Today marks the 73rd anniversary of one of the most tragic and unsuspected events in our nation’s history. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began at 7:55 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941. Within two hours the carnage was over. The deed was done. Japanese fighters bombed and sank twelve naval vessels and heavily damaged nine others. The USS Arizona which still lies beneath the harbor, sank in less than nine minutes. On that ship alone, 1,177 sailors and marines were killed. Only 340 of its crew survived. Today highlights the fact that grief is both linear and cyclical. Two thousand four hundred three Americans were killed on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941. That same number of families can identify that date as the day their lives were forever changed. Grief is linear. You can point to a place and time and identify when a sense of grief took away your sense of peace. Grief is also cyclical. People generally remember December 7th as the anniversary of a tragic day in American history. It is thought that only two thousand to twenty-five hundred military personnel who survived Pearl Harbor are still living. But you can rest assured there are scores of family members whose lives were forever changed seventy-three years ago. On this day they will pause and remember from a personal perspective all that the day represents. It may represent the anniversary of the death of a sibling, a parent, an uncle, a grandfather. It may also simply be a reminder that the grandparent you never knew was killed in the service to his country before you were born. The date of his death was December 7. Grief is cyclical. An anniversary of the day often brings the remembrance to memory. President Franklin Roosevelt, addressing a joint session of Congress, called December 7 a date which will live in infamy. Declaring war against Japan the following day, Congress ushered the United States into World War II. Within days, Japans allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States, and our country was thrust into war in support of military campaigns in the Pacific, North Africa, and Europe. Is it possible to have peace on earth? Were the angels correct in their pronouncement, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased?’ In his book entitled World Aflame, which was written 49 years ago, Billy Graham states: “Our world is on fire, and man without God will never be able to control the flames. The demons of hell have been let loose. The fires of passion, greed, hate, and lust are sweeping the world. We seem to be plunging madly toward Armageddon. That observation seems like a vivid contrast to the pronouncement of the angels who proclaimed, “And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Billy Graham went on to write, “Not long before he was killed in a plane crash several years ago, I visited with Mr. Dag Hammarskjöld in his office at the United Nations. He seemed deeply depressed during our conversation. Looking from his window across New York he said quietly: ‘I see no hope for permanent world peace. We have tried so hard and we have failed so miserably.’ Then he paused a moment, looked at me, and said: ‘Unless the world has a spiritual rebirth within the next few years, civilization is doomed.’ “This is the generation that will pass through the fire. It is the generation, Holiday magazine said, under the gun. This is the tormented generation. This is the generation destined to live in the midst of crisis, danger, fear, and death. We are like a people under sentence of death, waiting for the date to be set. We sense that something is about to happen. “We know that things cannot go on as they are. History has reached an impasse. We are now on a collision course. Something is about to give.” “Jean Paul Sartre, the French Existentialist said: ‘There is no exit from the human dilemma.’ Sir Winston Churchill spoke of the worlds dilemma in these words: ‘Our problems are beyond us.’ The flames are licking all around our world — the roof is about to cave in — man is caught in a fire raging out of control.” Chuck Swindoll expressed it this way, “It seems to us that world peace is a distant, unattainable dream…a political football to be kicked back and forth by ambassadors…It seems that world peace is nothing more than that glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading for the next war.” William Barclay, in his commentary on Luke 2:14, “And on earth peace among men”, writes, “At that juncture, strange to say, the Roman empire was at peace with all the world, and, as was ever the case in these brief rare moments of profound peace, the gates of the temple of Janus at Rome were closed, there being, as they supposed, no need for the presence of the god to guide and lead their conquering armies.” And the truth is when such peace dwells between God and man, there can be peace among men. There is a fascinating story related to World War I that took place one hundred years ago in Belgium. British and opposing German troops each were hunkered in the protective spaces of trenches. At points, the trenches were as close as 60 yards apart. The week of Christmas, the British troops noticed the Germans placed candles on the periphery of their trenches. On Christmas Eve, 1914, the British troops heard the German’s singing Silent Night/Stille Nacht. They responded by singing the Christmas carol in English as well. Under the auspices of “peace on earth, good will toward men”, British and German troops unofficially employed a cease-fire and began co-mingling in “no man’s land.” They approached each other as friends rather than enemies. They shared seasonal greetings, stories and pictures of their families, food items and souvenirs. On Christmas Day, there were prisoner swaps and joint burial ceremonies. There was even a game of soccer between opposing teams. At the end of the day, each side went back to their trenches with fond memories of a Christmas shared in peace. Sadly, the next day, it was business as usual and both sides went back to trying to kill the other. The only peace that can make men brothers is the peace that comes from God. When we are connected to God, our response will be one of inclusion rather than exclusion, civility and respect rather than disdain and disgust, and love not hatred. Let there be peace on earth! All My Best! Don
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 21:25:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015