Sermon for Remembrance Day, 11th November 2007
“Remembrance Day” A Call For Repentance
Jonah 3:1-10; Romans 3:9-23; John 15.9-17
Today it’s Remembrance Day..... a day in which At 11th hour on 11th November in 1918.... World War 1 came to an end....... and the armistice was signed,..... this date was set aside to honour those who fell in this war...... and its name used to be the Armistice Day.......... Later in order to include all those who killed in subsequent wars, the name was changed to Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth countries.
Remembrance Day is the day which we remember people,..... who lost their lives defending their countries and values of freedom....... and to give thanks to God for deliverance in the most dangerous times in our history........ and also it’s a time of reflection on our responsibility as Christian Church toward war and violence in the world and to express our deepest longing for peace... The true peace.....
In Syria where I was born and in Lebanon where I used to live..... Remembrance Day has different name .......its name is Martyrs Day........it’s on 5th of May in both countries.... where people remember that day on 5th of May in 1914 when the Turks who were occupying Syria and Lebanon hanged a 25 Educated Syrian and Lebanese...... they were requesting the freedom of their countries.
This Day is celebrated in Syria and Lebanon on the government level....... It is a national holiday .... The president of each country visits the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.... and put a wreath of flower.... followed by a minute of silence tribute to all the men who lost their lives while they were trying to get the Independence of their countries.
Remembrance Day is a significant date for all countries..... Though the Remembrance of what happen on that day..... that we remember..... varies from country to another...... But all share one memory that is the experience of war........ even though it’s a time to recall the past, and to remember people who died in war......
Remembrance is also an action in the present day – not just something in the past....... it is a time when we gather to thank God for peace that we enjoy here in Canada....... and to remember the Canadian Peace Keeping Forces in recent areas of trouble and conflicts ...... and to pray for them and their families.
It is also a time that we look to the future and we pray for a world that children and old,....women and men live and enjoy peace.....
Today, Remembrance is our response to the Gospel message of repentance and obedience.
One of our readings for this morning was from Book of Jonah ", the Prophet who lived for three days in the belly of a whale,..... Jonah who rebelled against God......... God wanted a messenger to go and tell the people of Nineveh that...... if they do not repent and leave their evil ways they shall destroy...... Jonah did not want to take this responsibility.... so he fled to other country....... part of his behaviour was because he believed that God is only for Jews not for the heathens...... Therefore heathens do not deserve any mercy or Salvation from his God........... the story continue and finally Jonah obeyed the Lord order...... after he learned two lessons........the first that he can’t hide himself from God’s face and the second that God is not only to reward or to punish the people..... But God makes His voice and His will clear to all the people...... and always gives chances for a new beginnings with Him.
However, when Jonah delivered God’s message to the people of Nineveh.... asking them to repent..... the result was very amazing....... they obeyed and repented.
the description of the repentance of the King of Nineveh, and his call to the people to change.... is a story not only about God’s mercy and call to repentance...... or the duty of Jonah the servant of God...... to preach the message that God wanted..... not the one Jonah wanted...... but it’s also about the responsibility that we as a Christian church have,........ that is to be the messengers of God...and the con-science of the world.
The real surprise in this story is the King and people of Nineveh, who when Jonah told them God’s message......they repent, and " turn from their evil way and the violence that is in their hands.".......... they said: “maybe God change his mind......and may turn from his anger, so that we do not perish.".........
Jesus called the church the light of the world.... and called us to proclaim to the world the message of repentance....... so that people give up their evil ways of war and violence...... In this way we will deserve to be called children of God..... the peacemakers.......... Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God”.......
Its great responsibility that Jesus put on the church..... Because “ All have turned away... they have together become worthless... there is no one who does good...... not even one”.... “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”...... the evidence of this truth is in the wars that distract the countries and nations and future of many people.......
The church is requested by its Lord to bear fruit of the Spirit in its life.... Jesus Said “ You did not choose me....but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit... fruit that will last”..... those fruit of the Spirit are mentioned in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians Chapter 5 verse 22 and one of them is... “peace”......
Remembrance Day is the Day that we do remind ourselves as church....... that if we are true disciples of Jesus Christ....... we should not be like Jonah in the beginning of his story........we love those who are around us and similar to us........ if you do so.... Jesus is saying to you “ if you love those who love you ....... what credit is that to you ? Even sinners love those who love them”........But rather let us be like Jonah at the end of his story...... A people who love others and preach to them the message of peace and reconciliation.....then we are true disciples of our Lord...........
In Remembrance Day..... Jesus is reminding us with his words.... “Blessed are the peacemakers..... for they will be called children of God”......
God bless you all and keep you in His peace....... Amen.
