Today we remember those who have given their lives in wars over the past century. The choice of date to remember is linked, of course, to the ending of the First World War, a war in which loss of life was so terrible that Remembrance Sunday was instituted as an attempt to give some meaning to the devastation. I am just about old enough to remember meeting people who had direct memories of that war, but sadly by now there are few or none left. As with our own abilities to remember, memories of the people who died in the First World War have faded, and now are preserved in family stories, in documents, and on our war memorials. This is why it is so important that we remember the names of those fallen in wars of the past and inscribe them on memorials. Direct memories may have faded but at least we can still honour their names and so remember them.
Direct and indirect memory
I know from conversations with those I have met in the parish that memories of the Second World War, by contrast, are still alive for many people. It has been my privilege to hear stories of what it was like to live here when bombs were falling every night and when loved ones were out on active service. Many of those who died in that war are still directly remembered. Others have perhaps faded from direct memory. Eventually, as with the First World War, all memories will fade, though sadly there are new wars bringing new imperatives to remember. As direct memory fades, it feels all the more important to stand and bear witness to the names of those who died, to take time intentionally to remember them before God as best we can and to pray for peace, so that their sacrifices were not in vain. And we remember that as Christians our hope is that even if nobody on earth directly remembers us any longer, we are all held safe in the memory of God.
Rebecca Lloyd
