A Meditation for Trinity 21 – Remembering
Collect
Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the king of all: Govern the hearts and minds of those in authority, and bring the families of the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin, to be subject to his just and gentle rule; who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
James 3:17 – 18
Matthew 5:1-12
I emphasise that what follows are my honest personal views. I totally respect those who don’t share them. But I refute accusations of disrespect when I have once more to admit that I am continually conflicted about the ‘celebration’ of ‘Remembrance’ Sunday.
My Grandfather, Valentine Matthews, was killed in the totally pointless WWI bloodbath known as 3rd Ypres, better known as Passchendaele. His body was never found. I have seen his name on the memorial in the huge Tyne Cot cemetery, among the 40,000 unknown others and 4,000 graves of the bodies who were identified. I am conscious of the motivation that led young men to war – believing they would help deliver a future fit for generations still to come. For me. How can I not commemorate his sacrifice on the day set out for Remembrance? Wearing a poppy is a symbol of respect.
And yet, the hoped-for promise of peace never happened, and it increasingly appears that it never will. The day will include military marches and what in my opinion are sentimental rituals of poppies cascading from the ceiling of the Albert Hall and other places around the world. Do they make a difference? Have the ever stopped a war? Or in fact, do they have the opposite effect of maintaining a sense of separation and superiority among those of different histories, beliefs and cultures? Is the poppy a reminder of division?
I have no issue whatsoever with those who fought against Valentine and his compatriots. In turn, they too were true to their belief. I do though have difficulty in accepting those who would use his death for their own ends, and use the conflicts of the past as a justification to build ever-more powerful weapons, spending money that could be better allocated to building a more equitable society – which might in fact be a lot more effective in building peace than using violence, which demonstrably has never worked.
As I see the destruction in Ukraine, in the Middle East, hear the announcement of increased military expenditure, see the thousands upon thousands of displaced people, the bandaged or malnourished children on hospital beds, I am sickened at the total disregard for the lessons of the past and the participation of ‘Remembrance Day’ services with those with the power to stop the slaughter. I feel I don’t want anything to do with it.
The war in the New Testament is not between women and men created and love equally by our Creator, but between good and evil won on a cross by our Saviour who is Christ the Lord.
I will wear a poppy on Sunday – not to commemorate those lost in ancient wars, and certainly not to express ‘patriotic’ allegiance, but to offer support and thanksgiving for all those who are prepared to put their lives at risk for the sake of others and work for peace in the midst of conflict. So we pray for:
- The Defence Forces
- The Ambulance Service
- An Garda Síochána
- The Fire Service
- The Coastguard
- The RNLI and its volunteers
- The Civil Defence and its volunteers
- Nurses, doctors and all those who use their skills of healing both in this nation and across the world
And all those who give their lives for others
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old;
age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
we will remember them.
Every selfless act honours our Christ.
In Him, we are one. Whoever we are.
We are all His family, and violence
against each other is violence against Him.
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