Talk for Remembrance Sunday, 14 November 2021
Today is Remembrance Sunday.
In the UK we observe Remembrance DAY on the 11th of November and we observe Remembrance SUNDAY on the second Sunday in November.
On both of those days we REMEMBER members of the armed forces who gave their lives in the First World War and in conflicts since then.
But the Bible doesn’t say anything about either day! So we might ask, why do we observe them?
It’s true that the Bible doesn’t tell us to observe these days. But the Bible takes it as a given that we remember things that have happened. The word ‘remember’ comes hundreds of times in the Bible. Remembering is essential! Life works because we remember things.
A student remembers he has an essay due in next week. A UK driver leaves the ferry at Cherbourg; he remembers that in France, people drive on the right. Of course, remembering is only useful if we do something with that knowledge. The student needs to get down to work. The driver leaving the ferry in Cherbourg needs to drive on the right.
So, it’s normal and good to remember. We don’t need the Bible to tell us to remember. We should remember! It’s good for us to observe Remembrance Sunday.
As we look back on the conflicts of the past 100 years or so, what should we remember?
There are some things we CAN’T remember. We can’t remember the First World War itself. We weren’t there. And we may not personally know anyone in the armed forces who died in conflict. We can’t remember people we never knew.
But there are lots of important things we CAN remember.
(1) We can remember FACTS. Let me give you a few. Nearly 900,000 British members of the armed forces died in the First World War. About 400,000 died in the Second World War. About 7,000 have died since the end of the Second World War, in the Persian Gulf, in Bosnia and Kosovo, in Afghanistan, in Iraq and in the Middle East against ISIS. Those are facts.
I got a sense of what those facts represent when I was about 14. I went to a boarding school. It had a large hall and all along one wall were the names of students of the college who had died in the First World War. There was column after column of names the length of the hall. I remember the first time I went into the hall and looked at that long list. It brought home to me how many young men had died. There were over 700 names of boys from my school who died in the First World War. It’s a huge number for one school.
NONE of us witnessed the First World War. SOME of us witnessed the Second World War and MOST of us have heard about later conflicts in the news. But it doesn’t matter if we witnessed these conflicts or not. We know they happened and it’s important that we remember some of the FACTS.
(2) As well as the facts, we must remember what those facts reflect. They reflect suffering and loss. I said that about 900,000 British military personnel lost their lives in World War I. But Britain was just one of the combatants in that war. Remember, this was the first WORLD war. Ten or eleven countries fought. All those countries had military and civilian losses and almost 20 MILLION people died in total. It’s a huge number. People called it ‘the war to end all wars.’ But it wasn’t. In the Second World War, about 75 MILLION people died. It’s hard to imagine the suffering.
When we remember this, we should grieve. We should certainly grieve with people who have lost family or friends. Jesus did that. A friend of Jesus’ called Lazarus died. Jesus came to his house and met Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters. We read that Jesus ‘was deeply moved in spirit and troubled … he wept’. [John 11:33-35]. Jesus feels our grief and he grieves.
The prophet Isaiah described Jesus this way: ‘He was despised and rejected by men; A MAN OF SORROWS, AND ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF’ [Isaiah 53:3]. I’m sure Jesus is weeping over the conflicts that are happening in the world today and the suffering they are causing.
Remembering this challenges us. There is a lot that’s happening in the world to grieve over. God grieves. What about us? Are WE grieving? We should.
(3) We should also remember WHY men and women from Britain were involved in these conflicts.
God loves peace. He works for peace and one day he’ll establish it.
But sometimes it’s necessary to fight to achieve it.
If some kids pick a fight with your little brother in the playground, you won’t stand back. You’ll jump in and protect him and you’ll fight if you have to.
God wants us to do that. ‘Defend the rights of the poor and needy’, Proverbs tells us [Proverbs 31:8-9].
When ISIS emerged about 10 years ago and brought with it horrendous brutality and abuse, the world could not stand by. Britain was one of 83 countries which joined forces to defeat it.
Not all the wars that have been waged in history have been just. But there are times when it’s right to fight.
When we remember the conflicts over the past hundred years or so, we remember that service men and women fought for a reason. They believed that oppressors should be opposed. They believed that people should enjoy peace, freedom and justice and they were willing to fight for it.
Remembering this challenges us. The men and women we’re remembering today fought for things they believed in. What about us? Are we willing to fight for the issues of today? We should be.
(4) But there’s one more thing we need to remember.
Pauline read a passage for us from a book of the Bible called 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles is basically a history of the people of Judah from King Solomon to King Zedekiah. At that time there was one war after another.
About half way through this history someone called Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah. Jehoshapat was a good king. He walked in the ways of his father David and he did not seek the Baals.
Then one day, Judah came under attack. Pauline read ‘…the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.’
Jehoshaphat is king of Judah. He remembers something very important. What was it? Listen as I read verses 2 to 4 again.
“Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar’ (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to enquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together TO SEEK HELP FROM THE LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”
What did Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah remember? They remembered TO SEEK HELP FROM THE LORD.
Jehoshaphat and many others in his day had plenty of experience of war. The kings who knew God were very convinced of one thing. The outcome of a battle has very little to do with the strength of the army. The outcome depends on God.
The most famous of all the kings of Israel – if we don’t include Jesus – was David. David was an outstanding warrior. When he faced Goliath he told him, “THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S, and HE will give you into our hand.”
Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah knew this too. In a conflict, what they needed most of all was God’s help. So, ‘The people of Judah came together TO SEEK HELP FROM THE LORD…’
How did that work out for them? A little later, the people of Judah went out to fight against the armies that had come against them. A prophet called Zechariah told them, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD’S’ [2 Chronicles 20:15].
That is, as you probably guessed, how it turned out.
How does this apply to us?
On Remembrance Day, there are many things we remember. We remember the facts of what happened. We remember that people gave their lives. We honour them by remembering and we honour them even more by fighting for what they fought for so that we do not lose what they gained.
But we also remember God. We remember that God grieves over death and injustice and suffering - and so should we. We remember that God loves peace - and so should we. We remember that God defends the rights of the poor and needy - and he calls us to do the same. And we remember that in any conflict, it is God who gives the victory. So we need to go to him for help.
I said, ‘in any conflict’. God gave Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah victory over the armies who came against them. He gave David victory in his fight with Goliath. But Christ has won an even greater battle. He has defeated death itself! God is more than able to help us in the conflicts WE face! He is certainly able to help when we have a conflict at home or in the office or in church. So, what should we do? We should do the same as Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah did: seek God’s help.
On Remembrance Sunday it’s right to remember the conflicts there have been over the past century and it’s right to remember that people gave their lives. But let’s remember that God is also involved. He is grieving, working for peace, defending the poor and needy – and giving the victory.
Talk given at Rosebery Park Baptist Church, Bournemouth, UK, 14th November 2021
