Memorial Day 2005

Journal 1805 05 30
Memorial Day 2005

Today we celebrate Memorial Day in America. Many think we set today aside to remember our veterans. Congress set Veterans Day, in November, as the day we honor all of our living veterans. Memorial Day is the day we honor those who have fallen in battle. In 1868 General Logan saw women decorating the graves of young men killed in the Civil War with flowers. He declared a day of remembering those young men from the north and south that died in battle. New York was the first state to recognize Memorial Day in 1873 and most of the rest soon followed. Except some southern states still memorialize Confederate Veterans Day and Jefferson Davis Day. Some things die hard. Over one hundred fifty years later and the South still hangs on to vestiges of the Confederate States of America.

Lewis and Clark were war veterans. And they had already lost one of their party to sickness. My guess is they remembered their beloved Sergeant Floyd throughout their journey. The reason for this day of national remembrance (the Civil War) would not take place until sixty plus years after the completion of their journey. Sergeant Floyd did not die in battle but he did die in the service of his country.

York, and we only ever see him referred to as York, accompanied Captain William Clark on the expedition as his slave. Evidently York had been Clark’s slave since both were young. He was the only black man and only slave on this journey. Upon completion of the journey York had high expectations of being emancipated by Clark. Clark could not see clear to emancipate York until ten years past their return to St. Louis. It is clear from their writings that although Clark held York in high regard as a companion and helper, he did not see him in the same light as his soldiers. Named like you would name a dog. Seen as somewhere higher than a pet, yet not of the same status as a white human.

William Clark proved proved himself to be a fine man and a wonderful American. We all have blind spots in our lives and slavery was one of his that was shared by many other great Americans. We may look back at the holocaust of abortion and wonder why we have allowed it to be a legal and moral argument rather than the raw human tragedy it is. I would contend it is the slavery of our time.

In this practice of human ownership by another human lay the seeds of a war that would divide a young nation and threaten its existence sixty years later. Epitomized forever on the battlefields of Gettysburg, Bull Run and many other bloodied acres of native soil. The claim to equality for each person so eloquently stated in the Declaration of Independence almost one hundred years earlier would be tested on the battlefield and found true.

As human freedom has been challenged throughout history we have responded with the blood of more young Americans. These are the fine young men who have secured the ideals set forth in our founding documents. Their sacrifices on the altar of freedom are the reasons we live in the greatest land in the history of the world. Their willingness to be the fuel to the human forges of ideas, ideals, government and nations makes the furnace fit for the craftsmen of religious and political liberty to form the tools of that liberty.

This spirit of sacrificial service is the same today as it was in 1805 when this young band of military explorers set their sights on the Pacific Ocean. The Corps of Discovery knew their service might end in death. They set out in spite of that knowledge. They were full of hope and faith that they could complete the mission set before them.

Every young soldier serving today operates in that same knowledge of looming death. Yet, they set their faces like flint against the opposition and set out on their missions full of hope and faith that they will complete them.

As we remember the great success of the Corps of Discovery, let us see that same spirit of resolve and service to the human ideals of God-given freedoms that they are willing to give their lives to defending.

Our pastor spoke yesterday of the occupation commanded of the church. An active defense of ground won by the victory of the blood of Christ in death and resurrection.

As we remember the young men giving their lives to actively occupy this world in the victory of freedom do we see in their sacrifices the living shadow of a greater victory won and eternally defended by Christ, the Captain of the Host of Heaven?

Assumed Success

Journal 2005 05 28
Assumed Success

The first clap of thunder since leaving Fort Mandan greets the men today. A few drops of rain fall early and the both Lewis and Clark record the clouds as “smokey”.

Good fortune seems to be their constant companion in spite of the hardships the men face. The worry of this day is the state of their weak and worn elk skin ropes. A series of “riffles” must be navigated. Several miles of today’s twenty-one and half miles consist of riffles with large sharp rocks that required careful negotiation. The men know that should the elk tow ropes break as the boats are being pulled around the rocks capsizing and loss of boats and gear would result.

The rotting and weather-weakened tow ropes do break during the day, but never in a critical spot where the boats are in danger.

Remember, half this trip is upstream. Can you imagine how we would respond today to a trip that required a thousand miles of upstream, uphill navigation? Most of our river navigation is downstream for a reason. It is hard to go upstream.

This expedition was completed at great hardship. It also saw great fortune. The men assumed success was theirs. We will see many times throughout the next year and a half that many times the Captains decided issues on the assumption of success. They were not foolish. They were confident in their mission and purpose.

Do we look to our lives with an assumption of success in spite of any hardship that might accompany the task? So many times we give way to fear and see the hardships as failure.

Will we continue to give way to fear and view hardship as punishment? Or will we believe that if God woke us up this morning that He has a continued purpose for our lives? Hardship is for our training and strengthening.

Let every man be a liar and God be true! Compared to God’s word people are like grass. His Word stands forever.

