HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE"

Sermon by Pastor John Hollis

Sunday, November 11,2007

Text: Romans 13:1-7; 2 Timothy 2:1-7

Today we celebrate Veterans Day. This day was originally known as Armistice Day. It marked the end of WW I on November 11, 1918. It became a federal holiday on November 11, 1938 by order of President Woodrow Wilson. In 1954, Congress changed the day from Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all members of the armed forces.

When asked to deliver the message for today, I thought seriously about what to say to honor the veterans and to tell the story of good news at the same time. I immediately thought of Romans 13:7. Being the careful student that I am, I selected my topic and then thought about what the text should be. I readily admit that what Paul said in Romans has nothing to do with honoring veterans, but the maxim is a good one in or out of context.

My interest in veterans and their service to our country began early in life. During WW II, I had two uncles who served in the Army. One was my dad's brother and the other my dad's brother-in-law. The brother, Uncle Cecil, served as a medic in the Pacific. He never said much about where he went or what he did. The brother-in-law, Uncle Alf, served in Europe. He was also a medic and drove an ambulance on the front lines and saw some very horrible things; however he never talked much about it.

Also, during WW II, my double first cousin, Ray Westbrook, flew a fighter plane in Europe. He made two flights at Omaha Beach on D-Day in support of the invasion of Normandy. He survived that day, but was shot down later and spent nine months in a German prison,

During the Korean conflict, my older brother, James, served as a medic with the 82^nd Airborne; and I served with the Third Marine Air Wing. Neither of us saw combat. And then our grandson, Olin, served in Afghanistan for seven months, and is now serving with the 2^nd Marines at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.

Duty to our country and to our God calls us in many different ways and at many different times. I began today with something I composed a few years ago to be read at a Veterans Day ceremony. It, hopefully, sets the stage for what I wish to accomplish in this lesson today.

On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry said, "Gentleman may cry, 'Peace! peace!' - but there is no peace. The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

Since that time, even to this day and hour, there have been both men and women who have willingly volunteered to face death that others might have liberty.

The life of the volunteer in service to his or her country is a life of unique dedication and uncommon commitment. Because of this dedication and commitment, one gains the utmost respect of those who understand.

Volunteering for rigorous and dangerous, yet high and noble duty, has a basis in Scripture. When Isaiah the prophet saw the King of glory, he said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! . . . For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts." It was then that one of the seraphim came to Isaiah and assured him of his cleansing. Then the prophet heard the Lord say, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And Isaiah answered, "here am I. Send me!" And so today those who hear the clarion call of duty say, "Here am I. Send me!"

Each soldier, sailor, airman, and marine marches under orders of the high command. Though speaking of our service to God, Patience Strong captures the essence of being under orders in her poem of that title:

If every soldier in the field his course of

action planned - If none obeyed the orders

issued by the high command, no victory could be

achieved, for chaos would be rife. So it is with

all who fight the battle we call life.

We are under orders. God's commands we must

obey - Taking not the road we'd choose, but His

appointed way . . . Life's an endless warfare;

evil sleeps not day or night. We'd rather live

at peace, but we are ordered to the fight.

--Patience Strong

When the call is heard that our freedoms need defending, the call is answered with full realization of the potential, the unknown, yet obvious danger, the volunteer bids farewell to family and friends to answer that honorable call to solemn duty.

"At dawn," he said, "I bid them all farewell.

To go where bugles call and rifles gleam.

And with the restless thought asleep he fell,

and glided into dream.

A great hot plain from seas to mountain spread,--

Through it a level river slowly drawn:

He moved with a vast crowd, and at its head

Streamed banners like the dawn.

There came a blinding flash, a deafening roar,

And dissonant cries of triumph and dismay;

Blood trickled down the river's reedy shore,

And with the dead he lay.

The morn broke in upon his solemn dream,

And still, with steady pulse and deepening eye,

"Where bugles call," he said, "and rifles gleam,

I follow, though I die."

--Elbridge Jefferson Cutler (1831-1870)

These volunteers answer the call to preserve the unity of our country. They work and do battle together to make sure that our country is one country.

After all

One country, brethren! We must be

With the Supreme Republic. We must be

The makers of her immortality, --

Her freedom, fame,

Her glory or her shame:

Liegemen to God and fathers of the free!

After all -

Hark! from the heights the clear, strong, clarion call

And the command imperious: "Stand forth,

Sons of the South and brothers of the North!

Stand forth and be

As one on soil and sea -

Your country's honor more than empire's worth!"

