Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday Sermon – by Paul Newell 14 November 2010

As many of you will know my Dad is a retired Methodist Minister and therefore when I was a child I didn’t go to a Church of England church.  Whilst the Methodist churches I went to had church parade for the uniformed organisations once a month like we do here, I have no great recollection of Remembrance Sunday.  Whilst I am sure we observed the two minutes silence, we certainly didn’t have the pomp and ceremony that we have here or sing Jerusalem and the National Anthem.  So when I knew I was going to speaking at this morning’s service, I asked my Dad what he used to preach about on Remembrance Sunday – and he said he always used to preach about peace.  Now how many people here think that their parents are always right?  And how many people always take their parents advice?  Well on this occasion I am not going to follow my Dad’s example – and sadly I have to admit that there have been plenty of other occasions in my life time as well!!

Of course peace is what I am sure we all want.  We have sung this morning about God making us a channel of his peace and every week in our services we pray for peace in the world, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.  Jesus himself was undoubtedly a man of peace, in both his example and his words.  When arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane he told Peter to put away his sword, in the Sermon on the Mount he preached about turning the other cheek.  Jesus’ agenda was one of peace, of tolerance, of understanding, of forgiveness and this was quite different from the Old Testament teachings of “an eye for an eye”.

However merely to talk about peace on Remembrance Sunday overlooks the fact that war is a reality and some might say even a necessary evil sometimes.  The problem is that whilst I hope we could all agree that what we want is peace, when you start talking about war it divides opinion.  Even when you look back to what happened in the 1930s, the tyranny of Hitler, the ethnic cleansing of the Jews, the invasion of Poland, there were still many who did not agree with us going to war with Germany.

In my lifetime there have been a number of conflicts or wars in which our country has been involved and all have divided public opinion.  The Falklands War was seen by many as a way of increasing support for a faltering government.  The first Gulf War in which I served was seen by many as being as much about oil as the invasion of Kuwait.  The second Gulf War was instigated on what turned out to be fairly flimsy intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.  And the current conflict in Afghanistan was seen by many as merely American retaliation to the 9/11 bombings.

But today is not about debating the politics of war or the rights and wrongs of the conflicts in which we have been involved.  Today is about remembering and giving thanks for those servicemen and women and, of course, civilians who gave and continue to give their lives so that we can live in freedom.  People who volunteered to serve others knowing that it could result in their death.  People who followed the orders they were given without thinking about the consequences for their personal safety.  People who gave their lives selflessly not only for their families and friends but for people and for future generations that they did not even know.

Armistice Day was initially devised to remember those who died in the First World War and as you might remember the final two remaining servicemen who fought and survived that war died last year.  Whilst even the oldest member of St Peter’s might struggle to remember the First World War, there will be many people here today who were directly affected by the Second World War.  Some who may have served in the forces, some who may have lost family or friends, some who remember what it was like to be a child in wartime Britain.  And it is the responsibility of the living to remember and give thanks for the dead and to keep the legacy that they gave us alive. 

Whilst many of us might despair at the state of 21^st century Britain and complain about the youth of today, it is the young men and women of today who continue to follow the example of previous generations.  In some respects today’s volunteers are even braver than their predecessors because with all the extensive media coverage of people dying or being seriously injured in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, they know their possible fate.  And it’s their example and new charities like “Help for Heros” that help make sure that we remember all who have given their lives, both now and in the past.  And whatever our personal views are of the current conflicts in the world and the politicians who get us involved, we should nevertheless give thanks for people who serve in the Forces.

Of course not all of us are called to serve in the Forces – but we are all called to serve God.  Hopefully none of us will have to give our lives fighting for our country – but we are all called to give our lives to God.  And in giving our lives to God we should follow the example set by Jesus, we should serve others, we should be loving and tolerant and understanding and forgiving.  Millions of people have given their lives so that we can live in freedom and we remember them and give thanks for them today.  One person gave his life so that everyone can have eternal life and that person was Jesus and we should remember that and give thanks for that every day.  Amen.