On Thursday morning, VE Day, a proclamation will be read out by town criers where we have them across the country at 9am.
“Eighty years ago today the United Kingdom and its allies from around
the globe celebrated VE Day – the end of the war in Europe.
Today as we come together to commemorate what came to be known as VE Day our thoughts turn to thanksgiving and remembrance of those millions that gave so much to achieve the freedom we all enjoy today.
We remember those we lost, those who were wounded or scarred, those
whose lives were forever changed by war. Nobody was immune from the
impact of that terrible conflict.
Let us pause to remember their sacrifice.
We reflect too upon the words of our late and glorious Queen, Elizabeth
– “Never Give Up, Never Despair”.
And so we offer thanksgiving for the selflessness of those who gave up
so much in order that future generations should enjoy the blessings of
freedom, democracy and peace.
God Save the King”
This week, communities will gather I think to do two things. To remember the conquering of evil and tyranny and to resolve to work for a better world.
There aren’t as many people now who lived through the two world wars so it’s important we keep telling the story and marking the celebration of peace over war. Perhaps it felt over those six years of the Second World War that peace would never come. In my lifetime I can only compare it to the Covid pandemic and its restrictions, hoping for release from it dominating life. Someone at Grewelthorpe last night asked me if I think marking this VE Day will carry on when those who were there have passed on. I think it will. More young people are at events exploring what happened.
Two words: remembering and resolving.
Let’s remember the conquering of evil. We had our passage from Revelation. Revelation is all about the clash between Rome and Jesus.
Let me draw you into the context. In people’s lives, Rome dominates horizons, being out of step risks suspicion, poverty, death. Rome is the reality with which everyone has to do. The psychological effect of Roman power on day-to-day life cannot be underestimated: it becomes difficult to imagine a different world. The churches have become trapped, unable to see beyond the obvious reality of Roman power.
It is that situation which John addresses for the rest of his book. And so he writes to open the eyes of the churches, to enable them to see things differently.
Over against the apparent day to day reality of Roman power, John places the absolute reality of God, before whom all other pretensions to power pale into insignificance. Lift your eyes, says John, and see that there is something much greater than Rome, snap out of your limited vision, see Rome for what it is, live from a different perspective altogether. The emperor may claim to be a god, but such a claim is utterly empty in the light of the absolute reality of God.
Not only so, but through a series of fantastical visions, John exposes Rome as the puppet of evil, a tyrannous regime manifesting all that is opposed to God.
The Roman empire is not something to accept easily, not something to which to conform, but is to be resisted as the evil which it is. And be in no doubt, says John, the victory of God over evil is assured, this new Babylon of Rome will fall, evil will be vanquished, there will be a new Jerusalem. So, in the face of the oppression of Rome, John gives the beleaguered churches hope, he gives them a vision to live towards, he encourages faithfulness and courage, he gives them a God to believe in.
The Revelation of John is a tract against tyranny. It was understood as such by the Germans within the churches who resisted Nazism. Victory in Europe should never be understood as a victory over a nation or a people, but as a victory over tyranny. But what is the nature of that victory? How is victory to endure and open into peace? How is it to avoid the easy descent into a tyranny of the new victors? Here again, Revelation points the way.
At the heart of that final vision of the throne of God in chapter 22 is the figure of the Lamb. ‘The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city’, says John. John points us towards Jesus, and particularly towards Jesus on the cross, entering the suffering of the world, bearing the consequences of human evil and violence, absorbing them into God, drawing their power, neutralising them. It is this Jesus, now risen and ascended, who stands at the centre of the throne of God. It is this Jesus who has triumphed over evil on the cross, whose victory is assured.
It is only by way of the cross that any victory is meaningful, for the cross breaks the cycle of violence which sets people against one another, the cross opens out a path of forgiveness and reconciliation, the cross makes peace, real peace, possible. On either side of the throne of God and the Lamb in John’s vision grows a tree of life, the leaves of which, John says, are for the healing of the nations.The victory of the cross is one which issues in lasting peace. It is only, then, as we allow the cross to shape our lives that we can continue to celebrate a victory of peace.
That last remark is important. For a VE Day celebration looks not only to the past and its heroes, but to the future and the continuing battle against all forms of tyranny in which we are all enlisted.
Whilst we celebrate eighty years of peace, we cannot be complacent about our present or our future but continue to root ourselves faithfully in the cross of the risen Jesus and in his victory over evil that we may live in hope for a peaceful future. There are signs the world is a bit dangerous today. There are signs that what I want is winning again over shalom and respect for all.
