On Remembrance Sunday we remember the sacrifice of those who defended our freedoms and protected our way of life, through two world wars and beyond. In particular, we remember the armed forces and their families, as well as the emergency services and those who have lost their lives as a result of conflict or terrorism.

We also remember those parts of the world which are being devastated by war even now, particularly Ukraine, Sudan and Israel/Palestine. Here life is being torn apart and people on all sides are losing those that they love.

The service will begin at 10:45am to enable us to be at the War Commission graves for as close as possible to 11:00 GMT.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them”.
(from ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon)

Please note, there will also be a Remembrance Service at Mollina in the north of Malaga province, starting 11.45am on 9th November. Details here: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/8488/service-and-events/events/977920/

We are now firmly moving towards Advent and the stories we hear about Jesus help us both to look forward to his coming at Christmas, but also to look forward to his second coming and the great gathering up of humanity at the end of all time.

He and his disciples have left the province of Galilee and gone to Jerusalem, the centre of the Jewish nation and faith, and the place of his inevitable showdown with the Jewish authorities. And they have gone to visit to Temple, the greatest building in Jerusalem and the pride of the Jewish people.

And to their astonishment, Jesus prophesies the Temple´s destruction: "Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’ The disciples are shocked, speechless. But as they go and sit at the Mount of Olives opposite, they ask him what it means, and how they will know when it is taking place. And Jesus responds by telling them that the end will come, and you will know that it is coming because there will be wars, earthquakes, famines, and other terrible things.

But he prefaces that with an important point: don´t jump up at just anyone who tells you the end is coming, or for that matter, and one who claims that he is the great saviour: 'Many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray.

In our own day we face a lot of destruction, increasingly because of climate change and the greed of those who want to take over the land of others. There are two pointers for us in this morning's gospel. Firstly, we must be honest about the causes of wars, earthquakes, famines and other disruption around us. His point is we mustn't jump to conclusions, either than this is God, or that this is the beginning of the end. And secondly that we should remain on the look out for people who claim they have the ear of God or that God is particularly looking out for them. It is easy enough for such pseudo prophets to mislead others: it is often as easy for them to mislead themselves.

Picture above: the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, as imagined in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. Photo by Ariely - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4533576