Read:
What are mortals…that you care for them? (Psalm 8:4)
Think:
Last week I reflected on some of the most disreputable people and asked the question, “What’s a sinner?”
Since then, we have remembered those who made great sacrifices in war: on Remembrance Sunday last weekend, and again at 11 am yesterday morning. For many people, this season of Remembrance remains deeply poignant.
More than a century has passed since the end of the First World War. As significant anniversaries of the Second World War approach, fewer of those who lived through it remain with us. Yet our annual remembrance of these wars, and the conflicts that followed, continues to make us pause and think again about the human cost of war and the sacrifices people have made.
The question of worthiness is vexed. Who deserves our respect? Whom should we admire? And how should we support those who have sacrificed so much for us or for the greater good?
Contemplating the grandeur of God’s creation, the psalmist asks, “What are mortals that you care for them?” Why should God care about us? Yet God does care. For me, that knowledge gives Remembrance a particular depth.
Personal memories and gratitude for great sacrifice are important. But at the heart of Remembrance, I find the assurance that God knows what every person has endured. God cares about each life, whatever others may recognise or overlook.
That humbles me and fills me with gratitude for those whose sense of duty has led them to serve the greater good at great personal cost. The full extent of their sacrifice may be known only to God.
Prayer:
Sometimes those who have given the most speak of it the least. Those who have suffered the most draw attention to the needs of others rather than their own. We thank you for the grace you have given them. May that same grace, selflessness and determination be evident in us all—not in waging war or pursuing conflict, but in serving you and working for your Kingdom in the world today. For Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.