November 8 NOTES FOR REFLECTION Remembrance Sunday*
*Texts: Isaiah 2:1-4; Psalm 120; Romans 8:31-39; Matthew 5:43-48
[* I realise that not everyone will be observing this commemoration. Even if you are you may find these readings a little unexpected. The Lectionary does include the commemoration as a possible option, but seems to rate it of little importance. Instead of recommending appropriate texts it passes on a list of suggestions from "Common Worship: Times and Seasons". Strangely, that list does not include anything from the Old Testament, and its inclusion of Psalm 23 (its only choice from the Psalms) is rather weak. I chose these readings for St Barnabas, Warrington about 2 months ago, and cannot quite remember why. In my defence I would argue that the choice of the passage from Isaiah (Micah 4:1-3 would have done just as well, of course) can be justified. The alternative I considered was something from Lamentations 5 for its graphic portrayal of the sheer bloody horror of war. However, the idea of that devastation being wrought by God as punishment for sin – rather than war being a natural consequence of human sin – is problematic, to put it mildly. I can't recall why I chose Psalm 120, but verses 6 and 7 are on theme, and the whole psalm seems to me to have something that Psalm 23 lacks for this commemoration – a sense of outrage. Romans 8:31-39 is on the suggested list, thus proving that I do not have a completely closed mind. The gospel passage is not on the list, but jolly well should be!]
Theme: "Remembrance Sunday" may be sufficient. However, more and more it seems to me that the first response of people of faith to the horrors of war, terrorism, epidemics, and natural disasters must be to unite in heartfelt lamentation. My choice of theme, therefore, is "A Time to Lament".
Introduction. Isaiah reminds us that a key feature of God's dream for humanity (and, come to that, for the whole creation) is the abolition of war. That's why Jesus, whose mission was to proclaim the coming of that Kingdom, requires his followers to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. And that's why St Paul was able to proclaim the message he did to believers in Rome - of all places!
Background. I am writing these notes on Thursday, 5th November, a very auspicious day for me personally, for Aotearoa New Zealand where I have lived for 48 years and 11 months exactly, and for the United Kingdom, the land of my birth. (According to my mother, I was "due" on 5th November", but the war was on and I was considerably delayed!) It is also the 11th anniversary of my service of institution as Vicar of the Anglican Parish of Port Chalmers- Warrington. There is much for me to reflect on in all this, and I was reminded of it this morning when I heard a news item about the Maori Party Co-Leader, Marama Fox's campaign for this day to be changed from "Guy Fawkes Day" to "Parihaka Day" (or something relating to that event".
I should say at once that I am with her on this, both intellectually and emotionally. I was particularly moved by her recollection of attending a bonfire night as a child and seeing a "guy" burnt on the fire – she described it as the scariest thing she had ever seen. Amen to that! My earliest memory is very similar, made all the more scary for me by my sister suggesting that I should sit on the guy – not a happy experience for a wee lad still a few days short of his third birthday! But personal trauma aside, it has never made sense to me that we should be commemorating a terrorist plot to blow up the British Parliament in 1604, even though technically we are supposed to be celebrating the fact that the plot was unsuccessful and Mr Fawkes got his just deserts. Who remembers that being explained to them around the bonfires of their childhood?
And who remembers the sacking of Parihaka on this day in 1881? I chose this day in 2004 for my institution quite deliberately. I was the chairman of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship of New Zealand at the time, and the opportunity to make a statement was too good to miss. Told I could choose a guest preacher for the service I chose my friend (now sadly deceased) Richard Sutton, then Dean of the Faculty of Law at Otago University, and invited him to speak about Parihaka. He did so, and I awaited feedback with interest. It came in the form of a number of comments to the effect that it was not the usual practice to have a lay person speak on such occasions as this. On the topic of his sermon I received not one comment.
The Lectionary invites us to remember "Parihaka Peaceful Resistance, 1881", and tomorrow refers to Te Whiti o Rongomai, Prophet, 1907. (I haven't been able to find an entry for his partner in peace, Tohu Kakahi, but there may be one.) The real question for me is exactly how are we to "remember" Parihaka" in a way that brings us together and does not invite us to take sides, apportion blame, claim innocence or guilt, re-write or re-interpret history, and so on. In this sense "Parihaka" stands for all wars and confrontations, local, civil or international. Follow the correspondence in the ODT every time someone dares to criticise Israel, for example – or the USA, for that matter – and you will find the complete inability most people have to transcend the particular issue and see it in terms of humanity rather than Israelis, Palestinians, or whoever. Who's right and who's wrong seems to be our default setting, even when our own nation is not involved.
