REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 2014 John 15: 12-25 and Ephesians 6: 10-18

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 2014   John 15: 12-25 and Ephesians 6: 10-18

We are here this morning to give thanks for and to honour those who gave their lives in order that we might have life. It is perhaps too easily forgotten that so many of the freedoms we enjoy today were won at very great cost; freedoms which, even as I speak, are not enjoyed in many countries elsewhere today. So we do indeed have much to give thanks for; and it is right to continue to honour their memory annually as we do. 

But is a once a year memorial the best way in which we can give thanks for and honour what they have done? There is a real danger, is there not, for us to hold our Remembrance Sunday parade and then simply tick it off the list: a job done, a tradition observed, a promise kept; and then to think little or no more about it until the next year.

I do believe that there is a way in which you and I can give thanks for and honour their sacrifice in a far more meaningful and effective way. Not that I would do away with the annual observance: far from it. But what about the rest of the year? 

What could you and I do to show our profound appreciation for the freedom their sacrifices won for us, our parents, children, grandchildren? Surely it would be in how we live our lives now, and for whom we live our lives; in the principles of self-sacrifice rather than self-seeking and in the service of others rather than for self-fulfilment.

It was after all these very principles that characterised the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose words are quoted so often and especially today. ‘Greater love hath no man than this; that he lay down his life for his friends.’ In the face of the many distortions and abuses of that word ‘love’ today by those whose self-love and self-obsession result in the most unloving of consequences, the model given us by the Lord Jesus Christ remains not only the inspiration for our own sacrificial service of others but also the rebuke to self-obsession and the antidote to it. 

I say ‘inspiration’ because, as Jesus warned his disciples, ‘without me you can do nothing’: he is saying in effect that in order to be able to love like him we need his help, his presence, and his power in our lives. The Great Commandments may instruct us to ‘love God’ and to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’; but how many of us find that easy? 

God gave us the commandments in order to live healthy lives as individuals, as families, as communities: but he offers himself, his presence and power in our lives, in order for us to be able to keep them. And at their heart is the life-changing principle of self-sacrifice.

It is as we reflect on the greatest act of self-sacrifice ever – the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ for the sins of the whole world - and then, in gratitude, make it the principle for our own lives, that we shall not only discover what Jesus described as a ‘fullness of life’ nothing or no-one else can offer, but also more sincerely and effectively honour the sacrifices of those whom we remember today.

For those who call themselves Christians, our Gospel reading from St. John can prove quite uncomfortable reading. Why? Well, because in it Jesus sets out some very clear statements about what it means to be a Christian. In your baptism service either you or your parents and godparents made certain promises regarding your lifetime response to having been rescued by Jesus from darkness to light and from spiritual death to spiritual life. These can be pretty well summed up in a phrase from that Baptism service: ‘fight valiantly under the banner of Christ against the world, the flesh and the Devil, and continue his faithful servant to the end of your life.’

The person who thinks that being a Christian is a bed of roses is sadly and badly mistaken. It is about a calling to battle; and that battle is first with one’s natural Self or ‘flesh’; secondly with the world where the world is opposed to God; and thirdly with the Devil and all spiritual matters that are not of God.

In this passage we are commanded, chosen, and commissioned (appointed) to bring the good news of Christ’s saving love for all, to all, in a world where the commands of Christ are not always welcome. They are not welcome because they speak of the very things that question so much of how the world works.

 Jesus ‘commands’ v12 ‘that we love one another as he has loved us’. The second part of the phrase ought to warn us that such love on our part is impossible without his help. 

The good news however is that he has promised his help to love to those humble enough to acknowledge their own shortcomings and to accept his wonderful offer. If we are sincere about keeping our Baptism promises, then why do we not receive joyfully all the help we can get in order to fulfil our calling, our mission?

