SERMON TITLE: The Lament of Victory SERMON TEXT: 2 Samuel 1:1-7 and 2:26-27 PREACHER: Rev. Kim James OCCASION: November 8, 2015, at First UMC (Presenting Vets Tribute Run & Chili Cook-off $7500 check to George E. Wahlen Veterans Nursing Home & honoring veterans) INTRODUCTION I m not sure who it belongs to, but there s a car that appears in our church parking lot on a regular basis. I recognize the car by its bumper sticker that says, Freedom isn t free. Most of us get the meaning of that quite quickly. Those three little words remind us of the incredible sacrifice of our veterans who have served at home and abroad to protect our country, our allies, and our American interests and values. When I was pastor of the Wesley United Methodist Church in Pueblo, Colorado, one of the mothers in my congregation lost her son in the Iraq War. The U.S. government provided a full military funeral. Soldiers in dress uniform stood in motionless salute throughout the entire service at the mortuary. Then, on the way to the cemetery, a horse pulled a caisson through streets lined with mourners. I was a participant in that solemn occasion, experiencing the grief of a family, a city, and a nation over a son who had fallen in battle. The soldier s mother Debbie gained some consolation in the fact that her son, Private Blake Harris, was posthumously promoted to Sergeant. Debbie was comforted by family, friends, her church, and her faith. Debbie also gained support from her participation in the Gold Star Mothers Club, a group of those who had similarly lost sons or daughters in war. Despite all the comfort Debbie received, however, the loss of her son was a terrible blow. Still overcome by grief, on the one-year anniversary of Blake s death, Debbie asked me to perform another memorial service for her son. And, on the second anniversary, we again had a quiet little memorial at the gravesite. The loss of her only child left a huge hole in Debbie s heart, and it was a wound that stubbornly resisted healing. I haven t talked to Debbie for a couple years now, but I suspect that she s still struggling with the pain of her loss. The Iraq War
2 was eventually classified as an American victory, but it was a victory that came with much sadness, heartbreak, and lamentation. In this week when we are honoring veterans, we celebrate all the good that our service men and women have done. We offer to them our positive and happy thanks for keeping us safe from terrors and troubles in the world. After Viet Nam, our society learned the hard lesson that our veterans and their families are vulnerable to public opinion. So, when a military engagement is unsuccessful, or the outcome is uncertain, our vets definitely need our support. But, as today s scripture reading shows us, even when the battle is won, the human cost is high. So, for a little bit, I invite you into 2 Samuel, chapter one to see how this story of David might help us understand the lament of victory. 1 LOSS OF LIFE The first and most obvious factor in David s lament was the loss of life. The young man who came from Saul s camp thought David would be glad to hear that King Saul and his son Jonathan were dead. As he told how he had finished off the king who was stuck on his spear, the Amalekite expected his report to be celebrated. He probably even expected a reward or appreciation of some kind for bearing good news from the battle front. But he was mistaken. Yes, the death of King Saul and his son Jonathan opened the way for the challenger David to wear the crown and become the great king who would unify the twelve tribes under one monarchy. But this victory came at the destruction of Israel s first anointed king and his son. The mighty of Israel had fallen. The chosen of God were dead. Because of this terrible loss of life, David and his soldiers could not immediately celebrate their victory. They had to take time to grieve. They tore their clothes. They mourned and wept. They fasted. And they lamented. Lamentation isn t a word we use much these days. But we actually have a whole book in the Bible called Lamentations. Written nearly 500 years after the death of King Saul, the book of Lamentations is the mournful outcry of the Israelites who were taken captive into Babylon when they lost their battle, their homeland, and many of their fellow citizens. By the rivers of Babylon, they sat
3 down and wept. Upon hearing of the death of King Saul and his son Jonathan, that s what David and his men did also. It didn t matter that the deaths brought them victory. The loss of life caused them great lamentation. 2 LOSS OF FAMILY Of course, King Saul and his son Jonathan weren t just anyone. Not only was Saul anointed by God to be the king of Israel, and not only was Jonathan a possible next-in-line to the throne. If you know your Old Testament stories, you may recall that, when David was still young, he went to live with Saul and Jonathan in their royal home. Saul was like a father to David, and Jonathan was like a much-beloved brother. David even married Saul s daughter Michal, so they were all connected as family. When a soldier dies in battle, their family and community back home grieve for them. But what we don t always realize is how much grieving goes on within the troops themselves. Today s veterans know that when one of their own dies in battle, they have not just lost the life of a person or co-worker; they have lost a brother or sister in arms. Those relationships are close. Those bonds are tight. Spouses and other family members back home sometimes can t understand the nature of those connections which are forged under fire. But the relationships are such that when someone is wounded or killed in battle, it is often like the loss of someone who is closer than a brother or a spouse. When our veterans have lost someone from their unit, they are lamenting the loss of family. 