Remembrance

 

We have all heard the platitudinous comment ‘he gave his life for his country’: think deeper. Perhaps it is better to express this noble sentiment as ‘his life was taken for his country’, for which of these men and women willingly went to their grave? As we remember the soldiers, sailors and airmen, let us not forget the civilians: those who fought fires, those who gave first aid and medical care, those who kept their country going when all hell  ̶  and I use the word with discretion  ̶  was let loose amongst them because of new forms of military action which brings war to the front door of every man, woman and child in all countries afflicted by conflict.

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Can we honestly say ‘Death Is Nothing At All’ to those whose sons were lost in the mud of trenches in Flanders, the freezing waters of an Atlantic convoy, in the scorching heat of the Tunisian desert, in the humidity of the Burmese jungle, the cities of Gaza or Ukraine. Yes, the phrase has a theological meaning which few reading this would deny but it cannot take away the human memory of the empty chair in the mess, the telegram from the commanding officer, the visit from the platoon commander, the telephone call, the email – and the inconsolable grief and emptiness. We remember the fallen because we are human: we honour  those whose lives were lost so that we may live in peace and we recall their sacrifice  ̶  willing or unwilling  ̶  so that we may live in peace and freedom.

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In war, there is neither victor nor vanquished: there is only pain and the empty silence of grief for lives lost, for genocide, for homes and livelihoods destroyed.

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May they rest in peace and rise in glory

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Deacon Douglas MacMillan

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The Collect

 

Eternal Father, whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven

that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:

keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace,

and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;

who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.