Look for His “good fortune” to follow you every day of your life. Your tow ropes may be rotten and weak. You may fear the real loss of what you think is valuable. Your ropes will break. But it is God who determines your good fortune. You can assume it in spite of any fears you may face if you are about His business and not yours.

“For I know the plans I have for you. Plans for good and not for evil.” Jeremiah 29:11

Rise, Respond and Refuel

Journal 2005 05 27
Rise, Respond and Refuel

High winds keep the men in camp until 10:00am. Their usual pattern is to rise, break camp, travel until about 8:00am then stop for breakfast. A pattern that seems timeless to military men throughout the ages.

Their camp tonight will be in a location with just enough deadwood for a meager campfire. Two lone cottonwoods, dead at the top, provide fuel for the elk they killed earlier in the day. Only two elk were seen.

The landscape is changing as the men enter the area we know as the Missouri Breaks. This area is still undeveloped much as it was two hundred years ago. The river channel is about two hundred yards wide and the water is shallower, faster and harder to navigate because of all the rocks that have fallen off the steep banks into the river.

Lewis and Clark speculate that a low mountain range in the distance must hold the headwaters of the Missouri. They allow themselves to be excited at the prospect of reaching that destination so quickly and with relative ease. They will discover soon enough how overly optimistic their observations were.

Regarding the pattern mentioned earlier about rising early, breaking camp and eating breakfast later. Military discipline is known for PT, or calisthenics, as the first activity of the day. Roll out of the sack and get in formation for PT. Then breakfast and whatever else the day hold follows.

This pattern goes back to King David. He set the pattern in seeking the Lord before anything else each morning. Many examples of an hour of prayer exist and we are told that the record of the Old Testament is to be a pattern for us.

Those of us who have not been in a military unit have not experienced this discipline. Many Christians have developed this pattern out of discipleship, study and need.

If you struggle with an hour of prayer and physical discipline, today’s message is a reminder and example that God’s pattern for our lives is universally applicable to all men in all situations.

Rise, respond and then refuel.

I know I need to reschedule my life. An hour for prayer and an hour for exercise and clean-up requires a different schedule than the one I currently practice.

Do I want to do things my (haphazard) way or do I want to follow the pattern of those who God and history set for me to follow?

Grizzly!

Journal 2005 05 26
Grizzly!

It is early spring on the plains and the young soldiers of the Corps of Discovery have seen temperatures reach the high seventies then fall to the high forties overnight! Today is the second of three straight days in the eighties.

When you have sudden temperature changes high winds result because of the massive amounts of air that must trade places. On the plains, this massive air exchange is unimpeded by mountains or trees. Several times during this expedition the Corps is forced to hunker down and wait for the high winds to pass before they “proceed on”.

Lewis has plans to build a lightweight, steel-framed boat intended for navigating the waters that the large keelboats cannot. The hunting parties begin to take elk for their hides in addition to meat because elk hides will be used cover the boat. Elk hides are desired in the wilderness because of their strength and suppleness. Elk hides are also thicker than most other hides. We’ll touch on the “portable” boat concept later. Invention and experimentation will always be in the heart of man. Meriwether Lewis was no different and would pursue his version of the “folding two pound Kevlar kayak guaranteed never to leak or break”.

The Expedition was rich in biology because of the many new animal species that were discovered. Between zoos and National Geographic we are familiar with unusual species of animals from around the world. This knowledge was not available to the world of the early 1800’s. In the past few weeks Lewis and the hunters have been able to kill their first example of a bighorn sheep.

This first encounter with the prized bighorn sheep was noticeably less dangerous than the first encounter with the large bear of Indian lore they would meet upriver. The first grizzly bear that Lewis shot was around three hundred pounds. Lewis immediately assumed that the Indians told stories and feared the bears because they lacked the power of the .54 caliber musket ball in their modern rifles. One shot, one kill. The goal of riflemen throughout history.

The next encounters changed Lewis’ assumption and gave credibility to the respect the Indians had for the grizzly. Although no one was killed, the men found their curiosity satisfied after several encounters with much larger bears. Many times the tough, old grizzlies took musket ball after musket ball before falling near the feet of the last man firing. The men quickly discovered that when agitated to the point of charging the grizzlies would run in a straight line toward its intended target. A strategy was devised where the men would form a line, fire and then step aside as the wounded bear charged on by to the next rifleman in the chain.

Lewis recorded in his journal that the men had satisfied any curiosity they held for the big bears and would no longer pursue them.

Pastor Norm spoke Sunday of the reality of the battle and our enemy. We have an enemy who desires to steal, kill and destroy. Whether we “believe” it or not.

Psalm 140 speaks of those who scheme against us. David also outlines some of their scheming.

