Alive in God: Remembering with Hope
We gather today, in remembrance of lives lost, sacrifices made, and the enduring hope of life eternal, that is our anchor, even in grief.
We remember in particular that within our churchyard walls lie 22 Commonwealth War Graves.
They remain a silent witness to a time when our community became the final home for Commonwealth service personnel, from Britain to the far reaches of American, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
As we pause to honor those who gave their lives in war and conflict today, we turn to Scripture for comfort and clarity.
Remembrance Through Resurrection
But Remembrance Sunday is not only about looking back—it’s about looking forward too.
Because Jesus reframes death not as an end, but as a transformation.
Resurrection life is not a continuation of earthly systems—it is a new age, a new reality, where true love, justice, and peace reign.
A New Heaven, A New Earth
Revelation 21:1–4 offers a glimpse of this future:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth… He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…”
This passage reminds us that the sorrow of loss (natural death, or untimely death for what ever reason) is not the final word.
Because in Christ, death is not an end but a doorway to eternal life.
So today, we believe that the fallen are not forgotten—they are gathered into God’s presence, where suffering ceases and peace reigns forever.
And as we remember all those who gave their lives in past wars and conflict, we hold fast to the promise of God’s ultimate renewal.
Luke 20:27–38
In this passage, Jesus is confronted by the Sadducees, a group who were attempting to deny the promised resurrection.
They posed a hypothetical question about marriage in the afterlife, hoping to trap Jesus in a theological contradiction.
Jesus responded not with a legal argument, but with a clear vision of eternity.
He told the Sadducees;
“Those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come… will neither marry nor be given in marriage…
they are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”
Meaning, there will be no marriage in the life everlasting.
And then Jesus adds the words;
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
And this is the heart of our hope today.
Those we remember—soldiers, civilians, loved ones—are not lost to God.
They are alive in Him.
Their stories do not end in silence.
Their lives echo into eternity.
Closing Thought
It is now more than a century since the guns fell silent in the Great War, and eighty years since the world emerged from the shadows of the Second World War
Today, we find ourselves in a different kind of battle though — not of trenches and tanks, but of truth, unity, and compassion.
The peace we inherited is fragile. The freedoms we enjoy are not guaranteed. And the lessons of history whisper urgently: remember, so that you do not repeat.
But Jesus’ words as recorded by St Luke remind us that God is the God of the living.
So let us live, in honour of those who gave their lives for their countries — not just comfortably, but courageously.
Let Remembrance Day stir us to reject hatred, resist apathy, and rebuild trust in a fractured world.
Let it move us to be the peacemakers of our time, so that the sacrifices of the past become seeds of hope for the future.
Because remembrance is not just about looking back.
It’s also about – always choosing wisely on how we go forward.
