Revelation 5: 6-13
Life comes at us so quickly today. There are so many things to remember. So many things and yes people that we can forget. Take something as simple as packing for a trip. My wife tries to help me. Did you remember, this of that, she asks? And yet even after all that preparation I get in the car, go some distance from home and then I remember what I forgot.
Oh well. There are some things we forget and it’s ok. But on this weekend we call Memorial Day let’s not forget. Let’s remember the men and women who lost their lives serving us.
But then let’s look up from the vast cemeteries of our dead and remember another. He did not wear the uniform of any country. Yet he came to serve us. He came to give his life for us all. But we cannot visit his grave. We cannot honor him there. For this One who gave his life for you has conquered death for you. He lives and we see a vision of him in our text.
So this day I encourage you to remember.
Remember
I. What was sacrificed for you
II. Remember what we owe
I am wearing a bracelet today. It’s black and has four names on it. It says Operation Enduring Freedom. Killed in action, 27 April 2013. One of those who died was Captain Brandon Cyr, US Air Force. We don’t know him but my son, David did.
Captain Cyr was a friend and mentor to my son in the Air Force ROTC at Berkeley. He was one of those guys you were glad to call your friend. He was also a very good pilot. He qualified to be an instructor pilot. Captain Cyr had volunteered for multiple deployments to Afghanistan. He also volunteered to pilot a plane used for reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan. That’s what he was flying on April 27, 2013. On that day, Captain Cyr and his crew took off to carry out their mission. They never completed it. No one survived.
There are many stories like that that could be told this day. Stories of sons and daughters, husbands and wives who lost their lives in places they never would have gone –except their country asked them.
So remember what was sacrificed for you. These soldiers, airman, sailors and marines went there for us and our country. We may not agree with the war or the policy but they went and they died.
But it’s not just those who died on the battlefield or in the air I want us to think of. You see, no one returns from a war ever the same. I’ve met soldiers who suffer from PTSD. Others who suffered traumatic brain injury. One soldier I met can’t remember the simplest thing. Another showed me the strange skin disease he had growing on his back from his time in Iraq. And then there was Cliff Colby.
Cliff belonged to our congregation in New Mexico. He worked for NASA in satellite communication. He had a wife and two teenage daughters. Cliff was once Sergeant Cliff Colby, US Army. He was Green Beret Special Forces and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. Cliff came back from the war unlike so many others whose names are on that Vietnam memorial in our capital.. Cliff came back but he brought something with him. An exposure to Agent Orange.
I still remember standing at the head of Cliff’s casket as the soldier played taps and they folded the flag. Cliff had died of cancer, likely caused by Agent orange. One more life lost by someone who served. One more life lost all those years later. Remember what was sacrificed for you.
These men and so many others knew they were risking death or injury when they went. But for most, they did not intend to sacrifice their lives. And some fought in wars some say were misguided or had no good outcome. Nevertheless we remember them today.
But the Lamb. The Lamb! 6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. This is part of the vision St John was given. Jesus is called the Lamb. For a lamb was an animal whose life and blood would be sacrificed for sin. Yet all those lambs were only pictures of the one true lamb who would be sacrificed for us all.
Years before this vision John had been standing on the banks of the Jordan River. Jesus was walking by when he heard John the Baptist say: Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This vision helps us to remember what the Lamb of God did for us. He looked as if he had been slain because he was. So Remember what was sacrificed for you. The life and blood of God’s own Son.
Remember why. Something hard to admit. That’s what we had coming. That’s what we deserved. Look in the mirror of God’s Commands. Look at our lives. How often we have pushed God’s ways aside to go our own way. How often we have treated the people in our lives with anything but love and kindness. Then I saw a Lamb looking as if it had been slain. That’s Jesus. That’s God’s own Son. Abandoned by his Father, crucified. Abandoned by his Father to suffer what our sins deserve. And remember what his Father had said: This is my Son whom I love. Remember what was sacrificed for you.
But look again. The Lamb is not dead. Jesus lives! We can know. He is our Savior. We can know. Our sins are paid for and forgiven. And look. Jesus stands in the center of the throne. For he is God with the Father. And there it becomes so clear. That’s how much God loves me. That’s what my God was willing to do. He became a man to die for me. So remember. Remember what was sacrificed for you.
That goes for this day we call Memorial Day. Remember. But it’s not just about remembering what was done for us. It’s not just about realizing the price paid by the many Captain Cyrs and Sargent Colbys. It’s also about remembering what we owe.
You see, for too many people, Memorial Day is just another excuse for a 3 day weekend. But we owe something to the many. We owe them honor and our gratitude. Look in the paper and you’ll see Memorial Day activities. Ever attended? It is good to gather at the cemeteries. And I am not talking about worshipping or praying with those who do not hold to our faith. Rather to honor the memories. To show our gratitude and not just for those who died but to those who lost a father, mother, son or daughter. Remember what we owe.
And what about those who came back whose lives will never be the same. Those maimed and crippled and burned. Those who can’t sleep and wake up in the night with terrible memories. Those whose emotions cripple them with anxiety and fear. It’s easy to forget them. But we asked them to go and they went. Remember what we owe.
I say this because of what we’ve been hearing about our Veteran’s Administration hospitals. Secret lists that hid terrible delays in getting our veterans the care they need. Those with cancer and heart problems. Some have even died while waiting.
Remember what we owe. This is OUR government, our country, our VA, not someone else’s. We can’t just shake our heads and say that’s too bad. We need to raise our voices and use our votes to get it done. It’s what we owe.
And not just to these men and women. Also to our Lord who laid down his life for us. Our Lord who cares about the least of us. Remember what we owe. Heaven teaches us. Here think of the Word that appears over and over again in John’s vision. Worthy. You are worthy. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
Worthy of what? Worthy to hold the future in his hands, that scroll named here. Worthy because he offered himself and made us God’s people, forgiven and dearly loved. Worthy of the praise and worship of every creature in heaven.
And from us? What do we owe? An hour every now and then to come and worship? Are you kidding? Is that we think of his cross and the life he gives. Is that what we think of the blood bought forgiveness that covers our guilt? I know you know better. Remember what we owe him — our very hearts and lives. Honor him with your body. Honor him with your wealth. Honor him who served you by you now serving others. Worthy is the Lamb!
Remember. There came a time in my mother’s life when you did not say that to her. The Alzheimer’s had stolen that ability away. But as long as God gives us the power, let us remember. Remember what others have given for us, especially our Lord. Especially our Lord Jesus. And let us remember what we owe. Amen.