Day 242: They Shall Not Grow Old

 

DAY 242

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Thirty-five    Wednesday 11 November 2020

Veterans Day

They Shall Not Grow Old

They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

I first encountered this poem on a large bronze plaque listing the names of World War I dead in the Anglican cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand. I remember standing there sensing a surge of emotion at the thought of the thousands of men, most of them quite young, who would never grow old because of the senselessness of war. I felt a similar emotion when standing before the thousands of names on the Vietnam War memorial in Washington, D.C., another senseless war that for thousands of my generation meant they would never grow old as I have.  

Called the “Ode to Remembrance,” it is taken from a larger poem, “The Fallen,” written by Laurence Binyon in 1914 after the Battle of Mons mowed down the youth of Britain in the early days of what was believed to be the war to end all wars, World War I. In the English-speaking world, it has become the most familiar tribute to the dead of all subsequent wars.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, Germany and the allies signed a cease fire ending World War I. Originally called Armistice Day and then Remembrance Day in some countries (after the Korean War it was changed to Veterans Day in the United States), and kept on the actual date lest we forget, the 11th day of the 11th month. 

Because people are broken and bent toward evil, the tragedy of war will be with us until Christ returns. For most of my adult life, but especially in my later years, I have noticed uniformed men and women in public places – especially in airports – and have felt a measure of emotion in the realization that by donning that uniform they are saying they would be willing to fight to defend me, even to the laying down of their lives for mine. Today is a day set aside to engage in sober remembrance of all who have done so, as well as all who have served and survived.

Reflective question: Will you call someone you know who is a veteran and thank them today?

Reflective Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:8 – “There is a time …for war, and a time for peace.”

Reflective hymn:

“O God, the Strength of Those Who War” - William Carpenter (1841-1918)    

O God, the strength of those who war, the hope of those who wait.

Be with all those gone forth to fight, and those who keep the gate.