Remembrance Day 2021

Well actually it is not a what but a who – we are remembering those who have died in war – this week we found a list of those from St Andrews church who had died in the first, and second world wars and in the Korean and Vietnam wars. We remember those who died. We read out their names – we preserve and treasure those names. We honour those names – we make and keep a promise “We will remember them”.

But why? What do we mean to do by remembering the names of people long dead? Two weeks ago we did something similar when we celebrated all saints day – we read out a list of those who have died. We remembered them. On Friday we held a memorial service for Rev Elizabeth Lewis. Again we were remembering.

These were three different kinds of remembering. On Friday we remembered Rev Elizabeth’s life. We celebrated that life, all that she had been, all that she had made, all that she had given. At All saints we remembered those we love and
have lost. We reminded ourselves that they are not gone forever, but are separated from us for a while.

At remembrance day we remember something else. We remember the sacrifice that those who died have made. The sacrifice of those who chose to fight for their country and died doing so. The sacrifice of their lives – the lives they would otherwise have lived as partners and parents, as workers and friends, as carers and creators. Lives laid down for others, for their country, for their values and their way of life. A sacrifice made by each of them, and there are millions of them.

Millions of lives sacrificed. They gave their lives to prevent evil. They gave up their lives in the hope that those who followed would enjoy those things, that we would enjoy our lives.

As Hebrews points out, Jesus made a sacrifice. It was a sacrifice that was both like and unlike the sacrifice of soldiers.

Like theirs, Jesus sacrifice was the sacrifice of a life, a life that could have been so different. It was a sacrifice Jesus chose to make, chose when he could have walked away from the cross instead of walking towards it.

Many soldiers believed they were making their sacrifice in the “war to end all wars”. That their sacrifice might stop war.

We know that that was not the case. That war continues. The last hundred years have seen war after war – world war 1 and 2 and Korea and Vietnam and the gulf wars, Iraq and Afghanistan. This year we have seen the USA pull out of Afghanistan, after a war that Canada was a part of and lost soldiers in. The sacrifice of soldiers, like the sacrifices in the temple that the book of Hebrews talks about, could not stop things happening again.

But as Hebrews says, his was a special sacrifice, a sacrifice that only he could make. It is a sacrifice that wipes away evil – past evil and present evil, small evils and large evils. It is a sacrifice that gives us life. It is a sacrifice that make us perfect, good enough for God. How does it do this – because when God looks at us – at our very mixed lives of good and evil – God remembers…. God remembers Jesus. God remembers Jesus love for us and Jesus love for God and how those two loves took Jesus to the cross.

And the sacrifice of Jesus was once for all – it did not need to be repeated. It cannot be repeated. Jesus’ sacrifice has achieved what he hoped, what we need – the restoration of our relationship with God. Jesus sacrifice brings peace – peace with God.

There is another remembrance that is happening today, a remembrance that we make every time we have a Eucharist service. Indeed the word eucharist points us to that remembrance, because the word eucharist means thanksgiving.

What we are giving thanks for, what we are remembering and giving thanks for is the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

That is why the prayer before the Eucharist reminds us of the “night before he died” That section of the prayer is even called the anamnesis – the remembering, (literally – “not forgetting” – just like “lest we forget”) and is itself a response to Jesus saying “Do this in memory of me”.

So we remember – we remember a sacrifice – both on remembrance day and each sunday we come to eucharist. And
that leads us to one final question.. Why do we remember? There are many answers. We remember to be thankful, we
remember the cost, we remember to be inspired to follow. But today I want to say we remember so we do not take it
for granted – the peace we have in our country came at a cost. The peace we have with God came at a cost. We will
remember the sacrifice that made it possible.

AMEN