Which brings me to my second word: resolution, resolving to work for peace and love in peace. That God’s way is always stronger, and God will win through in God’s time.
I was reading just recently the life of the great, 20th-century Methodist preacher, W. E. Sangster, who was the minister at Westminster Central Hall in London, the great Methodist Church. He took over there just before the Second World War began. He was a great preacher, and the place was often filled to hear what he had to say. But then came the Blitz, and the Church turned the basement into a shelter. It became a home and a place of protection for more than 450,000 people over the course of the war. During the Blitz, W. E. Sangster kept preaching. There was a little button on the pulpit that was a reminder that there was an air raid shelter, and it would flash red if there was a warning, but no matter what, he kept preaching. He did say, “Those who have weak constitutions may want to go downstairs right now.” So people got up and left during the sermon.
But even when the little red light intimated that there was an air raid warning, he kept preaching the Word of God. He and his wife would go downstairs and be with people in the basement afterwards; they would be there night after night, and during it all, he wrote his PhD thesis at London University. Remarkable! He graduated in 1943. But he kept preaching. Why? Because he said people need to hear the Word of God, and the Church needs to be the Church when people are uncertain.
For Sangster, the Church was the place to renew the foundation in the life of Christ. It existed as a place to build together. It was a place of protection, of safety against the bombs of the world.
In the end Revelation points to a new heaven and a new earth.
There was another sense in the hearts of many on that day in May eighty years ago. They knew that huge challenges lay ahead. A social order and a society had to be rebuilt, not just here but in so many other countries, too. New dangers stalked the world: poverty, long-term unemployment, rancour and discord which had to be overcome if a true peace, always more than the absence of war, was to be constructed.
History tells us that in the post-war years some great achievements emerged from dialogue and mutual effort. A need was recognised for more than a renewed economy. A renewal of spirit, a renewal of identity, a renewal of values and personal moral vision was needed to replace the deconstruction of so much in the brutality of warfare. The vision of faith, the Christian faith, played a crucial part in that effort, notably in the construction of a renewed system of education. Similarly, the NHS emerged, and social renewal in housing and welfare. It was a time of building, houses and souls. That too must be part of our reflection today, and part of our thanksgiving.We work to build a better world. Peace.
So let’s turn to our Gospel, which I included at the beginning of these thoughts. It was used in services after the end of hostilities was announced. The song of the angels is not just for Christmas Day, it is for every day. We need to look for angels surrounding us announcing even if it’s dark or the world is still full of war if not world war, there is this theophany: peace on earth and goodwill to all humankind. It’s a reality not merely a hope.
The eighth of May is the day the church also remembers Mother Julian of Norwich. Crippled by illness and seeing poverty outside her cell she immersed herself in prayerand she said “all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.” Now! Friends I think it is the task of every church and chapel to proclaim peace.
In Yorkshire at war, Rob Wilton is quoted: “the day peace broke out I said to my wife she weren’t looking too cheerful. She said there was nothing to look forward to now. Before, we had the all clear.” Maybe those who lived through it all had resolve and maybe we have complacency… that cannot be.
I end like this with two stories – a sermon written by a wartime vicar in Devon has been found in a draw by his daughter. It ends like this: Our victory in Europe is won, but there is a long job ahead to make liberty available again to everybody. But can’t you see it is a job after God‘s own heart, since he himself is doing the same thing? If God is with us, in the fight, in the sorrow, in the victory, in the rejoicing, in the reconstruction – if God is with us, who can be against us?
Then a story Methodist minister David Hinchcliffe told us from when he was Chair of the Channel Islands. Remember the Channel Islands were occupied. There was a Methodist chapel on Alderney which had a last hymn in its service sometime in 1940 and then was closed down until after liberation five years later. When they opened the chapel they saw the hymn board with numbers on was still up from that last Sunday, so they decided to start a new beginning with that hymn that they’d ended worship with five years earlier.
This, this is the God we adore;
our faithful, unchangeable friend;
whose love is as great as his power,
and neither knows measures nor end.
'Tis Jesus the first and the last
whose Spirit shall guide us safe home;
we'll praise him for all that is past,
and trust him for all that's to come.
A prayer:
On that first Victory day, people celebrated with joy, glad of each other’s company, and grateful for the laughter and love that follows times of sadness and loss. At this moment we too are reminded of the value of each other.
Loving God, we give You thanks for the years of peace that the nations of Europe have enjoyed since the Second World War and we ask for Your healing on our land and across our world in these days.
As we remember, teach us the ways of peace.
As we treasure memories, teach us to hope.
As we give thanks for the sacrifices of the past, help us to make Your future in this world, until Your kingdom come. Amen.
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