Joshua 3:15-4:9

3:15Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16The water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

4:1When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2"Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3And tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight."

4So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5And said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6To serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

8So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

MEMORIAL DAY ADDRESS

This lesson from the book of Joshua reminds us of the importance of memorials. God wanted the people of Israel to remember the miraculous way by which they were able to enter into the Promised Land on dry land, so he commanded the people to take stones from the place in the Jordan River where they had crossed and build a monument to that day. God wanted the people to build this memorial because God knows that it is healthy for a people to remember their history and the heroic people who made it happen.

Henry Ford once made the mistake of saying that history is bunk. It was, of course, a mistake for him to say that because it is the accumulated events of history that make up the present, and it was the blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds and thousands of dedicated men and women who made those events what they were so that we may enjoy this day, today.

We remember those crucial events in history wherein many of our loved ones gave the supreme sacrifice of life and limb. We remember those events, hoping to learn the lessons of history. We remember those events, knowing that the memory of them draws us closer together as Americans. We remember those events, trusting that God was present and active in that history. But, most of all, we remember the persons who took part in those events, who unselfishly gave of themselves for the sake of home, and family, and liberty, and freedom. And we thank God that they were who they were.

Just as the Israelites were inspired to build a memorial to mark the fantastic deeds done in their past, so are we inspired to build memorials to remember heroic deeds and those persons who made them happen. At the beginning of the parade, today, we gathered around the memorial at the city park to remember brave soldiers who gave their lives for their country. Now, at parade's end, we have gathered at a place that holds the physical remains of so many of the same.

Certainly, as we are gathered here to honor these fallen sons and daughters, we must be inspired by their example of self-denial. Their brave deeds should inspire us to live for our community in such a way that their deaths shall not have been in vain. Their brave deeds should inspire us to live moral, decent, sober, and caring lives, so that future generations may yet come here and remember with respect and awe the lesson of their sacrifice.

As we gather here, today, take time to think of all that is good about the community you live in. Think about the schools and the youth who attend them with the promise they hold for the future. Think about the churches here with the hope they inspire through their services, teachings, and prayers. Think about the civic organizations that serve to make this a better place to live. Think about the businesses, the offices, and the homes that offer a livelihood and stability to all. Let us consider these things and dedicate ourselves to supporting them with an ever greater zeal and commitment. For these are the things those who we came here to remember died for. If we cherish their memory, then we shall strive to uphold these institutions that are so important to our life together.

In the Bible story I read about the memorial to Israel's crossing of the Jordan River, God instructed the Israelites to tell their children the meaning of the memorial they had been commanded to build. Likewise, it is important for us to remind our own children of the meaning of the memorials within our community, and around us, here, today. Before you leave this place, stop to take account of the stones that surround you. For many of them tell stories of devotion that no television program, no film in a movie theater, and no book can tell as well. Before you leave this place, stop to read the names. Stop to recall their sacrifice. Stop to be inspired by the lives they lived and by their willingness to die for us.

Let us pray:

O God, we thank you for the example of those whose names we remember, today. Bless us as we seek to live to their glory, and to the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.