We come to remember,
our minds
filled with
images
fresh from our TV screens,
of young men, and women,
fallen in battle
just yesterday…
.
We come to remember,
how could we forget
for amongst their number
we count friends,
brothers, sisters,
fathers, even children,
and mothers,
gone from us
in this life.
.
We come to remember
those who fell many years ago,
whose pictures adorn
our family albums,
and whose faces are familiar,
and yet unknown.
.
We come, some of us,
because sixty year old scars
aren't easily healed
by time,
and sixty year old losses
are still
keenly felt
today.
.
We come
because poppy strewn fields
bear witness
to unspeakable horrors
that we must never forget.
.
We come, not
because we love war, but
because our desire is for peace,
and we recognise
that peace often
comes at great cost.
.
Can war be just?
Can evil be overcome
by evil?
Does goodness sometimes
come in a strange
disguise?
.
We struggle for answers
so..
We come to remember,
not to glory.
We come to pray,
to reflect,
and to seek
fresh hope…
We hope that
one day
wars will end,
and love will triumph,
and we give thanks
that because of you
our hope
is not vain…
.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
(Revelation 21: 1-4)