Jesus says too v16 that he has ‘chosen’ us. All of us who respond to his calling and want to obey his commands are in some mysterious way ‘chosen’ by him. From a purely worldly point of view I have to admit that I do sometimes wonder at some of the people he has chosen – including myself! And then I have to remind myself of at least two very good reasons why them: first, he chooses people that he can work with and through, not those who think that they can do it on their own and do not need his help. And, secondly, he chooses people often very different from ourselves in order to remind us that what brings people together in the world can be very different and often the opposite from what binds people together in his kingdom.

Jesus commissions or appoints us v16 to ‘go and bear fruit that will last so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.’ Here Jesus makes clear the purpose of our calling as Christians: essentially it is to bring the good news of Jesus’ truth and love to lives that lack it, in order that they might find new life in him. Most importantly we also learn that it is as we give ourselves to Christ’s service that he gives us ‘whatever you ask in my name’. Here we see how God blesses the principle of self-sacrifice and service – when we are thinking of others and putting the needs of others before our own.

But of course there will be opposition; and Jesus uses some very strong and harsh words to describe the opposition Christians will face if we follow him faithfully. V21 ‘They will do all these things to you on account of my name because they do not know him who sent me.’ You see, the teaching of Jesus has the effect of showing in their true colours the practices and priorities of the world. This is why so often the world ‘hates’ 

Jesus and those whom he has commanded, chosen, and commissioned to share the liberating and life-changing truth about him - because it threatens many of the world’s most cherished deceits and delusions about life, and about how to live it. And of course hatred of the truth and love of the self tend to blind people to any rational and moral argument; so much so that v20 ‘they will persecute you’.

 If we sign up for this calling, if we take this King’s shilling and serve him faithfully, then we shall be in for a battle. So before we decide it makes very good sense to weigh up the pros and cons of choosing either for the world or for Jesus. There has to be a choice because Jesus does not allow us to sit on the fence – there is no place for the fashionable option of doubt – because he says quite clearly that we must be either for him or against him. 

In the military, when faced with a task, especially when fighting against an enemy, the sensible thing to do is to make what is called an ‘Appreciation’. This is a detailed analysis of the situation that you face and the factors to consider. In a battle, whether small or large, you consider the ground over which you are being asked to fight, the strength, resources, and probable tactics of your enemy, your own strength and resources, and other such factors that might influence the outcome. 

I would always recommend this exercise to anyone thinking of becoming a Christian. Which side do you want to be on? It is passages such as this morning’s gospel reading that state very clearly the Christian’s task in the battle that is already being waged. We are called to spiritual warfare and it is as we commit ourselves to the fight against what is wrong in the world and with the world, and what is wrong in ourselves and in others that we best honour the self-sacrifice of those we honour today.

St. Paul knew what it is we are up against: and so when we make our ‘appreciations’ we need to be wise about the opposition we will face if we are to be faithful servants and soldiers of Christ. We need to be honest about our own shortcomings and needs; but above all we need to v10 and 11 ‘put on the whole armour of God and be strong in the strength of his power’; then we shall be equipped and able to live lives that honour those who gave their lives that we might enjoy the kind of freedom they felt was worth fighting for.

I know, as you do, that many lives in past and present earthly conflicts were needlessly wasted: and that is a terrible thing. And often, because we and those in authority who make decisions for us are flawed and fallen, wrong decisions are made, for wrong reasons, and the results are terrible. But that in no way diminishes the sacrifices of those who were sent. 

In the battle against spiritual evil, which often manifests itself in material and human form, the sacrifice is never wasted: the smallest triumph of good over evil is always worth the cost. 

And if ever you are tempted to think otherwise, you have only to turn for a moment and reflect upon the greatest sacrifice of all, a sacrifice made at one and the same time both for the whole world and for you personally; a sacrifice whose efficacy was proved (and in which you and I will one day share completely) when he rose again on Easter day. 

It is the principle of self-sacrifice that is at the heart of any love worth the name and worth honouring.