But can we not, as people of faith, remember that war is always a failure of love – it is always contrary to the will of God? That, with all due respect to St Augustine (and many others), we human beings are not capable of fighting a war justly, even if there ever could be a "just" war? Was the First World War a just war? Was the Armistice Agreement a just outcome? Do our answers to those questions necessarily depend on our nationality rather than our faith? If we accept that Christians were involved on both "sides" does it not follow that for us all wars are civil wars – worse, all wars take place within the Body of Christ?
How then can we not lament together? How then can we not see that Remembrance Sunday is a time to come before God weeping at our past failings – weeping for all those peoples of every nation and time who have been cut down by the savagery of war – and praying for God's mercy for our failure to seek first his kingdom ahead of the defence of our own? By all means let us have a Parihaka Peaceful Resistance Day (without fireworks), so long as we use it to commit ourselves, Maori and Pakeha, to practising and preaching what Te Whiti and Tohu Kakahi preached and practised. And then, on Remembrance Sunday, let us observe a day of lamentation for all our failures to do so.
Isaiah 2:1-4. To get the full force of this extraordinary vision, we need to read on to the end of the chapter - and beyond. In the NRSV that I am using there is a heading before verse 5: it reads "Judgment Pronounced on Arrogance". In other words, having given this vision of God's dream for the world, Isaiah proceeds to show how far the chosen people ("the house of Jacob") has fallen short. "Jerusalem" is supposed to be the centre of the world, calling all peoples back to God – a teaching centre for all humanity to learn God's ways, so that the day will come when that dream or vision becomes a reality. Verse 4 is at the heart of the message. It should be one of the most inspiring verses in Scripture. But is it?
Taking It Personally.
- Notice that here, and elsewhere in this Book, we are told that what follows is the word that Isaiah "saw", rather than heard. What do you make of that?
- Is there a sense in which making the Scriptures available to all the peoples of the world in their own languages is a part of the fulfilment of this prophecy?
- Do you feel you are learning God's way and walking in his paths through reading and hearing the Scriptures?
- What can you do help to bring about the reality of this vision?
- What do you know about the history of Parihaka? Do you want to learn more? What do you feel about Marama Fox's suggestion to substitute "Parihaka Day" for "Guy Fawkes Day"?
- Have you heard about the "Ploughshares Fund" and the "Ploughshares Movement", both of which have taken their inspiration from this passage? Do you support them?
- Pray for the United Nations, and for New Zealand's role as a member of the Security Council.
- Pray for all those who have suffered, and those who are suffering today, from war, terrorism and other forms of human violence.
Romans 8:31-39. Even by St Paul's own mystical standards this chapter never ceases to astonish. To understand this passage we need to set it in the context of the earlier verses, to see what happens and will happen to humanity in the context of the whole cosmic plan of God. Remember that for St Paul and those to whom he is writing, this is no dry theological investigation. Rome is the centre of the world's great imperial and military power: for all its sophistication in everything from governance, transport, sanitation, medicine, and the arts, this is a civilisation based on brute military force which it will not hesitate to use in defence of its own interests whenever it senses a threat. That includes a threat from pesky Christians refusing to sacrifice to the Roman gods or to recognise the Roman emperor as divine. If ever there would seem to be a case for armed rebellion, or at least a willingness to fight in defence of one's own family, this would surely be it. Yet St Paul urges his fellow believers to accept whatever comes, up to and including death, because only in Christ can Christians become conquerors.
Taking It Personally.
- Go slowly through this passage. Try to imagine that you are in serious danger of death for your faith. Would this message be a comfort to you or not? Why?
- Verse 34 says that Christ intercedes for us. What would you like Christ to ask for on your behalf at this time?
- You may have heard the much-loved verses 38 and 39 quoted at a funeral. Do you find comfort in them as you contemplate your own death?
Matthew 5:43-48. In recent weeks we have been reminded of some pretty tough teaching from Jesus; but surely this one is the toughest of them all! Most scholars agree that this passage has the strongest claim to have originated with Jesus if only because, if he didn't say it, none of his followers would have made it up. And the fact that, as a matter of historical fact, the early Church was steadfastly pacifist until the 4th century strengthens the case. Notice how Jesus brings it down to the personal and mundane. He is not only teaching people to refrain from fighting; he is also urging us not to distinguish between friends and strangers. And he does so on the ground that God does not distinguish between the righteous and the unrighteous, at least in terms of weather. But the real shock comes in the last verse. "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." What?!
Taking It Personally.
· Read this passage through very slowly. Try to really hear what it is saying. Pause, then notice your emotional response to this teaching. How are you really feeling about it?
· What one thing can you do this week that would be a step in the right direction in terms of this teaching? Is there a relationship you could heal, an argument you could bring to an end, an apology you could offer, a change of attitude that you could make, or an unpleasant person you could pray for in all sincerity?
· Ponder verse 48. Do you agree that this seems to mean that the supreme test for a Christian is our attitude towards those we consider our enemies? Do you even want to pass that test?
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