At Growth Group tonight we were looking at next Sunday's lectionary readings and thinking about what were we looking forward to.
In the readings there were various things but primarily we focused upon ... the Second Coming of Christ
I do love this diagram which reminds us of where we are in the timeline of everything.
As we got going at looking at this I was reminded as we STOP at advent and look back ... we're looking back at what has been ... the incarnation, the resurrection etc but we're also looking forward to the second advent with expectation and preparedness.
Hugely challenging, in that we're living in the tension between the now and the not yet of God's Kingdom.
some key passages ...
1 Thess 3:12 12And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. 13And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
Luke 21: 34 ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation* and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’
Sermon Preached in Blarney Church on 11th November 2018 on the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice.
—————————————
May the words of My mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always be acceptable in thy sight O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen
Today I particularly welcome along those who have come to this church to especially remember members of their family / those connected with them in some way who died during WWI.
We’re commemorating a war that saw so many from this land and these islands march over to battlefields in foreign lands and encounter unimaginable suffering, scenes of the most horrific slaughter and witness the most incredible display of mans inhumanity to man.
The names we read out earlier are relatives of ours or linked to us in some way - people who for various reasons found themselves on foreign battlefields. We remember them, we remember those who are not named as well because to forget them is to forget the sacrifice of life they made and also to forget the horrors of war they witnessed and to ensure that those lessons not be forgotten by any generation yet to come.
Messy is a word I’m using more and more about life, pastoral issues and certainly the politics of the world… and certainly the history of these islands are messy to say the least. A couple of weeks ago I attended the Blarney and District Historical Society for a lecture entitled Blarney 1918 which talked about this area 100 years ago - the competing political ideologies, the messy reasons for people to sign up and go off to war - whether it be for money, to feed themselves and their families, for adventure, to further the cause of irish nationalism, to support the British forces … to name but a few.
What we do know is without this war - History of this nation and europe would be different, and the world we know today would be unrecognisable.
These brave men who marched are remembered today - with gratitude for their service and their sacrifice
When we look around Ireland in 2018 we see these men some of whom are named on monuments and others who are not - we are realising that they do need to be remembered - there seems to be a general maturing of attitudes - this needs to be encouraged - we need to be careful about this remembering … that we do not forget the lessons that history teaches us - the importance that no one should be ‘airbrushed out of the history books’.
In remembering we are not glorifying war - not at all! … in commemorating we are not celebrating - that cannot be done and should never be done.
In our village we do remember … and we will remember those in previous generations who died.
When we turn as we must to scripture - The Gospel reading today ends with Jesus’ command
Love each other
In the Epistle reading … Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
My appeal is simple today - actually probably the simplest message of all
The human heart … is at the heart of all decisions - personally, politically, nationally, internationally and when we scale decisions up into the corridors of power and down to individual conversations at home or at work - where is love?
This day 100 years ago peace was achieved … after around 17 million people (Military & Civilian) were killed
Peace at what cost? …
This cannot be allowed to happen again … of course we know it did happen again - I was struck that on Friday Night on BBC News they were mentioning that it was 80 since Jews were attacked in Germany …again violence and inhumanity to fellow humans
but what about in our day?
We do know that peace is a longing for us all … we do need to work for it. We do know that there are those from this land today who are trying to work for peace - to stand in the gap between foes
We have today peace keeping forces in various parts of the world serving with the UN
Currently the Defence Forces of Ireland are involved in a number of missions throughout the world involving approximately one hundred Personnel from all branches. This number will be increased to include the 440 personnel who will be involved with the new mission to Lebanon which was confirmed by Minister for Defence.
We pray for our leaders, for those in the corridors of power but we also work for peace in our homes, our families, our workplaces, wherever we find ourselves
Where there are those who stand in the gap … to defend our peace we give thanks
Where there are those who negotiate peace … we pray for wisdom
Where there are those who try to bring reconciliation … we pray for courage.
This is a day for remembrance but it is also a day to re-commit ourselves to the pursuit for peace and justice in our world. Later in the service we will have an opportunity to do just that.
For each of us in our own lives we have opportunities day and daily to bring an end to hatred and division - to embark on a journey of reconciliation - its difficult but God does give us the resources to love one another as he loves us.
as we sit here this morning I wonder as we commemorate a war which none of us remember first hand - are there bits of our history - our family, the community to which we belong that need reconciled.
Let’s remember that although there are no World Wars there are still those who are protecting us from those who would do us harm.
And there are those who we might not take up a weapon against but whom we need to love as difficult as that may be.
Reconcilliation may not be possible but we might have to reach out an olive branch to by what we say or by our actions.
Lots have been written about the Armistice over the past few weeks and months. As I sit in a coffee shop thinking about tomorrow preparing stuff for tomorrow I'm struck about the immense privilege it is to lead in remembrance.
I'm struck about the sacrifice that was made by so many, the politics of this nation which made remembrance a very difficult topic for the past 100 years but also the need to to remember in order to learn lessons of history.
Having recently been to a lecture about Blarney in 1918 and the difficulties of history there is a need deep down not to plaster over what has happened but to understand - I'm so thankful for historians who can look at the sources and make some sense of how the past impacts the present.
With my pastoral heart going into tomorrow - the acknowledgement of what has been is important but also speaking into what needs to be going forward is important too.
I've been really encouraged by those who have taken up my invitation to remember at our 11am service those who are somehow connected with them who died during WW1 and will be remembering them at that service. All are welcome to join us at that service. We will be beginning 5 minutes earlier in order to have a silence at 11am.
Here is the introduction to tomorrows service
Brothers and Sisters, as we commemorate the centenary of the ending of the First World War, we come together to offer to almighty God our worship and praise and thanksgiving to draw near to the throne of God in penitence and humility; to hear his proclamation of justice and righteousness; to remember those who participated in the war - those connected in some way to us; to acknowledge the relief and joy at the ending of this time of great hostility, and the anguish, sorrow and grief of those who never shared in that relief and joy; to remember a world and lives changed forever, yet with an uncertainty for the future and of lasting peace; to pray for all those who continue to serve in our armed/defense forces, and to pray that in the power of his spirit we may serve him in the pursuit of his heavenly realm.
