Throughout the entirety of the Bible, God sends us the message, “do not be afraid, I am with you.”
Throughout the Gospels Jesus reinforces the this message and assures us of God’s love and commitment to human kind.
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you” in all things and all places – in the valley of the shadow of death and in the sunlight of a peaceful morning at home – God is with us.
When we forget because we are lost in personal difficulties or worries, or when we fall into fear because of desperately horrific situations that affect whole countries, or the whole world – like wars – When we forget God’s presence… and fall into worry, fear, or even anger – God remembers us.
God holds us up. Yet in our darkest moments, we do remember and our hearts still within us:
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
Each year on November 11 we remember people who give more than, many of us could ever imagine, we could ever find the courage to give. Here in the United States, November 11 has a double duty. We remember all of our veterans and, because of the dedicated work of the American Legion, we also remember the fallen from the first World War along with people across the Western World. In England, Canada, and parts of the USA Veterans Day is also called Armistice day and Remembrance Day. People stop at war memorials to remember that 96 years ago on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month World War I ended. They stop together and they pray in silence for eleven minutes as the names of the fallen soldiers are read. We do the same honoring on Memorial day for all those military men and women who have lost their lives protecting our lives and the lives of others.
Our veterans of every war and military action stepped out in faith that the world could be a better place because of their service. For many, trusting in the message of a loving God – that all human life must be valued and protected – gave them strength and courage beyond their training to stepped out in obedience to their faith. And because we remember their sacrifice, out of gratitude we come together to honor their service as well as the memories of those who are now deceased. My father was stationed in Germany during World War II it wasn’t something he liked to talk about much and he suffered terrible nightmares off and on for the rest of his life. His faith gave him healing and comfort at those times. Sometimes I heard him reciting Psalm 23 and it has just occurred to me that this must have been why it was that he insisted we memorize it.
Veterans Day is a day to remember people, many of them close to us, who were willing to dedicate their lives, with the understanding they may lose those lives or their limbs or faculties as they defended us and the rights of all people everywhere to live in peace and freedom.
“Reflections” by Lee Teter.
Veterans Day events still include giving thanks to God for the hearts of men and women who made possible our deliverance from the most dangerous of times. Many of them were able persevere not only because of their love of family, but also because of their faith and trust that God was at work in the world even when it seemed to have been turned upside down.
This day is also a time for those of us who look back on their sacrifice, to reflect on how, as Christians we believe we are to help usher in the Kingdom of a compassionate God through prayerful, obedient use of the gifts we have been given. One of which is finding a heart for understanding what our veterans have suffered. Another is to seek to find a way through to forgiveness for those on the other side of the road. The theologian Ken Bailey says:
Forgiveness doesn’t mean we stop struggling for justice it just allows ‘bitterness, hatred, and desire for revenge to drain away. When we feel compassion for those who are on the other side it affects the style of the struggle.’
The natural thing is to think anger is part of the deal… that if we are going to struggle against injustice we need to be angry. But Jesus gives Christians another model.
When he gave us the Lord’s prayer, he made a change from the traditional prayer form in the Tefillah which all include prayers for forgiveness from God but with no compulsion to forgive others.
Jesus, adds that element – an assurance that in asking for forgiveness, we must in turn be willing to forgive. We may still be angry at the injustices and horrors others enact but, as Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu teaches, our anger will be dissipated – we can forgive AND fight for justice, freedom and peace.
A few years ago, when I was visiting around interesting churches in England, I found this short homily by a United Reform pastor named Leslie Milton. He talks about the tension between remembering all the pain and injustice of war while still finding our way to forgiveness as followers of Christ. He names the difficulty of this path but reminds us of its rewards. In closing I would like to share it:
“When we confront the reality of war, and express our longings for peace, we connect with the things deflect us from experiencing peace. When we think of the violence of war, of atrocities beyond our comprehension, we may also remember violence once committed against us, or perhaps even acknowledge the capacity for violence which lies within us. When we remember that the one who has suffered a great wrong is also sometimes capable of inflicting wrong on others, we may be reminded of some hurt in our own lives which clouds our judgement, which quells our capacity to love.
Remembrance Day is a day for naming painful things. We do this, not to increase feelings of guilt or inadequacy. Rather, we believe that it is around this table, in fellowship with one another, and in the presence of the loving God, that we may find the strength to change our lives, to be healed. When the King of Nineveh in the story of Jonah makes his call for repentance, he does something important first – he names the almost unspeakable capacity that people have for wrongdoing and violence. “All shall turn from their evil ways and the violence that is in their hands,” and in the naming their spell is broken.
(Today) we come (to worship together) to remember the death of Jesus, in the belief that in that act … and in the victory of God through the resurrection of Jesus, the world and our own lives are transformed.
We seek the courage to confront the reality about ourselves and our world. We seek to reaffirm our faith that God’s victory transforms us and the world in the face of its suffering. And we seek the strength to be changed by Christ whom we meet here and who accompanies us.”
The Rev. Dr. Erin Kirby is Associate Rector of St. James. A native of Boone, North Carolina, Erin is director of adult and children’s Christian Formation and Spiritual Growth. Most recently Erin has served as Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. A graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California, she also has spent time at Cuddesdon, England and holds Masters and Doctorate degrees in Education from Appalachian State University.
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