Today is Remembrance Sunday when all over the country in churches and at war memorials there will be services and ceremonies, but why do we remember? There are very few who can remember the first world war, more who remember the second, but for a lot of us these are just history. So is it time to forget, to move on as some argue? Or should the remembrance be for all those other conflicts which sadly have taken place since, Suez, Korea, Bosnia, The Gulf and those conflicts which we are still involved in Iraq and Afghanistan. Personally I think it is right to use this day of remembrance to include all those members of the services who have lost their lives in any conflict serving their country. We might or might not agree with our involvement in Iraq or Afghanistan but these soldiers are there in our name. But if we say that we remember them with respect and pride then surely that should affect how we act, I have been quite saddened lately to read how poorly the injured are treated when they return to this country. In an interview, rather bitterly, a young soldier remarked that the public would know about the two dead their unit had lost but they would not hear about the twelve injured, those who had lost arms, legs, sight, hearing, disabled for life. Surely the greatest measure of respect we can show is not just in remembering the dead but also in treating the injured with dignity and fairness, and with justice.
As Christians every time we take communion we remember the importance and significance of Jesus’ death, but only if we allow that to affect how we act are we truly honouring that sacrifice.
Mick
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