Today was Remembrance Sunday.
Not every church or denomination observes Remembrance Sunday, usually the Sunday before November 11, and I have no quarrel with choosing not to when it is a well thought out position. I am glad to be part of a denomination and two congregations who think it is important. The only “special” addition to the service is the observation of two minutes of silence. Two minutes is a long time but when I consider it in the context of sacrifice it really is not that much. I don’t know what other people think of during the silence but I think of the people I have known who have served, especially those who served in active duty. I remember their stories of course but I also remember the kind of people they were. I remember the example of service they were to me. I remember these things and give thanks for the privilege of knowing them. We finish the two minutes of silence by singing our national anthem, another thing not every congregation or denomination do but I’m glad it is part of our service.
The sermon was drawn from the Old Testament lesson for this Sunday, Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25, where Joshua asks the people of Israel to decide who they will serve, the true God or other gods. The people were being asked to choose at a crisis point in their history; after forty years they were about to enter the land God had promised to them. We are in a crisis point, the COVID-19 pandemic. Is this a good time to be making decisions? To be choosing things? Yes and no. We are counselled to avoid making significant decisions when we are in a crisis and I agree. However, what was the choice Joshua posed to the nation of Israel? Do we have a similar choice? Give the sermon a listen and let me know what you think.
Blessings,
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