We live in relative peace and make assumptions about our threats, our enemies, much like Lewis did about the mighty bear of Indian legend. Lewis dismissed the threat to ignorance and lack of modern technology. A little arrogant. A little prideful maybe? A little too much like us when we hear a message like the one we heard on Sunday? “Not me, I don’t have any enemies. I’m peaceful therefore no one would attack me,” we say. “Even if they did attack me I have unmatched tools to deal with them. I have doctors, lawyers, courts, and ultimately, medicines to fend off any attempts to throw my life off my intended track. And if that all fails, I can try my pastor and prayer.”

Will we listen to the one charged with our care? He is charged as a shepherd is charged with the care of the sheep under his care. His first responsibility is our safety. His second is safe pasture and good water. Psalm 23 must be a foundation stone for every pastor and leader in our churches throughout history. It is the simplest of examples of pastoral care. It is also the simplest of examples of the response of the church.

“GOD, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of GOD for the rest of my life.” (Psalms 23:1-6) The Message Bible

Is your mission compromised by an arrogant assumption that even the largest and toughest of our enemies is no match for our modern weapons and peaceful intentions? Just as the men of the Corps of Discovery found that the only way they could safely overcome the large predator was to form a “picket line” of men with muskets so that “modern” weapons could be marshaled against a foe that would overrun a single man with a single musket.

If our threat is large enough, we will seek the company of many. Wisdom comes in seeking that company before any threat appears. We speak of the Lewis and Clark Expedition as though just the two of them made it. Without the company of twenty-nine other brave souls the journey would have been an exercise in foolishness.

Let us take this daily musing as a call to community and the care of those charged with our welfare. From our Father in Heaven, to His Son sitting at His right hand through the Holy Spirit resident in our hearts and the shepherds called to find green pastures and still waters.

Modern Exploration

Journal 2005 05 24
Modern Exploration

It has been a month since my last post and I am finally vertical and getting better every day. The specialist has called sarcoidosis as the condition, I believe it was probably precipitated by some condition that will remain a mystery. God bless Dr. Frank for his diligence in pursuing this medical mystery. I will have one more CT scan in two months to verify that my lymph nodes are not enlarged. Thanks for praying. I started getting better the day after the prayer request went out to the church at large.

I have missed my men of the Corps of Discovery. Like many men throughout the last two hundred years of American history they have captivated my heart. I have no desire to re-create their journey in buckskins, moccasins and muskets. I like micro-fiber, Gore-Tex, Vibram soled leather boots and my semi-auto Browning Automatic Rifle in .338 Winchester Magnum with scope. (I do have modern equivalents to their muskets. Mine are made of rustproof stainless steel with synthetic plastic rifle stocks. These rifles do require that gunpowder is poured down the barrel and a bullet is pushed in on top of the powder. The powder is then ignited by a “musket cap” and sends a very modern type bullet downrange that is vastly more accurate and effective than the round lead ball the soldiers shot from their flint fired muskets.)

Were we making a similar trip today we would not have sextants and chronometers but GPS devices, radios and satellite photographs would guide our way. I can’t get my mind around how airplanes, boats and every other motorized form of transportation would translate into modern day exploration. Where can’t we go and what don’t we know about our modern world? Where on the compass dial is our direction to the unknown? We know from history that we do not have complete knowledge of our world. Is it above ground, below ground, in the air, under the water or in the invisible heavenly realms that are just as real?

President Jefferson was the visionary for this journey. He knew that westward development of this young nation was key to continued expansion. He saw the European competition for sovereign rule of the land between the United States and the Pacific Ocean. He was able to get his mind around the unseen possibilities and had to know the answers to the dreams and curiosity in his imagination.

Thomas Jefferson, identifying Meriwether Lewis as qualified for the military leadership needed for success, called the young officer to serve as his personal secretary. Jefferson began to train Lewis in the sciences needed to complete the mission. More importantly, he began to transfer his vision for the mission to the eager young man who was already versed in the self-sufficient life the wilderness required. Although time was a factor, Jefferson did not pursue authorization from Congress until he was confident that Lewis had captured his vision for the mission and was prepared to complete it to his satisfaction.

This historical example reveals large holes in our modern training and instruction. We are encouraging young people to find their own way and make their own choices. This example should encourage us to become skilled in our current situations. We should be willing to respond to training and imparted vision. We should be able to wear the mantle of delegated authority and complete our assigned missions.

Does someone see greatness in you? Are you listening to them?

Is anyone calling you up to uncharted ground? Are you hearing their call? More importantly, are you answering?

Am I, are you, willing to have vision imparted from someone else? Jefferson was not physically capable of this great expedition. Its work would require the strength only young men possess.

Can I, can you, see your calling fulfilled within the vision of another?

Can we see the training that allows us to follow another’s vision leads us to qualification to train others as we impart vision to them?

Lord, may we hear the call to vision, training and mission and heed the call!

“Blessed is Jehovah my Rock, who teaches My hands for war, my fingers for battle.”
(Psalms 144:1)