on in endless song above earth’s lamentation.
I catch the sweet, though far off hymn that hales a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die, the Lord my savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round, songs in the night he giveth.

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing!
All things are mine since I am his! How can I keep from singing?

No storm can sake my inmost calm while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

These words express the hope that is in the book of Revelation: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.” (11:15) “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth… And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God….” (21:1-2)

Realism and Hope in the Book of Revelation

I’ve been studying the Book of Revelation. I see something I already knew about Revelation and something I had never seen before: The Gospel is clearly there in the Book of Revelation, and realism – even cynicism – about people is also there.

An image of the Gospel message is in Revelation 7. “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude . . . from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’" Then John is told, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (7: 9-14) This picture of people from every tribe and nation touches me. They sing to praise God for salvation from destruction. The life-giving blood of Jesus Christ has brought them together before God’s throne.

An image of realism about people is in Revelation 8 and 9. A third of everything in nature is destroyed. A plague of stinging locusts tortures people. Many people suffer and die. Others suffer and wish they could die but cannot. God is trying to get through to people through their pain. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Many will not be roused. This is the conclusion of all the pain of chapters 8 and 9: “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (9:20)

I know some of those unrepentant people. They play out their lives on the field of death. They refuse to turn, refuse to learn. They continue down the path of destruction. Even pain cannot get through to them. Despite opportunities to turn from the path of death and receive the gift of life from Christ, they continue toward destruction.

After more than 39 years as a pastor, I believe the good news that we human beings can change. God will give anyone who comes to Him a new life. I see people change but not often. Jesus said, “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13).