Rector’s Message for Remembrance Sunday 2024

What is the Christian attitude to the use of force or war? Should we to expect a simple clear-cut answer to this question? There is bound to be a tension between the desire for peace, which is so obviously God’s will, and the fact that sin exists in the world and cannot go unchallenged. Peace at any price can never be a satisfactory Christian approach. Thus tension has always been felt more keenly in some ages and some civilisations than in others, depending on how much violence was taken for granted by a particular society. But this is something that has always engaged the consciousness of Christians.

We must remember that in many things we cannot act as individuals in isolation. We are members of society, and have obligations to each other within that society. We have a duty to obey the just laws of the state although ultimately, we must be guided by our conscience. To do this we must make every effort to keep our conscience informed. Traditional Christian moral theology developed the concept of the ‘Just War’. A Just War must have a good purpose. The amount of force must not be more than is strictly necessary. The wrong which war creates must not be greater than the wrong which it is designed to correct. Force must not be aimed at innocent persons who are not combatants, or directly engaged in the war effort. The war must be defensive in character. The aim of war must be to re-established creative and friendly relations with the enemy as soon as they have come to their right mind.

These ideas still provide us with a common-sense way of thinking about war from a Christian viewpoint. Whether they can any longer be translated into practical terms is another matter. So how can we put these principles in to practice today? How can we guarantee that an action which is started with a limited and right objective will not escalate, and get completely out of hand? The considerations, the risks that have to be weighed are formidable. Understandably, politicians would prefer not to have to make decisions under such awful circumstances. How can they be sure that the decision reached is the right one. There will always be room for argument in any given situation as to what is the best, the right, the Christian way to give effect to God’s will. It is facile to expect a simple clear-cut formula.

On Remembrance Sunday we think about the two great World Wars. The passing of time - even the years since 1945 - has affected our thinking about these events. To some extent they have been glamorised, in books and films. And a whole generation including me has grown up who were not even born when the last war came to an end.

One reason for remembering is to try to see the whole truth. To remind ourselves of the horror of war. And today war is potentially far more horrible still which means that the dilemma facing the Christian conscience is even greater. The Christian believes that every human being is of infinite value in the sight of God - that while God hates sin, He yet loves the sinner and wants to save them.

Remembrance Sunday is not a festival to glorify war, or to justify war. Nor is it a festival to celebrate the fact that we were on the winning side in two great wars. Rather we remember those who faced up to their responsibilities and did what they believed to be right - their duty to fight against wrong, and assert Christian standards. Some faced up to their responsibilities to the extent of laying down their lives - others were maimed and disabled - many more made other sacrifices. We remember the thousands of soldiers who fought and died in the Western desert. The young pilots and RAF crew who were never to return. The prisoner of war in Japan and Europe who were cruelly treated. And those who lost their lives at sea. We remember them, we pray for them, we thank God for them. Amen.

Father David