Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day

Today we remember fallen heros of World War 1 & World War 2. WWII was supposed to be the war to end all wars.
But, we still have wars. Many men and women served in the armed forces in fighting & support roles to fight against the ideology and repression of Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and Japan in Southeast Asia.

My wife's grandfather served in the navy - in the S. Pacific.
And I'm sure you have family that were involved in the war effort.
100 million military and support personnel involved globally. 70 million people, mostly civilians were killed. That's the population of 2 "Canadas". Movies like Schindler's List depict the holocaust - the systematic extermination of Jews, dissenters, and the handicapped.

Those that went to fight were not fighting against a country, or a group of people , so much as they were fighting for an idea. Not just an idea, but an underlying belief that all men & women should be free. An idea that all life is valuable, even those who are of different races, or have disabilities. It is our duty and honor to protect the weak, elderly, crippled, mentally ill, the unborn and the outcasts of society. Occasionally our resolve to do this will be challenged. Actually, daily our resolve to do this is challenged. You see we don't fight Nazi's every day, but every day we are faced with the same rotten idea's that led to the holocaust. Pride... the bad kind of pride that thinks too highly of one's self. Or low self esteem...thinking so poorly of yourself, which can sometimes lead to putting others down, to try to make yourself feel higher. Hatred or contempt...Jesus equated these feelings with murder, because they are the seeds that grow into the murder tree. When we see these in our own lives, we need to pull them out by the roots and burn them, replace them with compassion, unconditional love, patience, kindness and so on.


There is a famous story from World War 1 about the Christmas Truce on 1914. It took place in the fields of Flanders on Christmas Eve. Germans were fighting the British and French in miles of trenches. The Pope had requested a truce for Christmas, but it had been flatly rejected by both sides. But on Christmas Eve, somehow a chocolate cake made an appearance on the British side. It was from the Germans trenched in 50 yards away. A Christmas Truce to begin at 7:30 was offered, and accepted and a gift of tobacco was sent over to the Germans. At 7:30 some Germans popped up their heads and began to sing. After each song applause would erupt, and the impromtu concert continued. Later a soccer ball became the object of attention and a soccer game ensued. Gifts were exchanged, small christmas trees decorated the dead were buried, and there was at least for that Christmas...peace on earth. The war continued after this for a little more than 3 years.


One of the ideas Jesus challenged us with was to love our enemies. Thats not easy. I am still learning how to love my friends. The ideas that Jesus challenges us with are not supposed to be just something to think about...they require action. I may be a long ways from being able to love my enemies, but I'm going to start walking in that direction. And, by the grace of God, maybe one day I'll actually get there.

My grandfather was also involved in World War 2. But he didn't fight with the Allies. He was aligned with the other side.
What do we do when our history includes family and friends and even personal history that is not so honorable? To be fair, the Finnish although aligned with Germany, it was not on ideology, it was a matter of survival. The Russians were invading Finland, and the enemy of the Russians was the Germans... so their enemy's enemy became their friend. In Finland, Jews were generally protected, but there is still the bad taste in my mouth that comes from saying that my grandfather fought with the Nazi's. The cold war is another bad taste, because the British, Americans, Canadians and so on, fought in cooperation with the Soviets in WW2, but for 40 years the Cold war between communism and the west persisted.

If we look at our own histories, there's no perfect story. We all have baggage from bad experiences. Some our own fault, others, just happened because we were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

But on Remembrance Day, we try to remember the honorable, the values that were upheld, the truth that transcends the chaos of life. The poppy reminds me that every day I have a choice to fight the battle in my mind, the battle for my family, my friends, and for my community. I reflect on the casualties of that battle, and I will remember and honor the heros.