Remembering….

We all have special occasions that we remember, don’t we? Whether that’s birthdays, particular holidays, anniversaries etc and there’s lots of different ways that we may remember these times. In the lead up to Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day, there’s one thing that particularly helps us to remember - the Poppy. The Poppy is an important reminder of the suffering and sacrifice made by ordinary men and women who gave their lives for our freedom and for the freedom of others. We wear our Poppies with pride so that we don’t forget what took place for our freedom today.

And yet, we still haven’t learnt the lessons of history have we? War continues in Israel & Gaza and Ukraine & Russia and in many other places – many around the world feel forgotten as the media fails to report. And yet, the effects of defence and conflict are seen on a daily basis across the world as Armed Forces, civilians and refugees still suffer the gruesome consequences of war.

On Remembrance Sunday we come together as one, to renew our commitment to seek all that makes for peace. However, faced with the evil of the world we can sometimes feel powerless. We may feel that we cannot do much about war-torn regions of our world, or the uncertain times that we face as a country, but we can. We can pray for places around the world in conflict. Some places are reported by the media, others suffer in media silence, but we trust that God has not forgotten. We can pray for the armed forces and their families paying the price for conflict. We can pray for those who can make a difference and bring peace. We can also choose to live differently and ask God to help us in the way we live our day to day lives, how we act and react with others as we strive for a way of peace and reconciliation in our communities, in our homes and our workplaces. It can be a real challenge at times.

Remembrance Sunday is a time when we recall those who gave themselves for us and to remember why it was, they did what they did. It’s a time to remember the horror of war and to commit to ways of peace. It’s a time to dedicate ourselves anew to living in such a way that we don’t break faith with those who died to bring peace to the world. It’s a time to commit ourselves once again to the struggle against evil – the struggle against the very things that to lead to war in the first place.

May each one of us determine, with God’s help, to make this Remembrance Sunday a time when we remember.

They shall grow not old, as we who 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.