Reflection: "Greater Love Has No Man"Next week we’ll commemorate Anzac Day, a time when we remember the sacrifice of so many brave men and women in armed conflicts - such as Gallipoli in 1915 - and far too many more wars since then.
For those of us who have never seen the effects of war close up, it’s hard to imagine the impact it would have on those who participated. I’m sure that any of you who have in previous years watched TV programs about the ANZACs, where some of the stories of those brave soldiers, were related – sometimes in graphic detail – could not remain unmoved and not have the greatest respect for those young Australian and New Zealand soldiers. They were from all walks of life and very few had any military experience. Some were as young as 14 and lied about their age so that they could join their mates and fight for King and country. We owe them a great debt and, as the numbers of those who served are dwindling, I think it’s great that our young people seem determined to keep the memories alive and are embracing the commemorations by participating in Dawn Services and Anzac Day marches, etc. Many years ago, a South Australian songwriter named Eric Bogle wrote a song called “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.” In it, the main message is that the young lives lost at Gallipoli were sacrificed for no good reason and that even when the injured troops came back, the people mostly ignored them. He was pilloried at the time for writing an unpatriotic and un-Australian song, attacking our brave soldiers. At one of the Katoomba Music Festivals, I heard him explain that his aim in writing and performing the song was not to denigrate any of our brave soldiers, but to simply amplify the pointless futility of war and its resultant loss of so many brave young lives. Wars very rarely achieve what they set out to do and they usually result in great destruction and huge losses of lives. Just look at the current conflicts in places like Ukraine and you’ll understand.WW1 was no different, but the enduring camaraderie and spirit of the ANZACs was the one great and lasting positive result that came out of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign. Most our young people of today have not been personally exposed to the horror of wars, but it’s great that they can still revere the bravery and courage of the people who fought in them.We may think of this phenomenon as one that has only been formed in the last hundred years, but our bible readings this week remind us that the concept of giving your life for others, has been with us since biblical times. The imagery of the good shepherd, caring for each of his flock and being prepared to give his life to save theirs, conjures up images that are easy to apply to our war-time scenario.I believe that these words must surely have comforted those brave soldiers as they faced their enemies, unsure of whether they would ever see their loved ones again.Words form the bible such as: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me.” “The good shepherd lays down his life for his own.” “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” and “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other.” Theirs was a sacrifice of love. So strong that they were willing to make that ultimate gesture, in order to protect the ones they loved - their flock. So they put themselves into the role of the shepherd, just as Jesus had done, to take care of others, even if that meant that they had to give up their own lives. It makes me feel a bit inadequate, as I live a very comfortable life in this day and age, in comparison to the horrors that the ANZACs went through. Would I be prepared to also make that ultimate sacrifice, if called upon so to do? I like to think that my love of God would give me the courage to take that course of action, to protect others. John 15:12&13 puts it succinctly, when Jesus tells us that: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus set the standard over 2,000 years ago and we now have to try our hardest to measure up to him. Maybe that doesn’t mean that we’ll have to end up dying for our friends, but it does mean that we have to show them the love of God that we have received and how it can be theirs, too. At a Gallipoli Dawn Service many years ago, our then Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, appropriately said that:“a generation of young Australians rallied to serve our country, when our country called, and they were faithful, even unto death. They were as good as they could be in their time, now let us be as good as we can in ours.” Of course, we can’t do that by just staying in our safe, warm homes and singing hymns once a week on Sunday. We have to be out in the world, prepared to be exposed to its ugliness and give our all to show that we are different. Different because we’re God’s children and we have that belief that he wants others – the flock – to also know and love him. They can’t do that if they don’t know about him and realise that he is waiting like a loving parent for them to come home.So let’s make a decision today to put ourselves out – move out of our comfort zone – and tend our flock. That may be as simple as talking about your faith to the person next to you at the dining table, or the stranger you meet when you’re out and about. Whatever situation it is, it still takes courage to be strong for the Lord.God will give you the words that you need, but you need to initiate the conversation with the other person. The fourth stanza of Laurence Binyon's poem “For the Fallen”, which was first published in The Times in London on September 1914 and which is now known as the "Ode of Remembrance", or simply, “The Ode”, says: “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.” And our response is: “We will remember them. Lest we forget.” Pastor Rick
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