3 OTHER LOSSES Of course, not every loss comes from death on the battlefield. Some deaths come after vets have returned home. I was reading this past week about a particular group of veterans who had been home for seven years and had been lamenting the loss of their fellow Marines to suicide at an alarming rate. The article referred to suicide as a virus spreading through their unit. Of course, the suicides were the result of other kinds of losses. Many had suffered loss of physical abilities through wounds to
4 their bodies. Along with those physical injuries had come the loss of mental health and extreme difficulty coping with the day-to-day demands of life. Many of our veterans lament that they have lost a sense of safety and trust. They suffer from PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, from which they are always on edge. Loud noises, sudden movements, and enclosed or strange environments can all create anxiety. In today s Bible story, after David heard the news of the death of King Saul at the hand of the messenger, David ordered the young man killed. Even though the messenger was presenting himself as on David s side in the battle, David feared him. If the young man would dare to raise his hand against God s anointed King Saul, what might he do to David? In those flashes of fear and panic, adrenalin rises, anger flares, and violence can occur. Due to these changes in mental health and the instability that is created back home, many of our veterans also experience the loss of their spouses and children. Besides PTSD, many veterans lament that they have lost a sense of clarity about life. Once upon a time there might have seemed to be a clear enemy and a clear cause to defend. But in the messiness of battle, sometimes that clarity is muddied. The book of First Samuel tells us that King Saul had tried to kill David many times. Therefore, to many of David s supporters, Saul would have seemed like a clear enemy. But, for David, it wasn t that simple, since David had lived in Saul s house and become part of his family. In battle, sometimes it s hard to tell who is friend and who is foe. The uncertainty gives reasons for lamentation. Another kind of loss our veterans have experienced comes from moral injury. Sometimes, in the heat and fear of battle, soldiers violate their own conscience. They do things that they believe are wrong, and then they feel like they ve lost their souls. The devastating consequences show up as depression, guilt, anger, self-medication through alcohol or drugs, and sometimes suicide. We civilians kind of get it that these difficult responses might occur if the war ended in defeat or indecision. What s hard for us civilians to understand is that this kind of suffering can occur even when the battle
5 has been declared a victory. In fact, sometimes the hardest emotions come when a veteran s personal experience feels out of line with the public perception. Being hailed as a victorious hero after having violated one s own conscience can sometimes add insult to injury. In a previous church that I served, there was a man named Frank. Frank came to church quite regularly, but he would never take communion. I tried to persuade him to do so because I hoped he could experience God s grace and love through participation in that sacrament. But Frank always told me that he couldn t. He said he didn t believe that God could forgive him for what he did while he served in the military. I tried to assure Frank that, no matter what he had done, God could forgive him. Frank would never tell me what he did, and he never was able to get past that feeling of guilt and the sadness that plagued him. In spite of the fact that victory in his war had been declared decades prior, Frank continued to lament the loss of peace in his soul. CONCLUSION The young man who brought the news of Saul s death and the victor s crown to David was caught off guard by David s reaction. He expected a celebration and witnessed intense mourning instead. When a victory is declared, it s hard for people to see why the grief is so pervasive and intense. But the odd thing about war is that whether we lose the battle or win a victory, some of the same things may have occurred. Loss of life, loss of family, loss of physical ability, loss of security, loss of clarity, and loss of peace in one s soul can wreak havoc in our veterans lives. In some ways, it might be easier to bear those personal losses if the overall battle was lost. At least then, everyone would understand why it hurts so much. Some of you may wonder why I m talking to you like this today. I guess I m hopeful that if we acknowledge these losses that veterans might experience, maybe we ll also understand the deep grief that goes with them. Maybe we ll be better able to offer comfort and support when we hear our veterans express the lament of victory.