Sermon: Remembrance Sunday

I heard on the television news last week that there are in the UK just five known people still alive who served  in the armed forces in World War 1, and of those five, just one now survives who was in the trenches. Also, this  year,  anyone who served in World War 2 would be at least aged eighty.

For me, World War 2 was something my parents talked about a lot,  indeed so much that I sometimes think I remember it myself ! Of course for the young World War 2  is history, but not just history to read about in a book or watch in a film.  It is history that is still told by those who remember it and lived through it. Many books have been written about wars which give the political and military explanations of why they happened.  Many films have been made about wars.  However, the real story of war is the story of the people who lived through it,  not just those in the armed forces but the civilian population too, indeed very much the civilian population.

Today we are called to remember,  but what do we remember? Let us never forget that for many today is about remembering at first hand their friends and comrades who died on the battlefield.   Those who remember colleagues from the two world wars  may be diminishing, but we do not forget them and how real the memory is to them.  Sadly, the memory of those who have died in war  goes on.  Many of those bereaved through war deaths are young families.  An increasing number of young people have long term injuries as a result of war.  So today is not only about remembering those who died in two world wars, but about those who have died in all wars from the beginning of time up to the present day.  Every death is one too many. 

Why do we remember? What does our faith teach us about Remembrance Sunday?  What does the Bible tell us?   How do we answer those who tell us wars are caused by religion?    We may well find lots of accounts of war in the Old Testament, but this does not mean this is how God wants us to solve the world’s problems.  To discover the answer to that we listen to the words of Jesus.   “Blest are the peacemakers, they shall be called the children of God.” “Forgive and you shall be forgiven”   “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that all who believe in him should not perish but have eternal life.”    “Love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you.”     “Love one another as I have loved you.”

We all know in our hearts that this is the real way to peace.  So why is there war?  It remains true that most people all over the world, ordinary people like ourselves; whatever their race, whatever their religion, whatever their language, whatever the colour of their skin, want to live their lives in peace and to live in harmony with everyone.

This morning we meet in this church in this small village where we share fellowship and friendship. This peaceful place seems so far from the battlefields of today’s world, but let us never forget there are people like us all over the world praying for peace and meeting together as we are in an atmosphere of peace, fellowship and friendship.

Let this be for us a sign of hope as we ask if world peace is a possibility. As we think back on the history of the 20^th century, we see the history of the continent of Europe which had been at war for so many years of the last century. Think of Europe when World War 2 was at it most fierce.  Think of the question marks that hung over Europe as World War 2 ended and its subsequent division in to east and west.  Think also of the destruction of the Berlin wall and the collapse of late 20^th century dictatorships in Europe.  Think of the Europe of today, a  free continent, with free passage between its countries. In the last few years I have travelled much in mainland Europe and it is so special to sense the atmosphere of peace and freedom between the countries, while at the same time each country retains its culture and identity.  When we compare this with the Europe of 1914,  of 1918,  of 1939,  of 1945, of the 1960s and 70s,  what has happened is nothing short of a miracle for which we thank God.  Let us however, never take this for granted.

Sadly in other parts of the world war still goes on. We know too well the cost of military and civilian lives in the middle east and in parts of Asia and Africa. Even in this situation, in faith, we can hope for peace.

As we look back and see the places where war has given way to peace, where hatred has given way to love,  where division has given way to reconciliation, we notice how so often this has happened not as a result of great plans made by politicians or generals, but by ordinary people from so many different cultures standing up for what they believe; people who suffered for so long who said “Enough is enough”, and often at great cost to themselves stood up in a peaceful way against evil and war.

It is such people we remember today and we pray to God to give to us the courage to stand for what we believe but always in peaceful way.