Remember what these stones mean

As many of you know, Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day because it started when family and friends wanted to remember and honor those who had died during the Civil War by decorating their gravestones with flowers and flags and every stone that was decorated told a story. Today every stone that is decorated with flags and flowers also tells a story. Some stones remind us of dedication and service like the gravestone of Dr. Reuben Hunter in Boalsburg. Dr. Hunter was a surgeon with the 54th Pennsylvania regiment and he died of typhoid fever that he contracted while helping wounded soldiers on the front lines. It was his grave that was decorated by his family in what many of us believe began our Memorial Day tradition. His gravestone reminds us of the importance of service and sacrifice and caring for those in need. This stone, however, tells another story.

This is the gravestone of Pvt. Amos Myers of the 148th PA Volunteer Infantry who was killed in action at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863 and this was one of the other stones that was first decorated in Boalsburg. This stone tells the story of courage and valor as young Amos fought for freedom and the preservation of the union in the battle of Gettysburg. Both stones, like all the gravestones we will remember and decorate this weekend, are symbols of sacrifice and service, but each stone has a unique story to tell.

These stones  tell a very different story. This picture is from the National Cemetery in Fredericksburg VA that I was able to visit last weekend and it is the resting place for over 10,000 Union soldiers who died during the battle of Fredericksburg. The battle of Fredericksburg is known for 3 amazing facts. It featured the first opposed river crossing in American military history as Union troops bombarded the town of Fredericksburg from the opposite side of the Rappahannock River as soldiers built a pontoon bridge in order to move their troops into the city. It then featured the first urban combat in US military history as Union and Confederate soldiers fought hand to hand in the streets of Fredericksburg, and then as the battle moved just outside of town 200,000 men were engaged in combat which makes the battle of Fredericksburg the largest concentration of soldiers in any battle during the Civil War.

If you don’t remember your civil war history, it was just outside of the main town of Fredericksburg that the Union Army under the direction of Gen Ambrose Burnside faced off against the Confederate Troops under the leadership of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The main battle was fought in a field where Gen. Burnside sent in wave after wave of soldiers to attack the Confederate troops who held the much higher ground of what is known as Marye’s heights, which was a hill that was protected by what was known as the Sunken Road. Even though the Confederate Army’s defensive position on top of the hill and along the well protected road was very strong, Burnside sent seven divisions of Union soldiers across an open field to attack the South, and not one soldier ever reached the Confederate line. During the course of the day over 13,300 Union soldiers were killed or injured. Most of the men simply lay in the open field during the night with their cries for help filling the air and literally tormenting the soldiers on both sides of the conflict. It was one of the worst losses for the Union Army during the Civil War, and for a piece of local trivia here, it was Andrew Curtin, born in Bellefonte, who visited the battlefield and then went to the white house and told President Lincoln that Fredericksburg “was not a battle, it was butchery.”

As I stood along the Sunken Road at the bottom of Marye’s heights and looked out over the field where over 10,000 men were killed in the course of a day, I asked our guide from the park service what they did with all the bodies. She said that after the battle many were quickly buried in graves throughout the town, but then in 1865 after the end of the Civil War, they were all gathered into the Fredericksburg National Cemetery where today over 15,000 soldiers are buried, 80% of them are unknown and almost all of them union soldiers from the battle of Fredericksburg.

The National Cemetery is an interesting place. There is row upon row of gravestones that simply have numbers on them.

The top number is just an ID number but the bottom number tells you how many unknown soldiers are buried in that plot. The stones in this graveyard also tell a story. They remind us of the sheer number of men who died that day. They remind us of the courage and passion that both sides fought with, but the battle of Fredericksburg was such a poorly fought battle with such devastating losses that it was the victorious Confederate General, Robert E. Lee who said after the battle, "it is well that war is so terrible, or we would grow too fond of it." The battle of Fredericksburg was so physically and emotionally devastating for both sides that the stones in this cemetery remind us that war is ugly and tragic for everyone involved.

The stones we will decorate this weekend all tell a story. They tell a story of individual dedication and sacrifice and a willingness to service. Some remind us that war is ugly and that it robs our families and communities of our young men and women too soon. These stones tell us that life is short and precious but that sometimes freedom is worth fighting for. These stones tell us stories that we need to remember. It is good for us to have a day to remember what these stones tell us because we tend to forget things much too easily. God knows we are prone to forget which is why the number one command in the Bible is to Remember.

Throughout the Bible God calls us to remember his presence and power and his goodness and grace, and at times he even used stones to help the people remember. In 1 Samuel 7 the people of Israel were fighting a battle with their ongoing enemy the Philistines. Samuel was their leader at this time and he called the people not to fight harder but to turn back to God and seek his help. So all the Israelites gathered at a place called Mizpah and they rededicated themselves to faithfully serving God. When the Philistines heard that all of Israel had gathered together in one place they thought this was the perfect time for a sneak attack… this is where we pick the story up in 1 Samuel 7:10-14.

