Skip to main content

Reflection for VE day Moscow 2020

Russian and US troops meet at the Elbe

75 years ago, at 3pm UK time (5pm Moscow time), in a coordinated approach with the allies, Winston Churchill announced to the people of the UK that the war in Europe had ended.

In fact, the final German surrender was not until midnight May 8th, central European time, which meant that for Russia it took place just after 1am on May 9th. That is why VE day is celebrated here on May 9th and not, with most of Europe, on May 8th.

Peace had come. 6 years of war in Europe was over.
There was an explosion of joy.

But at what an astonishing cost.

I don’t know the figures for Europe alone, but globally it is estimated that about 70-85 million lives were lost. In the Soviet Union alone, that figure is estimated at 27 million. In Russia, 1 in 8 people died, and in Byelorus it is estimated it was 1 in 4. And those are not just statistics. Each individual death is a devastation – leaving behind the wreck of broken lives and crushed dreams.

Was it worth it?
Well, what is the price of freedom?
And the cost in lives of an allied defeat to a fascism dedicated to racial cleansing by genocide, and the subjugation of so-called inferior peoples, is simply unimaginable.
If there was ever a just war, a war that needed fighting, it was the war against Nazism.

And it is right for us today and tomorrow to remember and honour those who served, those who suffered and continue to suffer even to today, and especially those who gave their lives.
Peace comes but, because we live in a fallen, sinful world – for there to be peace there will always need to be sacrifice.

We mark this VE anniversary as we face another global threat.
Of course, what they endured in WWII and what we endure now is beyond comparison.
But today there are still those on the front line who are making the sacrifices, who are putting their lives in danger so that others can live. I read in official news sources on Thursday of the deaths of 4 medics in St Petersburg, and of the chief doctor in the Sergiev Lavra Monastery, Igumen Tikhon. And we honour them and countless others across this globe.

Our two readings speak of peace.
The first (Luke 2:8-14 and used at the thanksgiving service at Westminster Abbey on the 8 May 1945) speaks of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour, who came to bring peace.
He won that peace for us by sacrifice: he gave his life, choosing to literally go into hell, in love for us.
The second (Philippians 4:4-8) speaks of the peace which, because of him, we can experience here and now: from knowing that our sins are forgiven, that death is defeated and that God is near us.
I pray that you come to know that peace.

And we pray that one day that Kingdom, promised to the shepherds, won for us by sacrifice, will finally come.
There will be one ruler, Jesus Christ, who loves us, died for us and rose again, and all will delight to follow him
There will be freedom
There will be abundance for all and joy, and no more suffering and no more death
And there will be peace

Comments

Post a Comment

Most popular posts

Isaiah 49:1-7 What does it mean to be a servant of God?

Isaiah 49:1-7 This passage speaks of two servants. The first servant is Israel, the people of God. The second servant will bring Israel back to God. But then it seems that the second servant is also Israel.  It is complicated! But Christians have understood that this passage is speaking of Jesus. He is both the servant, who called Israel back to God, but he is also Israel itself: he is the embodiment, the fulfilment of Israel In the British constitution the Queen is the head of the State. But she is also, to a degree, the personal embodiment of the state. What the Queen does, at an official level, the UK does. If the Queen greets another head of State, then the UK is greeting that other nation. And if you are a UK citizen then you are, by definition, a subject of Her Majesty. She is the constitutional glue, if this helps, who holds us all together. So she is both the servant of the State, but she is also the embodiment of the State. And Jesus, to a far grea...
Post a Comment
Read more

The separation of good from evil: Matthew 13.24-30,36-43

Matthew 13.24-30,36-43 We look this morning at a parable Jesus told about the Kingdom on God (Matthew talks of Kingdom of heaven but others speak of it as the Kingdom of God) 1. In this world, good and evil grow together. ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil’ (v37) The Son of Man (Jesus) sows the good seed. In the first story that Jesus tells in Matthew, the seed is the Word of God, and different kinds of people are like the different soils which receive the seed. Here the illustration changes a bit, and we become the seed. There is good seed and there is weed, evil, seed. This story is not explaining why there is evil. It is simply telling us that there is evil and that it was sown by the enemy of God. And it tells us that there is good and there is bad. There are people who have their face turned towards ...
Post a Comment
Read more

On infant baptism

Children are a gift from God. And as always with God’s gifts to us, they are completely and totally undeserved. You have been given the astonishing gift of Benjamin, and the immense privilege and joy of loving him for God, and of bringing him up for God. Our greatest desire for our children is to see them grow, be happy, secure, to flourish and be fulfilled, to bring blessing to others, to be part of the family of God and to love God. And in baptism you are placing Benjamin full square in the family of God. I know that those of us here differ in our views about infant baptism. The belief and the practice of the Church of England is in line with that of the historic church, but also – at the time of the Reformation – of Calvin and the other so-called ‘magisterial reformers’ (which is also the stance taken in the Westminster confession).  They affirmed, on the basis of their covenantal theology, which sees baptism as a new covenant version of circumcision, of Mark 10:13-16 , and ...
Post a Comment
Read more