Readings:
Jonah 3:1-5, 10;
Psalm 62:5-12;
Hebrews 9:24-28;
Mark 1:14-20

Collect:
Eternal God, in whose perfect realm
no sword is drawn, but the sword of justice,
and no strength is known, but the strength of love;
guide and inspire all who seek your commonwealth,
that peoples and nations may find their security
in the love which casts out fear;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen

Reflection:
The events on Remembrance Sunday are about remembering those who have died in war. There are always people in uniform about. They are, after all, serving on the front line, and are clearly and directly in harm’s way in war. We also remember civilians, especially those who had nothing to do with any of the conflict, but are swept up in it, and whose lives and livelihood are destroyed in it. Remembrance Sunday is also about recognizing the destruction of war and that we now not only seek peace, we desire it, with all our hearts. This Sunday we will again honour those who have died in war. We will also commit ourselves to seeking peace, with all our hearts.

I remember so clearly my first Remembrance Sunday in Windhoek, Namibia (then called South West Africa). It was in 1981, and I was a young probationer minister. I was invited to take part in the main service in the city as the superintendent was away, and I was the only Methodist available. You may remember that Namibia was called German South West Africa till 1915. There I stood with the English- and German-speaking clergy and citizens of Windhoek, all remembering those who died in war, now seeking peace.

Till that moment, when I heard the Lutheran pastor praying in German, I don’t think I realized just how war brutalizes everyone. A couple of years before, while living in Pretoria, South Africa, we saw a telling and amusing stage production of Oh! What a lovely war, written by Joan Littlewood. At the time this was as funny as emotional. Now we were actually living in a war – Namibia, under South African rule, was at war with insurgents coming across from neighbouring Angola, determined to undermine white rule in Namibia. Then I realized, in a way that touched me deeply, that war kills everybody. No one is left unscarred and the calamity of war destroys everything. The only way to stop the killing is a dramatic change of heart and mind in everyone, leaders and citizens alike.

Each of the readings today involves a change of heart and of mind. The people of Nineveh, when their ruler hears of Jonah’s message, instructs them to turn, most often translated as repent. They do, they all do, and the disaster is averted. The psalmist thanks God for the earth’s bounty, and proclaims God is our deliverance and hope, indeed “the hope of all the ends of the earth” (Ps 65:5). Hebrews is a complicated book, but here makes the clear point that Jesus comes to rescue, to save, not to destroy. Mark’s gospel tells of Jesus announcing the good news (gospel) of the imminent arrival of God’s rule and reign, more adequately described as God’s commonwealth. We’ve got so used to thinking of God’s “kingdom” that we risk forgetting just how much force (war) is required to maintain it, even if we use the oxymoron “kingdom of peace”. Commonwealth – health and wealth for all – is much closer to Good News, the Gospel.

This Remembrance Sunday, remember those who have died in war and pray for peace. Peace in our hearts, and peace in our lives. Peace at our going out and peace at our coming in. Then we can move towards that great desire, expressed so well in the last verse of Fred Kaan’s hymn “For the healing of the nations”:

You, Creator-God, have written
your great name on humankind;
for our growing in your likeness
bring the life of Christ to mind;
that by our response and service
earth its destiny may find.

Revd Barry Lotz