On Sunday, 4th
August 1918, the fourth anniversary of the declaration of war, King
George V and Queen Mary joined members of the House of Commons and
the House of Lords for a special service at the Church of Saint
Margaret, Westminster. The King had asked that 4th August
1918 should be observed as a National Day of Prayer: 100 days later
the war ended.
This year we
commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I and our
remembrance is particularly poignant as we consider how we have
failed all those who died or whose lives were affected by the war.
In Peter Capaldi's final episode in Doctor Who, a WWI soldier gets
lifted out of time and the Doctor says that he is a WWI soldier to
which he replies “Yes, but what do you mean, 'one'?”
For those who fought or
suffered in the Great War, the only thing that made the hardship and
slaughter bearable was the belief that it was the 'war to end all
wars', as H.G. Wells wrote in 1914 “This, the greatest of all wars,
is not just another war—it is the last war!” They were told that
their sacrifices would make the world a better place, indeed in the
new world there would be no war. The reality of the trenches
probably put paid to the idealism of the first few months of the war,
but it probably also confirmed in them the horror of war that we find
in the war poems of that time.
We have failed those
all those who died or whose lives were affected by the war because we
have failed to learn that war cannot end war; that violence only
leads to violence. And if this seems to be an inevitable vicious
cycle, that's because it is – at least humanly speaking. The root
cause of violence and war is our sinful nature. All human beings are
pre-disposed to evil and this affects us individually and
collectively. The worse news is that we cannot put this right
ourselves, but the good news is that if we truly repent of our sins,
God will forgive us and give us his Holy Spirit so that we can live
as his children.
And like our sin, this
salvation affects us individually and collectively. One of the
prayers for Remembrance Sunday is “Almighty Father, whose will is
to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of all: govern
the hearts and minds of those in authority, and bring the families of
the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin, to be
subject to his just and gentle rule.” It reminds us that we are
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin, and that the only
remedy is the just and gentle rule of Jesus, the King of all. Jesus
died so that we can be forgiven; he rose from the dead to give us new
life; and he will come again to rule over all things.
If we really want to
see an end to all war, we need to follow the example of George V:
come before God in repentance and with prayers for help; for
ourselves, for our nation and for the world.
Check out Glen Scrivener's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=StuOWU4b1to
