Andrew’s Blog - Remembering the Future

By Andrew Kleissner

 

Everyone knows that November is a month for remembering. Red poppies sprout on the lapels of millions of people as they prepare to remember the dead of two world wars, culminating in the great Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph. A week or so earlier, we remember an older historical event in a more light-hearted way, as we think of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot (although it seems to me that this recollection is becoming increasingly subsumed into the celebrations of Hallowe’en).

 

Both these acts of remembrance still have important messages that need to be heard today. The commemoration of war dead is not confined to the past; it has become especially poignant as we have seen flag-covered coffins being brought back from Afghanistan and driven through the streets of Wootton Bassett. But, of course, we should not confine our thinking to the military: we must remember all victims of war, including civilian women and children who often suffer unseen in the devastation of wrecked countries.

 

Similarly, we must not let the semi-mythic celebration of Guy Fawkes blind us to the evils of sectarianism which still blight many societies. Thankfully the bombing and violence in Northern Ireland seems to have subsided in recent years; but there are many countries where racial and cultural differences still provoke mistrust and discrimination, occasionally erupting into genocide. Sadly, religion is all too often a contributory factor and I can understand (although strongly disagree with) those people who say that religion is a bad thing as it always leads to conflict.

 

It is easy for these acts of remembrance to concentrate on the past alone. And, of course, many older folk in particular will have tender memories of difficult times and of loved ones whose lives were brutally cut short. But I have always believed that remembering the past should not be a mire that sucks us down but a springboard that propels us to a better future. The facts of bloody warfare and cruel division should make us resolve that we must do everything within our ability to promote peace and so stop these things continuing endlessly.

 

Perhaps these aspirations are best summed up in another act of remembrance that takes place, not only during November, but in every month of the year. For the Christian service of Holy Communion certainly looks back at the appalling, yet amazing, story of Jesus’ death on the Cross. Yet it also looks to the present, as response to the Gospel establishes the loving and inclusive community which we call the Church. And it also hopes for the future, to the moment when Christ will return to establish his kingdom of peace upon the earth.

 

So yes, it is right to remember. We have all been shaped by history, so looking back helps us understand why things are as they are. A different past would have surely created a different world today. But let us not allow our remembrances to imprison us in outmoded understandings and perceptions. Instead, let us use them to inspire us towards a brighter and better future.