A few weeks ago members of the local writer's group in Wickford, the Ladygate Scribblers, were showcasing their work at an evening of reading in St Andrew's Church. Among the stories and poems we heard, were two recounting stories of those serving in the World Wars. The first involved a lost letter from Jack to his sweetheart when he had been invalided out from the frontline and was returning home. The hopes of both for their future were then cruelly dashed when the ship on which Jack was returning was attacked and sunk. The second involved Stan and his best friend Taffy, both deployed to different ships. Through a set of strange circumstances, they decided to swap deployments and applied to change ships. This was agreed and Taffy went to serve on HMS Hood, which was sunk by The Bismarck in 1941. Stan lived out his life in the knowledge that he was only alive because of Taffy and the decision they had made together.
These two stories reminded me of the fundamental uncertainty of life and the fact that we can't know what is round the corner for us, especially in wartime. We have been recently reminded of that reality, once again, through the current war in Gaza, which began with an attack by Hamas that was wholly unexpected.
Jesus told a story about being as ready as we can for the unexpected (Matthew 25.1-13). His story is the set reading for this Remembrance Sunday. His story was about bridesmaids waiting for a bridegroom to light him to the wedding with their lamps. He was later than expected and some had not brought supplies of oil for their lamps. Those without had to go searching for oil and missed out on the wedding as a result. Those who prepared for the unexpected were ready to meet the bridegroom and go into the wedding.
With this story Jesus is asking us prepared we are for the unexpected? The bridesmaids who were prepared had rehearsed possible scenarios and were ready for those. They also had the right attitude, being ready to wait for the bridegroom’s arrival. As a result, they were able to take part in a wonderful celebration of unity and love. With this story, Jesus is also encouraging us to prepare for the unexpected recognising that we live in a world where conflict is regularly experienced at all levels of society.
While we can't prepare for the exact situation we might face, we can prepare for possible scenarios, prepare mentally and emotionally for difficult events, and practice peace ourselves in order to anticipate a peaceful society. That’s essentially what our armed forces regularly do. In peacetime they go on manoeuvres and take part in exercises in order to be ready for the moment when they are called to go to war while also acting as those who maintain the peace by preventing fresh conflict from developing.
So, while this day is about honouring the dead who laid down the lives that we might be free, it can also be about our preparation for the future. We draw inspiration from those who have gone before and learn from their experiences in order that can be as ready as we can for what will come in the future and even shape that future. The key lesson to learn from past wars is the fundamental necessity of peace. Jesus taught his followers through his stories to anticipate a future where people come together in love to celebrate unity and he calls us to be those who anticipate and practice that future reality in the here and now.
We can also prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally for difficult events by developing an attitude of resilience that can enable us to endure in times of difficulty and challenge. The Lutheran Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed for his resistance to Hitler on 9 April 1945 in Flossenbürg Concentration Camp, only four weeks before VE Day. He wrote a creed just days before his execution by the Gestapo which exemplifies a resilient attitude:
“I believe that God can and will generate good out of everything, even out of the worst evil. For that, he needs people who allow that everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. I believe that God will give us in each state of emergency as much power of resistance as we need. But he will not give in advance, so that we do not rely on ourselves but on Him alone. Through such faith all anxiety concerning the future should be overcome. I believe that even our mistakes and failings are not in vain, and that it is not more difficult for God to cope with these as with our assumed good deeds. I believe that God is not a timeless fate, but that He waits for and responds to honest prayers and responsible action.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer quoted by Philip Yancey, The Question That Never Goes Away)
These are the words of a man who knew his life was in danger, whose family and country were already suffering under Hitler, the Nazis, and the war machine they had put into action. It was Bonhoeffer’s trust in the redemptive will of God that helped sustain him during the dark months of prison and interrogation, and the final days of his life. With a similar attitude, we may be able to do the same should we need to do so.
So, as we honour today those who laid down the lives that we might be free, let us also prepare for the future by drawing inspiration from those who have gone before, practising God’s peaceful kingdom and developing attitudes of resilience in order that we can be as ready as we can for what will come in the future and, perhaps, even shape that future ourselves. Amen.
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J. Lind - I Don't Know.
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