Sermon delivered at St. John’s Parish Church, West Grimstead Remembrance Day Service – Sunday 12th November 2023
Micah 4:1-5
May I
speak in the name of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen
Each year I have found it increasingly
difficult to say anything particularly new at this Remembrance Day Service
especially if the scriptural passages given for the day are difficult or
seemingly at odds with the occasion – a solemn occasion in which we remember
all those who have given their lives to protect their country, their
philosophies, their religious beliefs and in the west our forms of
democracy. It is an appalling fact that
it is believed that out of the last 3,400 years of recorded history the world
may have been at peace for only about 268 years of them. A staggering fact and, as far as we can
know, many little known and unrecorded tribes may very well have been warring
during those 268 years too.
For many, growing up in my
generation we lived through comparable decades of peace here in the western
world. The horrors of two World Wars
seemed to be behind us and our armed forces were largely involved in peace-keeping
exercises in such places as Cyprus, West Germany, and latterly Northern
Ireland. That is not to say that our
valiant forces were not subject to attacks and intimidation during their tours
(Northern Ireland being a particularly horrible example) but we were not
involved in a full-scale war until 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland
Islands and we saw, for the first time for many years, our Navy, Army and Air
Force engaged in a major conflict. I
think it took us all by surprise and shock as the numbers of casualties rose
and the glamour of war, which I and my friends at school played out in the
playground, became the reality of death and mourning for families on both
sides. I remember in particular working
at that time with a mother whose son was serving onboard HMS Coventry when it was
hit by Argentinian bombs in May 1982. Fortunately, we heard that he was one of
the fortunate survivors. I am sure there
are many here today who can recount tales of the horrors of war either first
hand or through the experiences of others.
Since then we have seen more
severe and horrific conflicts arise closer to home – the Balkans and most
recently Ukraine and Israel. With the advent of the technology of the modern
media the horrors of those conflicts, in many cases akin to some of the atrocities
of the Second World War, come into our homes on our TV and other screens. There can be no escaping the horrors of war
and thereby also being aware of the heroism of those who continue to serve in
peace-keeping exercises and fight to restore freedom and democracy.
Many years ago, I bought and wore
a poppy principally for those who died and suffered in the First and Second
World Wars. As we shortly enter the
seventy-ninth year since the ending of that latter conflict not only are we
today remembering those but now also many more who have given their lives in
other conflicts to restore peace and love amongst the nations of the world.
I have chosen a passage of
scripture this morning from the Book of Micah – a passage which also appears
verbatim in Isaiah 2:1-5. I have chosen
this passage for two special reasons – it comes from two of the Books of
Prophesy, at a time when the Jewish people had been dispossessed of their land
and were in Exile in Babylon and secondly, being an Old Testament Book its
message is of equal importance to Jew, Christian and Muslim with the Old
Testament being common to all three Faiths.
In this passage Micah, is
speaking of the evil rulers pre-Exile – around 700 BC, but we believe this
passage was written around 500 BC. He is prophesying of a future when all those
in conflict with one another will join forces and be one at peace with one
another. He prophesies that a time will
come when there will be no need for armaments, that “swords will be beaten
into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not rise up
against nation nor will they learn war anymore” – in other words humans
will use tools and implements for the greater good and not to destroy each
other and live at peace and harmony.
That will happen, he says, at the beginning of the passage, this will
occur in days yet to come. It reminds me so much of the John Lennon song “Imagine”.
Jesus in Matthew 24, however,
also tells us that until this period of stability preceding the “end times”
there will continue to be wars and rumours of wars and much disruption and
destruction. For this reason we must
continue to be vigilant and safeguard our society and culture against those who
would seek to destroy it. We have much
to thank and praise our armed forces for in protecting us and preserving
freedom and peace in the UK. The Jews,
incidentally, in every synagogue service give prayers for the defence forces of
Israel. I do not wish to comment on the rights or wrongs of the current
situation in the Holy Land; suffice it to say if ever there was a time for the
need of prayer and reflection in the context of warfare this is a time like no
other to do so.
Time and time again I am reminded of two very
famous photographs taken from outer space.
The first one was taken on Christmas Eve 1968 by astronaut William
Anders onboard Apollo 8. It shows the
Earth rising above the lunar surface. Earth is seen, for the first time, from
another world and appears as a small fragile ball orbiting through space. It is
a sobering thought that every member of Humankind, with the exception of the
three astronauts onboard Apollo 8, are living on that one small ball. It is
also interesting to observe that from 240,000 miles away there are no political
distinctions or country boundaries visible.
The whole of the Earth is the home of everything we know.
The second image was taken from
Voyager 1, the space probe that flew past our most distant planets and then one
beyond the Solar System. As it was about to leave the Solar System NASA
instructed it to turn its cameras behind and capture an image of the Sun from
over 6 billion miles distance. As it did
so, quite by chance a solar ray struck a tiny pinprick of blue. It was Earth – a tiny almost invisible blue
speck.
Both of these images remind us of
our fragility and uniqueness. It gives
us feelings of both humility and grandeur, that in the creation of the Universe
we are so fortunate to inhabit this tiny speck of cosmic matter – not too hot,
not too cold – in fact astronomers call our planet as inhabiting the
“Goldilocks Zone” of our Solar System. No other world has been discovered in a
similar position or supportive of life. We are so fortunate yet we seem to have
this constant desire to destroy.
A famous astronomer called
William Thomson Hay once said “If we were all astronomers there would be no
wars”. I use that quote on my own
Facebook page. Incidentally, William Thomson Hay was better known as the
comedic film actor Will Hay of “Oh Mr. Porter” fame.
We would do well to remember and
marvel at the vastness of the Universe and our unique place in it. Micah, Isaiah and indeed Will
Hay all make a wonderful point. Let
us avoid war whenever possible. Let us constantly follow the paths of peace and
reconciliation but at the same time, never forgetting those who gave their
lives in that cause as we continue to wear our poppies with pride.
Let us pray :
Hear us, O Lord, as we make our
appeal in their memory;
Bless, O Lord our God, those who
have fought and valiantly died that we might enjoy liberty and freedom.
May their sacrifice not be in vain.
May your blessing, O Lord, be upon them.
In Jesus’s name
Amen
MFB/10112023
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