Readings:
Job 19:23–27a;
Psalm 17:1–9;
2 Thessalonians 2:1–5, 13–end;
Luke 20:27–38

Collect:
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.

Reflection:
When I was preaching on this day in 2006, I said, 

‘for decades, we’ve seen in the Middle East ambassadors from Palestine and Israel, together with peace brokers from Europe and the States, trying to negotiate peace and reconciliation. Then it only takes a kidnap of a soldier to trigger an overwhelming response. And the underlying bitterness surfaces with a vengeance on both sides and we see peace again in tatters.’

19 years have passed since I preached that, and nothing in the Middle East has fundamentally changed. Conflict may have become more targeted, more destructive of civilian life and many national leaders may have been superseded, but ceasefires are still treated simply as inconvenient barriers to be switched on or off at unilateral whim and expedience to make a ‘one-off strategic retaliation’.

In situations like this, it seems to me that Remembrance Sunday is not only a time for remembering the sacrifices of past conflicts, of heroic people of many nationalities who fought and died to re-establish peace in our land and of the courage it took on their part. But it is also a time actively to promote peace, starting at home, starting with ‘me’.

Peace can’t be forced – not by ambassadors negotiating a treaty, nor by national leaders signing bits of paper, nor by legislation, nor by building walls to keep the ‘others’ out. Peace can only come from the hearts of people who want to forgive the past and embrace a new freedom.

Today’s collect says and implies a lot…

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’s about hearts and minds of individuals, both leaders and average people (‘families of nations’) choosing to surrender to a greater and ‘gentle’ rule of God rather than pursue the commonly followed default position of armed conflict. Remembrance is not only about wearing red poppies but also about wearing white poppies: symbols of peace, restoration and healing. 

Some weeks ago, I decided to repot my 8 peace lilies and found I now had 28! I could not bring myself to put the extras in the compost bin so I potted them up, thinking I would soon give them all away, because I had one of those ‘God’ moments when I had a crazy idea seeded in my brain. A week ago, I realised the idea. The thought had developed in my mind, especially in the state of escalation of conflict in the world. It  to do something to promote peace from the ‘bottom up’ as it were, and give a message of gentle challenge to those who might take a plant away to look after. I labelled them with care instructions and put them out by the pavement with the message,

‘Peace Lilies – free! Please take one to remind you to bring your peace to the world, wherever it is that you ‘live and move and have your being’. (Acts 17:28)

Then I waited to see what would happen. 6 days on, I have only 3 left, and one of those I’m keeping to start over. So, 25 other people have already read the challenge and taken one. I have done a small thing to promote peace in a small way, on my patch, where I ‘live and move and have my being’.

What might you do to bring your peace where you find yourself? It may take some courage on your part, but I hope that as you wear your poppy this Sunday, whichever colour, you will resolve to bring God’s peace, your peace by His grace, to your patch.

Revd Dave Talks