Remember
Remembrance Day, observed in Commonwealth nations on
November 11, holds much the same meaning as America’s Veterans Day. Celebrated
throughout the entire Commonwealth on November 11 since the end of WWI,
Remembrance Day actually marks Armistice Day — the day on which the hostilities
between the Allies and Germany ceased on the Western Front. (The Commonwealth
includes 53 member states, nearly all of them former territories of the British
Empire.)
“Remembering” is one of the tasks of all people, and especially Christians. In this season, we say “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” We remember before God those for who we pray, and every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we do so with these words, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Remembering makes us participants in the life of our ancestors in – literal and spiritual – and reminds us who we are.
Most importantly, we pray and trust that God “remembers” us and that God remembers the promises made to us and our ancestors, even when we fail to do so. Amen.
