It’s very easy for younger generations to view Remembrance Sunday as a historical exercise only. Their only experience of war may have come from history lessons, TV or films; it’s perhaps surprising for us to realise that even the Falklands’ War (1982) comes into the history syllabus nowadays! For many, however, the horrors of war are all too real and it is good to take the time to remember this and help those affected. In many countries, war is a present-day reality and not simply a historical interest.
‘Taking part’ in Remembrance Day may take different forms: attending a memorial service, wearing a poppy, observing a minute’s silence, for example, but it may feel like an ‘academic’ exericse or something only associated with history. We can even have the same attitude to our Christian faith: attending services, taking part in activities, but not really understanding how something which happened so long ago – the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ – can have relevance to our daily lives now.
Jesus told us to remember His sacrifice (Matt 26:26-29) and in the days preceding His crucifixion we read of His anointing at Bethany (Matt 26:6-13). The woman who poured out the alabaster jar of perfume was extravagant in demonstrating her love for Jesus; we are told that the oil cost a year’s wages (Mk 14:5). She gave significantly, not just pulling the stopper off the jar and dabbing perfume on Jesus, but lavishly anointing His whole body with it. She understood somehow that this person had such enormous significance in her life that He was worth everything she had.
God longs for us to pour out our whole lives before Him and to serve Him with everything we have. He longs for the historical significance of His sacrifice to permeate the everyday offerings of our daily living so that all we have is touched by His fragrance and poured out in service to a world that is dying to hear of His love.