This is the story that we sang about this morning in the song come thou fount of every blessing. I like that we haven’t changed the words because when we sing, here I raise my Ebenezer, it forces us to ask, what’s an Ebenezer? It’s not the first name of Scrooge, well it is, but that is not what we are talking about here. The word Ebenezer means stone of help. Samuel literally set up a stone that told the story of how God helped his people during a battle and how it was God’s hand that delivered the people. Every time the people saw that stone it reminded them that God was there to help them. Every stone has a story.

I wonder if Samuel got the idea to raise an Ebenezer from Joshua. It was Joshua who finally led the people of Israel into the Promised Land and the last leg of their journey was to cross over the Jordan River. When the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant touched the water of the river, the waters stopped flowing and Joshua commanded 12 men, one from each tribe to pick up a stone from the middle of the river and carry it into the Promised Land. Joshua 4:5-7.

Those stones told a story. For generations to come when people saw those stones gathered together they told the story of how God delivered his people from Egypt, and how God cared for them for 40 years in the wilderness, patiently forgiving them when they failed and feeding them when they were hungry and even making water flow from a rock when they were thirsty. And those stones told the story of how God made both the Red Sea and the Jordan River turn to dry ground so that the people could cross over and live in freedom. Those stones told a story, the story of God’s power and faithfulness and love.

Actually, while God was the one who directed Joshua to set up those stones, the idea of stones telling the story of God’s presence goes all the way back to Jacob. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and he had tricked his brother Esau out of a blessing and because his brother was mad and wanted to kill him, he was now fleeing for his life. As Jacob was travelling he laid down to sleep one night and used a rock as a pillow and during the night he had a dream where God comes and blesses him, Genesis 28:15-18. So Jacob was maybe the first person to build a stone memorial and that stone told a story. It told the story of God’s presence in a time of need and told the story of God’s faithfulness to his promise.

It seems like every stone in the Bible has a story. Even in the New Testament every stone has a story. I want you to picture a dusty road
with Jesus and his disciples standing alone with a woman lying on the ground and all around them are stones. Large stones, small stones, but dozens and dozens and dozens of stones and each stone tells a story because just moments before those stones were being held in angry hands. The woman at the feet of Jesus had been caught in adultery and thrown to the ground because the people were ready to kill her. They had stones in their hands and they were ready to throw them at her when Jesus knelt down and began to write in the dust of the road. What he wrote, we don’t know, but one by one people dropped their stones and walked away until the woman is alone in front of Jesus and all around them are stones. Those stones tell a story, a story of forgiveness and a story of grace. Those stones tell the story of God’s power to change hearts and maybe convict people of sin but to also bring forgiveness. Every stone told a story.

And then the final stone to think about is a stone that on Saturday sealed a tomb, but on Sunday had been rolled away.

This stone told Jesus disciples and that stone tells the world that death and the grave do not have the final say. That stone tells us that the power of God and the power of God’s kingdom is greater than any force of evil, any force of darkness, any force of wickedness seen or experienced in this world. The stone that was rolled away from the tomb tells us that there in nothing in our lives that God can not overcome. That stone tells us the story of God’s victory over every force of darkness in the world and every sin in our lives.

So every stone tells a story. Some of the stones we will decorate with flags and flowers this weekend tell us the story of courage and service and sacrifice. Some will remind us of the pain and the deep losses we face due to war. As we look at those stones and think about those stories, I hope we will also remember what these stones mean and the stories they tell. Like Jacob, these stones remind us of God’s presence with us and that God is faithful to his promise. These stones remind us that God will lead us through all the challenges of life and that through his grace and mercy he will lead us into his kingdom. These stones tell us the story that God is here to be our help – that God can be our Ebenezer. These stones tell us that while God convicts us of sin – he is also the one who forgives. These stones also tell us that God is victorious over all things even death and so they remind us of what Paul said in Romans 8:31-39.

Every stone tells us a story and today we need to not only remember these stones and the stories they tell

but these 'biblical stones" and the stories and the truth of God they tell. May we hear and trust and stand upon these stones – and ultimately may we trust and stand upon THE STONE, the corner stone – Jesus Christ.




Next Steps: Remember

Take time during this holiday weekend to remember those who have served our nation:

• Attend a Memorial Day Service.
• With your family, thank God for those who have served.
• Pray for wounded and recovering soldiers.
• Pray for families grieving the loss of loved ones due to war.
• Pray for peace.

Find ways to remember those who have served or are serving in our military. Check out organizations like the USO (http://www.uso.org/) and the Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org) as well as contacting local units to see how to support our local friends and neighbors who are serving in the military.

 Take time during this holiday to remember:

•  A time you experienced God’s presence
•  A time you experienced God’s provision
•  A time you experienced God’s power and help
•  A time you experienced God’s forgiveness

Remember these experiences with a stone and share these stories with others.