Honoring Service

On Wednesday, images were shown on the evening news of the memorial for U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who lost his life in the riots at our nation’s capital a few weeks ago. Even with distancing being practiced due to Covid-19, it was still very moving. Just that morning, we also laid to rest Chris McLaren, Janice’s husband, at Evergreen Memorial Gardens. I have done enough funerals over the years that I can usually keep my composure, but the honor shown to our country’s veterans always chokes me up. On hand for Chris’ funeral were representatives from three groups: the Color Guard with their flags, a small group that gave a rifle volley, which I was prepared for this time, and two Airmen who looked barely old enough to shave from the Air Force Honor Guard.

After the service in the chapel, the casket was taken out to Chris’ final resting place, and we gathered at the graveside. Throughout the ceremony, a large American flag was draped over the casket. Together, the two Airmen approached and lifted the flag with the greatest of care, folding it in slow motion. This final rite is one of the most stirring things I have ever witnessed. It doesn’t matter if I knew the one being honored or not: the ceremony is just overwhelming. So simple, so solemn, so sacred. Once the flag was folded, one of the Airmen got down on one knee and presented the flag to Janice, expressing the gratitude of our nation to the service her loved one had so sacrificially given. Chris was declared to be a hero.

It is not uncommon for pastors to ask their congregations if anyone would notice if the church closed it doors for the last time. What would our neighbors say about us? Would they even notice? I’m not asking this to make you feel guilty or encourage you to do more, but to ask how we are honoring the service of those who came before us, and how are we to build on what they did. Will the service of those who worship here be remembered? So many have given to our church, what will our legacy be? And, of course, you all deserve a big thank you for participating in the life of the church during the past year of Covid.

I haven’t had much success in finding records of the early days of this church. I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish here, or what they wished to pass on to us. The deep connections to the mill and the various families are clear, although many are lost to our memory. However, we continue to honor our forebears by taking care of this facility and the property, and continue to preach the Gospel and seek to care for those in need. And we continue to honor the service of our clergy over the decades by paying our apportionments, in doing so we support those who have retired after serving here and elsewhere.

The Bible serves as a record of those we should honor from long ago, but far more didn’t have their names recorded there, although their names are written in Heaven. For those of us who have been reading the Bible for a long time, we may start to skip over stories that might not seem as interesting, are unfamiliar, or strange. Often, such stories involve the lesser known people of the Bible, as we prefer to return to stories of those we cherish, such as those of Jesus, Moses, and others.

Our Gospel reading for the day deals with one such person, Peter’s mother-in-law. We may focus on the healings in this passage, for they are amazing and grab our attention. We note the big names involved here: Jesus and the Apostles. But here is a person remembered not only for being healed, but for her service to the church. We aren’t even told her name. We don’t read about her anywhere else, except for parallel readings in Matthew and Luke.

All that we are told about her is that she was in bed with a fever. In the days before modern medicine, it could have meant she was on her death bed. But Jesus comes and heals her, and she immediately begins to serve her visitors. Nothing great, we might think, for that would have been the job of the women at the time. But we have to ask why she was included in the Biblical narrative. What other things might have been known about her by the writer of the Gospel, but which was not shared with us? Jesus healed many more people than were recorded, why is she noted?

Like many others, she not only is healed, but immediately goes about her normal life again. Jesus not only heals the sick, He makes them whole. For once healed, they can assume again their place in society. That may not be a big deal for this woman, but for others, like lepers who became outcasts because of their affliction, being healed meant getting their lives back, being able to go home and returning to making a living for themselves and their families.

What’s even more interesting is what is not mentioned in this story. If Peter had a mother-in-law, then he must have had a wife, too, who doesn’t get any mention. As far as we know, she is the only wife of an Apostle that we are told about, and that is through circumstantial evidence. Like the many servicemen and women who have protected our country, certainly there were far more heroes in the Bible that were not recorded than those who were, and far more down the centuries since then. Everyday people doing their part to advance the Kingdom of God. Just because they have not had their names become well known or included in the Bible does not mean that they were any less special or worthy of being honored. We all play our part, and the faithful over the centuries deserve our gratitude.

The day after Chris’ funeral, my buddy from work, Ted, shared the following story. Ted also served in the Air Force, in Vietnam. One of the men he served with shared one day that he hated peas. Always had. But his mom insisted on serving them when he was a kid, and he was obligated to eat them. One evening, he refused to eat them, so his mom told him he couldn’t leave the dinner table until he had. He just sat there. When she got up to clear the table and had taken some of the dishes into the kitchen, he quickly crammed all of the peas up his nose while she was out of the room. Although he had cleaned his plate, he had to tilt his head backwards to keep the peas from falling out of his nose, so his mom was able to see just where they were. He was finally able to leave the table, but it was so they could go to the emergency room to get all of the peas removed from his nose.

In addition to us needing a little humor, we need to be reminded that our heroes are usually normal people like us who may not have their names remembered long here on earth but who have earned their reward in Heaven. People who may not have done things that get written down in history books, but who did big things for Jesus and our community. People who were once kids, too, having fun and sticking peas up their nose. Normal people who were made special by their service to God and our world. People like us. People who deserve our thanks for their service. People like the 7500 health care workers attending the Super Bowl today.

When we may feel small and unimportant, let us remember to whom we belong, and that we do play an important part in the unfolding of His plan for our world. God is our Creator and Sustainer, and He has sent us here for a purpose. As Isaiah says:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

We may not be able to see our place in God’s plan right now, or even understand what is going on our world, but God honors our faithfulness and service. As long as we have breath, let us strive to serve Him, knowing that he will renew us when we are tired and weary. As the Psalmist proclaims:

His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner; but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147: 10-11)

We humbly come before Him today, seeking His forgiveness, His mercy, and His direction. We seek to serve Him knowing that our reward is in Heaven, we don’t need any earthly glory or fame. Instead, let us give thanks for those who have served, and for the One we serve.