Below is the talk I gave at the Remembrance Service on Sunday. Over the last few weeks I have been pondering love, and especially in the run up to today the phrase 'make love, not war'. It's a phrase that puts the two things in opposition to each other, it makes them mutually exclusive, neither occurs in the other. But is this true? In my pondering, naturally I turned to Google to find answers and I came across a series of pictures; a young couple, a parent and child, a man and his dog and a group of friends playing in the street. All of these are examples of love, but what is love, what do all of these have in common? Preferring the needs of others over our own, wanting what is truly best for others. In John’s account of Jesus’ life Jesus says that no-one has greater love than to lay down ones life for their friends. This love gives up everything to give what is truly best for others, even to the point of death. It is no wonder that we often hear this saying of Jesus at this time of year. In WWI the centenary of which we commemorate this year, and in WWII and all the wars since, men and women have turned their lives upside down and given everything, even their lives, out of love for their families and friends and the countries they call home. We often remember the soldiers who fought on the front lines and suffered injuries and death, who gave everything for their loved ones. But there are also many others. In WWI there were the women who went to work, many for the first time, to keep our country running. They took on a whole new way of life out of love for their family and country. There are those who could not fight or work along with the children, who grew vegetables and gathered resources and volunteered out of love, so that those fighting would have what they needed to keep safe and those back at home would have enough to eat. Children even gave up their pocket money. The great thinkers who used their understanding of science and technology to care for those injured, showing love through their tireless efforts to care for them. Many of their inventions are still used today. And there are the writers, painters and poets who documented this time and give us an insight into the great and small acts of love and self-sacrifice that happened. These people were lights in the midst of great darkness. 2000 years ago God’s people felt like they were living in a great darkness, but they had hope, hope in God’s promise that He would send someone who would turn everything around. And then, in the midst of darkness God sent His Son Jesus Christ, a light shining in the darkness. And Jesus came and paid the ultimate sacrifice, He died so that those people, and all of us can be free, not from the threat of invasion, but free from selfishness, greed and hatred, the things that lead to war, the things which countries have to defend themselves from. All of the sacrifices for love which we heard about echo the love of God for us, they give us a glimpse of God’s great love for us. That is why He sent Jesus, to show His love for us and to rescue us from all that hurts us and others. And through Jesus’ sacrifice God brought in a new age and a new hope, an age which points to a new heaven and a new earth, when God will make all things new and the weapons of war will be broken down and turned into the tools of farming, and peace will reign for eternity. And God will live with us, and we will live with God. Amen
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AuthorAn Anglican Curate in my 20's I was raised in an Anglican Church, went to a Youth Club run by an Evangelical Church, attended a Baptist Church while at Uni and was a member of a New Monastic Community after graduating. As such my faith has been influenced by these experiences and traditions into what I hope is a more rounded viewpoint. Archives
September 2022
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