“Close to the Heart”
I Thessalonians 2: 1-8, 13
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
On Wednesday Veterans Day parades and ceremonies will take place all across the nation in small towns and large cities, at cemeteries and at war memorialsto honor the men and women who stepped up in their youth to confront something that to this day confounds us: war and the necessity to prepare for conflict.
This morning Paul stands at the intersection of empire and faith. He was on the front line: in fact without Paul there would be no church. We are reading the very first book of the New Testament this morning: the oldest letter we have from Paul dated 50 to 51.
Luke Acts 16:6 describes the night Paul saw a vision: There stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Paul answered. He became The Apostle to the Gentiles and stepped right into Europe to establish house churches in the four provinces of the Roman Empire and make his way all the way to Rome: 10,000 miles in allover the course of three trips.
The minute he preached Christ crucified and risen from the deadPaul became an enemy of the Empire: a traitor to the imperial cult because he preached exclusive allegiance to the Gospel not the Roman Emperorand a threat to the very foundation of Greek culture: pagan gods and mystery religions.
Philippi and Thessalonica are famous cities in Macedonia established by Alexander the Great in 316 BC.After suffering and hardship at Philippi he went to Thessalonica to establish another beachfront along the great center for trade the Via Egnatia that famous gateway to the east that ran from Rome all the way to Byzantium.A few years later he sent them this letter from Corinth.
So much more could have been said about the suffering persecution and dangerorstrategy and tactics for survival but this letter is about God’s presence in hardship and love:So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves because you have become very dear to us.
C. S. Lewis understood this. In his bookThe Screwtape Letters, a senior devil, Screwtape, mentors his nephew, Wormwood, who must claim one soul for “their father below.’’When war breaks out In Europe the student is ecstatic. An angry Screwtape sets him straight: quite the contrary more conversions take place in war, more good deeds, men heretofore not even mindful of God find him.
On this Sunday I want to consider how important Paul’s letters are despite the fact that many of the churches he wrote to no longer exist. I want to tell you about a man of letters and a message that transcended the conflict that prompted his words.
He was acareer army man little known beyond the circle who admired his skills for administration and organization.In a move that rocked the Pentagon as well as CapitolHill, Chief of Staff, General George Marshall appointed this obscure officer Commander of Allied Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Europe.
Dwight D. Eisenhower had never served in combat or directed large units of men and equipment. His direct reports outranked him by a mile in both war experience and leadership.Nevertheless Eisenhower led the coalition of American, British, and Canadian forcesand earned the respect of his rivals during Operation Overlord:the code name for the largest amphibious assault ever undertaken in the history of warfare.
Discussed in 1942 and formalized in ‘43, it was an unprecedented coalition of force as bold as the potential threat of an invasion by Nazi Germany. Thousands of soldiers practiced in secret along the coast of England, Scotland and Ireland.
They used real ammunition, withstood terrible weather and rehearsed grueling sea maneuvers storming beaches in high surf and treacherous tides. They scaled sea walls and cliffs and endured a German submarine attack that killed almost 800 sailors.
On the eastern shore of England Operation Fortitude and OperationBodyguard got underway. Hundreds of fake tanks, trucks and landing craft were placed in strategic locations.Plastic replicas of warships were inflated on the sea as mock barracks made of scaffolding and canvas was set up on land.Double agents risked their life to plant bad intel. Axis radio staged broadcasts to deceive Germany into thinking that an invasion of Norway and southern France was immanent.
Meanwhile, the largest armada in history was assembled: 4,000 American, British and Canadian ships.Twelve hundred planes prepared to parachute to earth behind enemy lines to protect thosecoming by sea onto the beaches.
The tides and moon were right but the weather foul at dawn on June 5, 1944. General Eisenhower made a momentous decision: Operation Overlord would, despite the awful weather conditions, commence at 5:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944.Many of our members not only know the story but lived through the longest dayand the endless night that followed.Eisenhower composed two letters on June 5, 1944. The first was addressed to Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. It read in part:
The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you…in company with our brave allies you will bring about the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe…your task will not be easy…I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill…but let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
Across the English Channel they came first by air, then by sea into the churning waters to take 5 beachfronts at Normandy.Americans took Utah and Omaha, the British and Canadians: Gold, Sword and Juno. One hundred fifty-five thousand (155,000) came ashore and 4,900 died trying along eighty square miles of French coastline.
That second letter Eisenhower composed on June 5 was tucked into the shirt pocket of his uniform over his heart. It rested there throughout the day and night of June 5 and June 6.It was never delivered but it is worthy of our attention.
Our landing in the Normandy area failed to gain satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available.The troops, the air and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty can do. If any blame is found attached to the attempt it is mine alone.
We need to remember that Paul did not know at the time he wrote to the risky outposts for Christ in the Greek world that he would become the greatest evangelist the world has ever known.He did not know that his letters would become the means of grace for countless Christians like us even though these churches he gave his life to establish would not survive.Paul only knew that he was called to preach Christ crucified and risen from the dead.
Eisenhower prayed we beseechthe blessing of Almighty God to get through not just the night of June 5 but also what has become known as “The Longest Day,” June 6, 1944. Because of their courage, grit and perseverance in the face of inestimable loss the soldiers of America, England and Canada made code name Operation Cobra possible: 2,876,000 men and 585,000 tons of supplies ultimately crossed the English Channel.Later Paris was liberated and the march to Germany finally ended in victory on May 7, 1945.
The only president in the history of the United Sates to be baptized, confirmed and made a communicant (church member) while in office, Eisenhower became a Presbyterian 12 days after his inauguration. He had brought his West Point Bible opened to Psalm 33 to the inauguration:
The Lord looks down from heaven,
he sees all humankind
and observes all their deeds;
A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The warhorse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might cannot save.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and shield.
Because we trust in his holy name
Let your steadfast love, O Lord; be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Few people realize that after 1945, Eisenhower worked as hard for peace as he had in war. Supreme Allied Commander of NATO he worked tirelessly and with determination to prevent another war.
Perhaps his experience at war influenced his decision to support adding “under God” to our pledge of allegiance in 1955 and “in God we trust” to the motto of the United Sates in 1956 and “in God we trust” to our currency in 1957.
What distinguished Dwight David Eisenhower from other men was not his success but his humility: fashioned in adversity but sanctified by a prayer life he chose to share with us and invite us to rely upon.
This week I ask that you think about writing letters about your faith to share with those for whom you have great affection and who may need to know what has enabled you to trust in God in the midst of war.
The Reverend Elizabeth Kuehl
Hope United Presbyterian Church
November 8, 2015
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