Remembrance

Exactly one year ago my daughter and son-in-law were on their honeymoon in Sharm el Sheikh. I was a little worried then; I’m more worried now, and I feel for the Russian people mourning the loss of loved ones in the air crash a week ago, and those from this and other nations stranded there as our governments reflect on the possibility, some would say probability, that the plane was brought down by hostile action of some sort. This is the field of war these days - anywhere and everywhere. It’s 14 years since American, British and other allied troops went into Afghanistan (in the aftermath of 9/11), and you may recall President George W Bush declaring then that this was a war “being fought in the defence of civilization itself”.

Perhaps the Taliban wouldn’t have disagreed. Their brand of Muslim fundamentalism would seem to require a return to the Middle Ages – to somewhere around the 14th century, perhaps - and they regard what we call civilization as an evil to be opposed.  As do many other ultra-conservative Islamic groups that have emerged since, like Boko Haran and of course Isis or Islamic State. Why do these violently fundamentalist groups attract such a measure of support?

If I had an answer to that question I’d give it. I don’t, nor shall I preach about extremist Islam today, or any other creed, except perhaps briefly to say that extremism of any kind worries and frightens me. I’m confused by what I see in Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan, and you’ll probably share my confusion; I wonder how many world leaders are confused and uncertain too, as they look at the news and their intelligence reports, and as they meet and confer to seek some sort of solution for Iraq, or Syria, or wherever. And then there’s the immense numbers of people damaged, displaced, bereaved and traumatised by the horrific events in their homelands: the refugees, the victims of abuse, oppression and terrorism.

War is always wrong but sometimes necessary; that’s what I believe.  Jesus said ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’, and we who follow him must set ourselves to be makers of peace.  Peace making requires more from us than peacekeeping. It may be that peacekeeping is as much as we can do, and I’m thankful for the times when our armed forces have acted as peacekeepers in the world, enforcing the truces and armed stand-offs that all too often are the best we can achieve.

Anything that stops the guns from firing may seem to be good. But some peacekeeping may be wrong and unjust. Perhaps we may keep the peace by appeasing those who threaten war; but such appeasement can never be more than a temporary fix. Maybe that might buy us some useful time, but no true peace was ever made by appeasing evil. However much we treasure peace, there comes a time when - as in 1939 - we must confront those who do evil, at whatever cost, or our freedom is lost.

The freedom we can easily take for granted didn’t just happen.  Our freedom was gained and preserved through the sacrifices of those who dared to strive for a better world for themselves and for their neighbours. And that freedom once gained proved costly to defend, as the red of our poppies reminds us.

If any war can be described as ‘just’, then it has to be a fight not just for our own freedom but for our neighbour’s freedom too.  To defend our own freedom without reference to our neighbour is hard to defend from a Christian standpoint.  The story of the Good Samaritan reminds us as Christians that neighbours aren’t only those who are on our side at the moment, they can also be those we think of as enemies. Many wars today involve people like the Samaritans and the Jews - people who in many ways were much alike, sharing the same land, but who had somehow become the bitterest of enemies.

Since President Bush and others since him have spoken of our forces today acting to defend civilization, perhaps we should ask: what does civilization consist of? It’s surely more than technological sophistication or the right to live or vote how we choose. I hope that when we speak of civilization we have a vision of caring and culture, and a sense of duty and purpose.

This is something many civilized societies will have received from its religious leaders and teachers.  But the modern world shows us all too clearly how religion can also be misused, and I’m not only speaking of the Muslim faith. As Christians we say that God is love, and no other faith would disagree with that statement. So it’s clear to me that religion of any kind that inspires and instils hate is false and godless.  True religion is life in relationship with God, whose name and nature is love, and whose commandments and laws are founded in love. A civilization based in such faith will surely always seek a better world not only for itself, but for everyone.

Soldiers returning from the two great wars of the last century did so hoping to find a new and better world. Some of their hopes were fulfilled, others faded or were dashed. The world continues to change, and often in ways we don’t like, ways that scare us and worry us. But we must never lose that vision of a better world, not just our better world but everyone’s. It isn’t about hanging on to what we’ve got, it’s about continuing to build a better world. In such a world we work hard to defend our freedom, while always looking to extend the freedom of others. As we work and pray and strive for a better world, it’s vital that we never forget what the peace and freedom we have has already cost; the lives we remember at this time remain important.  They are the human cost of our freedom, at a time when the world was very dark.  What price our freedom now?  What price our neighbour’s freedom?

Today we remember the sacrifice of comrades and fellows and forebears; we honour what they did with due gratitude, and with resolution - our living should honour their dying.  And in our remembrance today, as Christians we are bound also to reflect on the cross and on the one true and complete sacrifice made there by our Lord.  For if it truly is the case that we are defending civilization in this dark and uncertain hour, then we must also review our civilization, and ensure we establish it on the firmest of foundations - which for me is the true foundation that is the revelation of divine love we find in the cross and in our crucified and risen Saviour.

Many of our war memorials have the shape of the cross, and I’m glad they do. For it’s in that cross that our Lord stakes a claim upon us that makes sense of our own sacrifices. It’s there he died that all might live, it’s there he showed the length and breadth of his love, and it’s there he forgave even those of his enemies who hammered in the nails. We and all the world stand within the sweep of that wondrous and eternal love, which I hold to be the source of freedom and justice and peace. We acknowledge and give thanks for that love as in this service we remember those who fell on the field of battle, and as we pray for those presently serving; may we also dedicate ourselves under the cross of our Lord to the cause of true religion, based in love, generous in spirit, and active in the cause of peace. Blessed are the peacemakers.