Dear Friends
As we enter November our minds are instantly made aware, via the media, of the happenings in the season, - Halloween and Bonfire night. These two festivals of the year now present a different image of what was first portrayed by them. Halloween has been commercialised and Americanised, with ghost and ghoul masks, trick or treat and the sad news of the poor pumpkin harvest! Bonfire night has become an evening of spectacle and foolish firework throwing by the less than sensible. Yet, going back to their beginnings, we witness a far more profound event. For Halloween, “all souls”, is the time when we remember all those who were special to us, and whom we now miss. It was a time of reflection and thankfulness, to give thanks to God for having them in our life, and a time to remember. Firework, or Guy Fawkes Night, is about the protection of the democracy in our land, and is meant to be a celebration of who we are. The innocence of Guy Fawkes and the truth behind the night may well be different to what we know, but the celebration is about the safety of our method of government.
So, if we go back to the celebrations of our youth, then it seems fitting that we should also remember the end of the Great War. That is when our government took the decision to fight oppression in Europe and stand for democracy and freedom. So when all the trick or treaters have finished and the last firework has fizzled out, we remember those men and women of both wars who daily communed with death, amid the rockets and explosions of battle, who lived, bled and died for our freedoms. Even today our people are laying down their lives so that others may live a better life, whether it is for the poor illiterate Afghani woman seeking peace, or the family dealing with a member addicted to the fruit of Afghanistan (heroin). The men and women of Britain are still giving of themselves for others.
November is a month of reflection, sadness and pride and we should use this time well, for it is the prelude to Advent, when Christ is born, and the good news comes down to us as a gift from God.
Let us try to remember and not allow history to repeat itself.
A story to finish with of the Great War:
A Rabbi to the French Army heard a soldier crying out in no mans land. He crawled out to the soldier and found him close to death. “Hear my confession Father” the soldier said, and so the Rabbi did, after fashioning a cross from two sticks so that as the man died he saw the cross plainly before him. All French soldiers who witnessed this were moved by what they saw. Sadly, before the rabbi could crawl to safety, he too was killed.
May we all learn the lesson of tolerance, compassion and self sacrifice and live our lives as God wanted us to.
God Bless,
Philip
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