Preached at All Saints’, Glencarse on Remembrance Sunday – 13 November, 2005. It seemed to cause a little controversy!

I wonder how many of you can remember where you were when you heard the news
that President Kennedy had been shot!

Needless to say, I have absolutely no
recollection of where I was. . .

. . . since, on the day of his assassination – the 22nd November1963 – I
was exactly 8 weeks and 1 day old. . .

. . . and rather more interested in keeping my parents awake all night than
in international news!

I do, however, remember, quite clearly, where I was on 16 August 1977. . .

. . . when I heard the news that Elvis Presley had died!

I’m sure we’d all agree, that memory is a strange thing. . .

. . . and it
has to be said, that it isn’t always the most reliable of our faculties!

How often do you forget a name or a place. . .

. . . or even a well known
word at a crucial point in a conversation?

How often do you walk into a room and forget what you’ve gone in there for?

For the older generation, these moments have been named `Senior’ moments.

Those of us who are younger have no such excuse – but we still suffer from
exactly the same problem. Then again, how easy it is to remember clearly
something from our childhood. . .

. . . and yet forget something we were told yesterday!

The other thing about memory, of course,. . .

. . . is that it’s open to
interpretation and even invention. . .

. . . no two people ever seem to
have the same memories of the same event. . .

. . . and, whether we like it or not,. . .

. . . there can be no doubt that
memories are interpreted and even modified, in order to suit the person
remembering – usually unconsciously, but not always! Of course, the other
thing about our memories. . .

. . . is that, to some extent, they tell us
who we are! What we remember contributes towards our sense of
self-under-standing or identity. . .

. . . and, in a way, helps us to define ourselves.

One of the more colourful characters in the village where I grew up was a
man called Alfred Oates.

When I knew him, he was in his mid seventies. . .

. . . and was usually to
be found between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm in the tap-room of the Carpenters Arms. . .

and for the rest of the afternoon, for obvious reasons, at home sleeping!

Alfred was a very friendly and talkative person. . .

. . . especially after he’d had a few drinks – and the thing he loved to
talk about most was what he did during the war. So, if you had a couple of
hours free. . . . . . and were prepared to be conned into buying several
rounds of drinks. . .

. . . then it really was quite interesting to listen to the stories of his
exploits fighting the Japanese in Burma and then, later on, as a Prisoner
of War! The war, for Alfred, or Burma, as he was known, had been the most
significant time of his life. . .

. . . and his experiences in Burma had, to a large extent, given him an
identity. . .

. . . and defined who he was, and how he saw himself, for the rest of his
life.

Of course, Remembrance Sunday is about rather more than individual
reminiscences about the last two world wars. Though there are still people
around who, like Burma, actually do remember – including some here today. . .

. . . there are still people around who fought for us. . .

. . . and people
who suffered and perhaps still suffer the pain and heartache of losing loved
ones in battle. . .

. . . and it’s tremendously important that we don’t forget neither them, or
the huge sacrifices they were prepared to make. . .

. . . both on behalf of the people of their country,. . .

. . . and on
behalf of the generations to come.

However, it’s now more than 66 years ago since the outbreak of the last
world war. . .

. . . and a large portion of the population, though they still benefit from
what those who fought and gave their lives in that conflict did. . .

. . .have little or no memory of it!

In the light of that, some people might ask why we continue to observe
Remembrance Sunday!

One answer, I suppose, is that we also remember those killed and injured in
more recent conflicts. . .

. . . such as the Falklands War and the Gulf Wars! These conflicts were
much smaller though and certainly didn’t pose such a threat to our national
way of life as did the two world wars of the last Century. But perhaps there’s something else going on
as well. Because, on Remembrance Sunday, we don’t just deal with
our individual memories, but also with our collective or national memories. . .

. . . and in observing Remembrance Sunday – and Armistice
Day a couple of days ago. . .

. . . we recall some of the defining events in our nation’s history . . .

. . . events that have made us what we are today. . .

. . . events that
have contributed towards are sense of national identity.

And in so doing, we define ourselves. . .

. . . at least to some extent, as
the people who faced, and success-fully resisted, in two world wars last
century, the threat from beyond our shores.

And so, today, as we remember those who died in those world wars. . .

. . . we recall, also, our nation’s story, and we recognise our common
identity.

And for many, this is all there is to Armistice Day, or to Remembrance
Sunday.

However, it seems to me, that there’s rather more to it than that! Because,
the whole business of remembering. . .

. . . of defining identity and
affirming our story. . .

. . . is not without its dangers.

And perhaps the chief danger is that it can lead to the kind of exclusivism. . .

. . . in which those who don’t fit into the story, those who don’t share our
identity, are kept out.

At worst, this can lead to the kind of jingoistic, xenophobic and racist
attitudes which lie behind much of the violence and conflict found in the
world today.

In lots of churches, the National Anthem will be sung this morning. . .

. . . often, it has to be said, because of pressure from congregations,
and against the wishes of the minister.

Those of you who have scanned through our service booklet this morning
though,. . .

. . . will see that we’re not going to sing it! And that’s quite
deliberate!

Because Remembrance Sunday can no longer be just a national occasion. . .

The UK is no longer a small beleaguered island facing imminent danger and
attack from across the Channel or the North Sea. . .

. . . rather, we’re now an integral part both of Europe, and of
the wider international community.

Things have changed! We’ve moved on! And so, Remembrance Sunday must be a
truly international event!

A day to remember all who have died in all wars ever. . .

A day too, to
remember our common human story. . .

. . . marked as it is both by the most
wonderful good. . . .

. . but also by the evil and brutality of war and
violence.

It’s a day on which we should ask forgiveness. And, most importantly, it’s
a day on which we should recommit ourselves to the fight for peace and
justice.

In fact, it’s here, perhaps, where we who try to follow the example of
Jesus of Nazareth, have something important to offer. . .

. . . because for us, our identity and our story is rooted not just in
countries, nations or empires. . .

. . . but also in the events surrounding the life, ministry, death and
resurrection of Jesus. . .

. . . and our attempts to follow him and continue in his ministry.

If you like, we belong to a different kind of nation. . .

. . . a nation not based on land borders and ethnic identity, but on the
example and teaching of Jesus. This nation is the Kingdom of God. . .

. . .a peaceable kingdom, founded not on war and conflict, but on forgiveness and
love.

And so, as we remember today our national and our human stories. . .

. . .we must also remember our Christian story. . .

. . . for it is to the
Kingdom of God and to the principles of justice, peace, forgiveness and
love that our first loyalty must lie.

And it’s this kingdom and these principles that we must seek to establish
within the nations of the earth. . .

. . . to establish not through acts of war, violence and bloodshed,but
through acts of forgiveness, compassion and love.

I finish with the some words from a hymn we didn’t sing this morning, but
might have:

And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago, Most dear
to them that love her, most great to them that know; We may not count her
armies, we may not see her King;Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride
is suffering;

And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,And her ways are
ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.