“Advertising For God”
Mark 12:41-44
Psalm 139
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our Redeemer. Amen
Last week a billboard was unveiled on Highway 92 in
Neil Johnson of the Tampa Tribune made the front page as he
reported on this a new billboard to herald the opening of an atheist chapter in
On Wednesday November 4 an
unimaginable tragedy unfolded at
Our President declared flags at half mast
until Veterans Day and brought a moment of consolation to all of us: something
we could do to honor our service men and women, and the civilians that served
at
On Veterans Day we remember men and
women that risked, and gave, their life, for their country. In the Gospel today
Jesus watches a poor widow drop a penny into the treasury and commends her to
his disciples over and against those who gave far more money. Scholar William
Barclay reflects on the scene and concludes: “We may feel that we have not much
in the way of material gifts or personal gifts to give to Christ, but, if we
put all that we have and are at his disposal, he can do things with us that are
beyond our imaginings.”
This morning I want to share an extraordinary testimony with
you about a man who learned to do that. He prayed his way into tithing his
whole life to God and in the process gave us a way to reconcile war and peace
through prayer.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was an obscure career army man who was known mostly for his administrative and organizational
skill. In a move that rocked the
Pentagon as well as the capital hill, Chief of Staff, General George Marshall
appointed Eisenhower Supreme Commander of Allied Expeditionary Force for the
invasion of
Discussed in 1942 and formalized in 43, it was an
unprecedented coalition of force as bold as the threat: an invasion by Nazi
Germany. Thousands of soldiers practiced in secret along the coast of
On the eastern shore of
Meanwhile, the largest armada in history - more than 4,000
American, British and Canadian ships trained.
Twelve hundred planes loaded with seasoned troops prepared to drop
behind enemy lines to protect the ground troops on the beaches. We know that
the tides and moon were right but the weather foul at dawn on June 5. General Eisenhower made a
momentous decision: Operation Overlord would nevertheless commence at
We may have studied this story and some of our members
actually lived it. But what we may not know is that General
Eisenhower wrote two letters on June 5, 1944: the first was addressed to
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force, “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
The second letter Eisenhower had written on June 5 rested in
his shirt pocket throughout June 6. It
was never delivered or read at that time but it is worthy of our attention
today. Wrote the Supreme Commander: “Our landing in
the
He had prayed, “We beseech the blessing of Almighty God,”
but he did not presume to have God on call.
The Supreme Commander knew where be ended and God began. To pray is to reach beyond all that we are,
and all we might do, all that we might hoe for to ask God,
for whom even darkness is not dark, to shed his light upon us. Eisenhower looked to God to get through not
just the night of June 5 but also what has become known as “The Longest Day,”
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 on February 1, 1953, 12 days after the
inauguration. O that day he brought his
West Point Bible opened to Psalm 33
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 to win WWII.
Supreme Allied Commander of NATO he worked tirelessly and with
determination to prevent anther war. I wonder if 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. Today we
honor the legacy of freedom we inherit from our veterans and thank God for
them. Let us pray
O God keep us from empty ritual vain displays of our
religion and lead us to give you all that we are that you make us into
instruments of your peace. Amen.
The Rev. Elizabeth Kuehl