Kia Ora koutou,
November is very much a time for remembering. In Aotearoa, following the UK tradition, we have Guy Fawkes night, with its somewhat macabre injunction, ‘Remember, remember, the 5th November: gunpowder, treason and plot’. Last week, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day call us to remember those who have lived and died in the faith. And 11th November marks the end of the First World War (1918).
In our churches this Sunday we will remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today. But this day is also a stark reminder that our world is deeply broken and divided because of human violence. Across the globe, and across time, people have needed to gather after times of great loss of life. Sometimes that is as the result of war, or sometimes natural disaster or human tragedy.
For the Christian, Remembrance Day also presents a unique opportunity for us to meditate on the way of peace. God calls us to look to Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace. So on this day of “remembrance” let us seize the opportunity and prayerfully take to heart the radical message of the Prince of Peace and follow his way of reconciling love. Let us discern together the ways in which God is calling us to be peacemakers in his world.
Peace in Christ,
Yukiko