After all,

'Tis Freedom wears the loveliest coronal;

Her brow is to the morning; in the sod

She breathes the breath of patriots; every clod

Answers her call

And rises like a wall

Against the foes of liberty and God!

--Frank Lebby Stanton - 1837-1927

And as one country we have carried our flag of freedom to the remotest realms of the earth. We have fought, we have conquered, we have stayed to keep the peace in lands far removed from our shores. Ours is a tale that is told.

Ours in a tale that shall be told by

generations yet to be. Ours is a tale of

battles fought through valleys of adversity.

Ours is a tale of golden deeds and marvels

wrought in blood and tears. Ours is a tale that

will outlast the epics of a thousand years.

Write it upon the scrolls of glory. Carve it

in marble, bronze and stone. This is the

measure of our greatness. Let the long saga now

be known . . . Lest in the future men should fail

to hold these things in memory - and our sons

forget the price that [we] paid for liberty.

--Patience Strong

So today we honor our brave men and women who serve and have served this country. We should never forget the work and heroic sacrifice of these patriots. And we do not forget the personal sacrifices of those who did not make it home. We write upon their tombstones their epitaph that they were the saviors of the world.

From the clean hands of the young we take the

gift supreme: the gift of life and liberty, the

right to work and dream . . . We take what they

have worn for us: a thing above all price. What

do we offer in return for that high sacrifice?

They have served their generation - wise

beyond their years - following the Star of

faith through mud and blood and tears . . . We

live and laugh. They were the saviours of the

world . . . This be their epitaph.

--Patience Strong.

We take this day to say thank you, veterans, living and dead.

The relationship and likeness of the call of duty to serve country or to serve God is quite strong. We return to the statement made by Patrick Henry in 1775. He may not have taken his statement from Joshua, but it sure sounds like it. Joshua had been given the task of leading the children of Israel into the promise land. Moses had been the leader, but he had died and Joshua is now the leader. He calls upon the Israelites to give up their gods and serve the one true God. He concludes his call with the words, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15). Patrick Henry's call was for liberty or death; Joshua's call was give me the true God or give me nothing.

The reading from 2 Timothy 2:4 points to how remarkably like the call to serve God is to the call to serve the country. "No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." One who has enlisted in the armed forces of his country has no time to be involved with the affairs of everyday life; the one who has enlisted in the army of God does not have the time to become entangled in the affairs of this world's events.

In First Corinthians chapter nine, the apostle Paul speaks about what he had the right to engage in, as far as the affairs of this world are concerned - even innocent affairs. He had the right, but he was enlisted in God's army, and he would not become so involved in these things that he would neglect his duty as a good soldier of God. "Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense?" He had the right to be compensated for what he was doing, but he would rather labor with his hands than to have some accuse him of not being a good soldier. He would not become involved in the daily affairs of life.

One enrolled in God's army will seek to be pleasing to his commander. Paul encouraged the Colossians to ". . .walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, . . ." (Colossians 1:10). And the apostle John echoes what Paul said: "we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight." (1 John 3:22). A good soldier always seeks to please his commander. The Christian soldier seeks to please God in everything.

God's soldier, Paul, spoke of all the suffering he had undergone to serve and please his commander. In Second Corinthians chapter eleven there is a long list of the things Paul had suffered through so that he might please God. He concludes the list with these words: "I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches" (2 Corinthians 11:27-28). There was total dedication on the part of Paul.

Paul speaks of the armor that God's soldier is to wear. Paul and the early church were constantly under fire from the evils of the world. He said, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). He urged the saints at Ephesus to "put on the whole armor of God." Paul knew that God's soldier had to stand fast against the foes of truth.

Those of us who are enrolled in God's army today should consider the armor we need to wear. The people of God are being assaulted on every side today. As Paul tells us in Second Corinthians 10:4, our warfare is not against flesh and blood but is against those who would destroy our faith and lead us astray from the straight and narrow path. We do not always know who our enemy is. "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

The relationship and likeness of service to our country and of service to God is remarkable. We are enlisted in God's army as men and women are enlisted in the armed forces of their country. We seek to please God as they seek to please their commander. We may have to suffer for our commitment to God, and armed forces personnel may have to suffer for their country. We don't always know who the enemy is, and they do not always know who their enemy is. But we must remain faithful.

God calls us to enlist: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" We respond, "Here am I, send me!" We are sent forth to fight the battles. We seek victory. The Christian soldier knows his victory is in Christ Jesus. When the battle is over, we are honored with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

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