THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK - From Rachel Reid
Remembering and Hoping
Between the ghoulish consumer fest of Halloween and the tinsel, festive food orders, and debt-inducing gift-giving of Christmas, there is a brief focus on poppies in our supermarkets and cities, with volunteers from the Royal British Legion sitting at tables by the check outs selling paper poppies, plastic ones for cars and enamel brooches. Knitted poppies adorn walls and cascade from church towers.
So far, Remembrance Day has escaped the commercialism of Christmas and Easter. Schools and workplaces observe a 2 minute silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, to remember all those who served in the armed forces and sacrificed their lives for their country. The choice of date and time marks the beginning of the end of the First World War, when the Armistice was signed in a railway carriage in the Compiegne Forest near Paris. Everyone thought such a conflict could never happen again, as Europe lost so many of its young men, dying horrific deaths in the mud and carnage of battle. This was the war to end all wars.
We all know what came next. Another World War a mere 21 years later, born out of the smouldering resentment arising from the harsh conditions imposed by the Allies on Germany. And although war has never come to our shores since then, and most of us have never known war, there have been countless conflicts in the past 80 years. Today the dogs of war are busy in many places, in Ukraine, Gaza (despite the ceasefire) and Sudan to name but a few.
What is wrong with the human race?
Why must we tear each other to pieces, bomb and blow up the innocent, hug hate, fear and cruelty close?
You might say that we nice people in the villages outside York don’t do such things. But who can say they have never spoken a spiteful word, never simmered in resentment, never envied anyone, and never rejoiced when someone got their comeuppance? We all have a tendency to sin. As Christians we ask for forgiveness, and we are commanded to forgive others.
The night Jesus was born some shepherds heard a host of angels singing in their high, ethereal voices, glorifying God, announcing Jesus’s birth and declaring peace on earth. God’s heart is for peace; peace in our hearts, peace in our churches, peace in our homes and peace between nations. As Christians we have an unbreakable hope that one day, when Jesus returns, wars will cease, death and sorrow will be no more. And we live in the light of that hope, carrying God’s spirit within us, working for his peace in our own lives and in our communities. So as we remember with gratitude those who died defending our country, let’s look forward too, to that day when God himself will wipe the tears from our eyes and we will see him face to face.
Rachel
Let’s give thanks for:
Those who sacrificed their lives to defend our country
The ceasefire in Gaza
Peace on our shores
Those who work for peace
The hope of Jesus’s return
Let’s pray for:
The war in Ukraine, that a just resolution may be found
The people of Sudan as they suffer a cruel and merciless civil war
Ourselves, that we might be peacemakers
Our churches, that they may be places of peace for our communities