It’s so disheartening to see the world’s leaders treat human lives as dispensable in pursuit of personal ambition; especially when such situations continue to unfold in our current world, rather than on the pages of history books. In the Middle East, Ukraine, etc.; on either side, people are forced to fight and die, and inflict unfathomable evil upon each other, fighting battles that historians of later years might then call futile and senseless, as many have said regarding the carnage of WWI. Was this done to counteract the glorification of military power? Maybe; but people who experienced violence firsthand, such as those arriving in our country from places of conflict, will tell you – there is no glory in war. And I think that on the level of a frontline soldier, it is impossible to tell who is more in the wrong, as inevitably, defence turns into offence, and most soldiers stop regarding the enemy as human beings (those who don’t, lose their sanity to PTSD). As such, Nov 11 always causes me to hold in tension the appalling oppression and manipulation of military leadership, the causes of war which are never right – and, the honour of those who have died to protect others, and their selfless willingness to offer the greatest sacrifice. 

So no, these battles were not futile; but they should have never happened. And in our own lives, pain and suffering should not be present. Natural consequences, tests of faith, opportunities to learn or grow stronger… Many have explained the reason for suffering in these terms, including the author of the book Wisdom from which we read. These explanations do nothing for me when I hear of innocents slain in crimes and conflicts, and see people hurting and dying for so many reasons and for none at all. Instead, what summarises my hope is just that first line from the Wisdom reading: all our souls are “in the hand of God”. To me, it means that everything good – all that comes from love, self-sacrifice, altruism, honour, and desire to bring glory to God and hospitality to another – will never be lost. Whatever evil mars or ends our earthly existence, it does not have the power to negate all that God does for us, and we – for others. So in this sense, our suffering is not for nothing. Today, as we remember all the fallen soldiers, as well as our loved ones whom we no longer see, let us be assured that no aspect of goodness in their lives has ever been lost, as all of them are being held firmly in the loving hand of God. 

This hope ties in with my understanding of the traditional Remembrance act that we witness every year. We are familiar with its sounds and silence, and the poem “In Flanders Fields”. We first hear the sombre Last Post, then the lamenting bagpipes, then the oppressive silence that puts us on the edge of our seats, and lastly – the brightness of the Reveille. What these trumpet sounds did originally, as long ago as in the Roman times, was simply to announce to the troops the time to rest for the night and wake in the morning. Over time, the two contrasting pieces, including most notably the Reveille attributed to Haydn, began to be performed at military funerals and ceremonies – most significantly, as separated by silence. Why? 

Because the Last Post’s reference to sleep in bed became extended to that in the grave. The Lament on the bagpipes expresses our grief over death. But notice how the bagpiper walks away into a distance, as the sound fades into silence. That’s because eventually all mourners run out of tears: there’s simply not enough tears to wash away the sadness of the loss. And eventually, the mourners themselves pass away, to be missed and grieved by others. All that is left is just silence – the seeming victory of death. We don’t know for how long. The few moments we are made to wait silently in the presence of others sometimes feels like an eternity, don’t they? But the sleep of the dead ones, the silence of their rest, and the loneliness of our losses are actually not eternal. What is eternal is our life with God. That’s why the Reveille always comes. It breaks the temporary silence of death, like the blast of the trumpet in the book Revelation that announces the end of this time and the “beginning of forever”. The root of “reveille” is from the Old French “to wake again”, just as “anastasis”, the Greek word for resurrection, literally means “standing up again”. So the Reveille always comes. Our own awakening will certainly come. In eternity, all souls are held in the hand of God, and evil will no longer have power over them. 

As we have heard today this symbolic wake up call, originally meant for the soldiers, let it now awaken us to our own duty – to love God and each other, moment by moment; on earth as we will in heaven. In the meantime, may the peace of God surpass the limitations of our understanding, as we ponder these mysteries and struggle with our own losses. Amen.  

Discussion

All Saints Day originated as the feast of all martyrs — of which Jesus was one, and which he foretold each believer would be, to a degree, by bearing his cross and drinking of his cup. The book “Wisdom” presents the reason for suffering as a test of faith; and perseverance in righteousness — as the price for immortality. Perhaps, it is only in application to the story the author recounts (i.e., the tragic death of those who died for their virtuous observance of the Torah), though likely, it reflects his theology of origins of all suffering in general. The three questions below are interrelated, and have been asked since the moment humans became aware of our mortality:

1. What do you see as the reason/role of suffering, death, grief, loss, sadness, etc?

2. What is righteousness? How and why does it enable us to share in God’s life? What is conscience: a vehicle for self-reflection or, maybe, the place/effect of the work of the Holy Wisdom (Spirit) of God?

2. And what do you think is the reason to persevere in goodness in the face of suffering, if death is inevitable? Is it to ensure eternal life? What’s even beyond this life, and on what basis does it exist?