What we are doing here today has ancient origins. The Old Testament speaks of the People of Israel, when they crossed the River Jordan on dry land to enter the Promised Land, picking up rocks from the river bed and setting them up in the Promised Land as a memorial to their crossing over into a new world (Joshua 4).
Stone was chosen for this memorial, as is the case with our Memorial here, because it endures from generation to generation. No names were carved onto the rocks that the Israelites set up as a memorial but 12 rocks were chosen and set up to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Their leader, Joshua, explained to the Israelites what the memorial meant saying, ‘When your children ask their parents in time to come, “What do these stones mean?” then you shall let your children know, “Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.” For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God for ever.’
We gather today to do essentially the same thing, to ensure that our children and, through them, our children’s children, down through the generations, honour those who serve and served to defend our democratic freedoms and way of life and remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community from Britain and the Commonwealth, in particular those from this area. As the number of those who served in the two World Wars lessens with the passing years, it becomes ever more important that we gather in this way and honour those who gave their lives for the freedom that we enjoy. The two poems which are part of this Act of Remembrance today suggest that that message has been heard and is understood.
The memorial that the Israelites set up after crossing the Jordan was not the only way in which that great event was remembered. We know of it today, because the story and Joshua’s instructions were written down meaning that we can still read them today. We can do the same here in Wickford and Runwell, thanks to the work of Steve Newman and the Wickford War Memorial Association who, through the book ‘Wickford’s Heroes’ and their website enable us to read the stories of those from this area who gave their lives in the two World Wars.
The Rt Hon John Baron MP, in his Foreword to the book, says that he was so taken with this book because, “in highlighting the tremendous sacrifice of lives so young, we are reminded yet again that war must always be a measure of last resort, to be taken up only when all other possibilities have been exhausted.” The RBLI speak of our helping towards building a peaceful future. The Bible envisages a time when people “shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Our prayer today, as we honour the sacrifice of those who have died in war, is to inhabit that other country where “her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.”
The best way to show our gratitude for all those who make these sacrifices is to remember, to give thanks and to try to bring about a better world. We can do this by working together for reconciliation and justice; by being kind and forgiving to all - in our closest relationships, our neighbourhoods, our communities, our nations; by being selfless ourselves. God loves us all alike and wants us all to live in peace and harmony and to thrive, as one family, where everyone is equal and valued for their place in it. If we all recognise that, we come closer to that other country about which we sang in our hymn.
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