A sermon preached on Remembrance Sunday in two Hatfield churches.
Drawing on St Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and Jesus’ parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids in Matthew 25:1-13, it reflects on remembrance, hope, perseverance, and the peace of God.
It also includes a local connection to Hatfield’s role in the First World War through the recently commemorated tank trials in Hatfield Park.
Remembrance Sunday is about more than just History
It is about sacrifice, gratitude, and hope, and as Christians, we remember the promise that even in the face of death, it is God, who has the final word.
Today, we remember those who lost their lives in service to their country, those who suffered in mind, body, and spirit, and the cost of war – alongside the precious value of peace.
The impact of two world wars can still be clearly seen in the names engraved on the Hatfield war memorials.
They remind us that the men and women who served in the two major wars and the wars that followed later are not distant figures in history, but people whose lives were rooted in this town.
They had a connection with Hatfield in one way or another and were part of the life and energy of this community before war called them away.
And behind every name engraved on the memorials is a family.
Fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, all whose lives, and the lives of those who loved them, were changed forever by war.
We remember them all today.
Recently, a commemoration plaque was unveiled in Hatfield Park in remembrance of a particular chapter in our history when the park was selected for the trial of a prototype landship, otherwise known as a tank.
It was in the winter of 1916 when some of Britain’s leading political and military figures gathered there to witness the first trials of the newly invented tank.
The memorial reminds us that this town played a small but significant part in events that helped shape the course of the First World War.
St Paul and the Thessalonians -1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
In our reading from St Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, Paul addresses Christians who are grieving the loss of loved ones.
But he doesn’t tell them not to grieve, because Christian faith doesn’t deny the reality of loss, and Remembrance Sunday confronts us directly with that reality.
Rather, St Paul offered the Thessalonians, and us today, a message of hope.
He reminded those early Christians that they did not grieve as those without hope.
Rather, their comfort and assurance were found in Jesus Christ, who died and was raised to life again.
And because Christ is risen, death does not have the final word, and those who die in him are not lost forever.
Therefore, Christian remembrance is never without hope. And that conviction lies at the very heart of our faith.
The Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids – Matthew 25:1-13
In the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, the wise bridesmaids were prepared. The foolish bridesmaids were not.
At first, this seems to be a story about planning ahead. But it is actually more than that, it is also a story about remaining faithful, and persevering, when the fulfilment of hope seems distant.
The wise bridesmaids planned ahead and brought extra oil for their lamps because they trusted that their bridegrooms would eventually join them.
They just didn’t know exactly when that would be, so were prepared for a long wait with bright lamps ever shining.
In the parable, the bridegroom represents Christ himself.
The wise bridesmaid’s forward preparations were an expression of their faith. They trusted that Christ would keep his promise, however long the wait might be.
And that image speaks powerfully to us today as Christians.
We too live by faith in Christ. We cannot always see the fulfilment of God’s purposes, nor fully understand the events unfolding around us.
Yet we continue to trust that Jesus has not abandoned his people and that his promises remain true.
Tank Trials
The recently unveiled Tank Trial Memorial reminds me, in a way, of that same spirit, but in a very different setting.
By the beginning of 1916, the First World War had become a terrible stalemate.
Vast trench systems stretched across the Western Front.
Hundreds of thousands of men from all nations involved had already lost their lives.
Progress was painfully slow, and every advance came at a devastating cost.
Yet political leaders and military planners did not surrender to despair.
Away from the battlefield, in London and elsewhere across Britain, military planners, engineers, politicians and inventors continued searching for another way forward.
They were hoping to break the stalemate that had gripped the Western Front, and the trials at Hatfield were part of that effort.
The tank trials, it has to be said, did not result in a sudden solution to every problem.
But the efforts put into inventing and deploying them were an example of people refusing to believe that there was nothing that could be done to change an horrendous situation.
Like the wise bridesmaids who kept their lamps burning through the long night, all those involved, from politicians and engineers to those fighting on the front lines, continued to believe there was a way forward, however difficult it might seem.
And perhaps this is one of the lessons we can learn from those who have gone before us.
During the wars of the last century, many faced circumstances they could never possibly have imagined.
Young lives, too often cut short, remind us of the courage, perseverance, and sense of duty that difficult times demand.
And today, our generation faces its own political uncertainties and challenges.
Yet history has continually demonstrated that fear, hatred, and violence can never bring the lasting peace we instinctively long for.
The Peace of God
Today, as we remember all those who gave their lives in service to their country, we pray not just for an end to war in all parts of the world,
But also, for the deeper, everlasting peace that Christ alone can bring to modern-day generations:
St Paul spoke of it as “the peace of God, which passes all understanding”.
And those who trust in Christ’s death and resurrection believe that true peace,
God’s peace, dwells within the depths of the believer’s heart.