I know, it is early December in the season of Advent. As usual, I have put off posting to my blog. I find it hard to write and post a blog. I have been thinking of one on Advent, but Remembrance Sunday has been on my mind all this time. I can't move on with writing other things for the blog until I get it written and posted. So here it goes.
Ever since I arrived in Scotland in the autumn of 2003, I have been moved by the British observance of Remembrance Sunday. As I have travelled around England, Scotland, and Wales, I have noticed memorials to the dead of the two World Wars. They are in every village, town, and city. The people of the United Kingdom paid a high price in those two great wars, especially the First World War. The lists of the fallen of the first war are always two or three times longer than the lists of the fallen of the second. Every Remembrance Sunday people surround the local monuments to proclaim that they will never forget those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. World War One started on the 28th of June, 1914. In 2014 all forms of media in the United Kingdom have been remembering the start of the Great War a hundred years ago. An armistice went into effect on the 11th of November, 1918. It was a time of great loss of life. Over 15 million soldiers on all sides were killed during the hostilities. Over seven million soldiers are still unaccounted for. The civilian losses were also staggering, millions losing their homes, loved ones, and their own lives.
That first eleventh of November, 1919, set the tone for a national day when everyone in Britain would be asked to remember the sacrifices made by others during the Great War. That date of November 11 is still known as Armistice Day. On that date in 1919, a peace agreement was signed between Germany and the Allies. After the Second World War Remembrance Sunday was instituted for the second Sunday in November in order to remember all those who died in both world wars and other wars.
Every Remembrance Sunday, the Queen and the Royal Family gather together with military and political figures at the Cenotaph in London to lead the nation in remembrance of the fallen in all the wars. The highpoint is a powerful two-minute silence that was started by King George V in November 1919. It is a national occasion when 'in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on remembrance of the glorious dead.' Also prominent in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday is the wearing of paper poppies on outer clothing. These paper poppies are made by disabled veterans of the wars in order to raise funds for the care of those who took part in service to the United Kingdom.
The poppies are delicate red flowers with tissue-like petals that grow wild in fields and hedgerows. They flourished in the fields and ground disturbed by the battles of World War One. These blood-red flowers carpeted the ground in the summer after a particularly bloody battle had devastated the land. In 1915 a Canadian medical doctor named John McCrae composed a poem entitled 'In Flanders' Fields.' His poem is displayed below in this blog post. He wrote that the poppies blossomed in the fields of battle where men had died in mortal combat. Out of this came the tradition of wearing paper poppies as a reminder of the sacrifices of so many people during the Great War.
I experienced my first Remembrance Sunday in 2003 in Edinburgh, Scotland. I was recently arrived in Scotland as a student at the University of St Andrews. On the second Saturday in November, I took the train down to Edinburgh to explore that great city. I spent the night in a hostel and went out early Sunday morning to look for a church service. I ended up at St Giles Church. There I heard about Remembrance Sunday and all that it meant. Following the service, we proceeded outside onto the Royal Mile where there was a crowd gathering. Military units marched in procession accompanied by military bands. Dignitaries took their positions in areas of prominent display. At just a few ticks till 11:00 it was announced that there would be two minutes of silence. What followed was solid silence among the large crowd of people. This was my first two-minute silence on Remembrance Sunday. I had no idea that that Sunday was such a solemn occasion. The two minutes of silence has been the essential element in Remembrance Sunday throughout the land since 1919.
I have led the last three Remembrance Sunday services at St Fergus Parish Church. Remembrance Sunday ceremonies are services of solemn remembrance for those who gave their lives in the wars of the United Kingdom, especially the two world wars. There is a group of people from the village who only attend church on Remembrance Sunday. I sought every opportunity to bear witness to Jesus Christ. After the two minutes of silence we proceeded out of the sanctuary to the Memorial to remember St Fergus men who were killed in the wars. The World War One list contains the names of over 30 men who were killed in the Great War; the list for the fallen of the Second World War has five names. After the service ended, a small group of us traveled several miles out to the ancient church cemetery. There are the graves of three Canadian naval officers who were killed in action in the last year of World War II. At another grave we stopped and remembered a young boy who was killed just after the Second World War ended. He was with a friend hunting for bird eggs on St Fergus Beach. The beach was still defended by mine fields. He was killed when he stepped on a mine. We remember him each year as well as the Canadian naval officers.
As a Christian minister, I believe it is important to remember the dead from war, and the courage, bravery, and sacrifice that is common in such times. But I must admit that I am uncomfortable with the practice of a civil religion within the context of the Christian faith. There is plenty of reference to God in general, but not to the Lord Jesus Christ in particular. Some Christians I know would not tolerate such a service in their church. Usually it is because they are pacifists and practice the non-violence of Jesus. Others are concerned about the corruption of the Church by the political State. Although I don't accept fully these stances, I do take their concerns seriously. They cause me to critically evaluate our practice on Remembrance Sunday, especially at St Fergus. The sentiments of Remembrance Sunday are just too ingrained into the consciousness of the British people. I am not willing to pay the price of confronting it. I chose battles that I can win, and Remembrance Sunday services at St Fergus Parish Church is not one of them. But still I can shape the way we observe Remembrance Sunday at St Fergus Parish Church.
That is why I seek every opportunity to bring the Name of Jesus into my prayers and meditation. I speak about Jesus' supreme sacrifice upon the Cross for the forgiveness of sin and His mighty Resurrection from death to life on the third day. I speak to a small group of people who only come to the church on Remembrance Sunday as well as those who come regularly. As I do every Sunday I focus on Jesus Christ's redeeming sacrifice for us and His victory over sin, death, and Satan. In the service I also call upon the congregation to say 'we will remember.'
Blessings to you and yours,
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