ANZAC day homily

Where is the peace of which the readings speak?  The peace which Christ brings, the peace which the gift of his Spirit. War is the antithesis of peace. Our nation has taken part in peace-keeping missions and in wars – some were in defence of freedom and against manifest evil, others were morally murkier. But when we remember this day, we don’t focus so much focus on the big picture as on the people, people like us who were drawn some willingly, some less so into war and conflict in which some human beings were friends and others were enemies.

In the face of this some kept hold of their humanity, others did not. Some behaved heroically simply doing what they saw as needful and there were those did not. Most would have had their moments of light and darkness; ordinary people caught up in horrors we cannot imagine. We are here because of the sacrifices and blood of others who have gone before us. We are grateful for what they gave even as we grieve their deaths and wonder what could have been had there not been war to cut short their lives. We pray for all who died, all who were left maimed, injured, traumatised and all the family and friends who suffered with them.  But we must also ensure that our governments and communities continue to care for those bear who physical and emotional scars because they went in our name.

Christ our Lord entered into the deepest darkness so as to be with those who find themselves in the gloom of pain and death. The Good Shepherd leaves no sheep of his lost. May those who gave their all, those who were lost, those who lost themselves all be gathered by the gentle Shepherd.

Our readings tell us that we have received the gift of peace for the Spirit has been poured into our hearts. This Spirit frees us to make peace – from the need to always win, to satisfy our ego – frees us to love our neighbour so that we can build them up. With the gift is the obligation to not accept war and conflict as part of the order of things. War is always failure. With the gift comes the call to be peacemakers starting with the circles of relationships closest to us. May that Spirit inspire us to build bridges, to work for peace, to be people who give life to others until the Lord’s Kingdom comes and weapons of war are wielded no more.