The Power of Love
in the midst of Death and Suffering
A Sermon for Remembrance Day
with reference to Mark 12:38-44
Remembrance Day is this Sunday November 11, when we remember all those who gave their lives in two world wars and other conflicts. The other day I saw words on a persons jacket that said “Freedom is not free”. We realize that when we think of the wars in these times that were fought for freedom. We understand how costly that fight for freedom is. There were many lives lost. There were lives that would never be the same. There was cruelty, violence, atrocities of war that have filled us with sorrow, fear, anger and a sense of helplessness. Yet in the midst of such devastation and turmoil some of the pictures come through to us of all those who risked their lives for others and for their country. Great sacrifices were made on behalf of all of us which we cannot forget. There was great valor in the midst of great suffering. One could say that there was even the power of love at work in the midst of all the terrible acts of hate and disregard for human life.
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In the Gospel today we have the story of the Widows Mite. The widow had very little but she gave what she had to help others. We see even in the midst of poverty there is an act of generosity. It was done while many others were giving from their abundance to make a big show of how much they give like saying “See how important I am.” Thomas a Kempis once said, ” He does well who serves the common good rather than his own will” . This was what we see in the widow giving what she had not to satisfy her own ego but for the common good. Many people giving of their lives in the circumstances of war did it not because of their ego but to serve the common good. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the circumstances of life but we can also be aware of acts of love and generosity no matter what the circumstances. That is the picture that we must hold unto as we face each day of our lives.
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When I wear a poppy today and remember all that we owe to those who gave their lives on behalf of humankind, I am reminded again of the words spoken by the theologian Paul Tillich as he viewed the atrocities of the Second World War. He saw before his eyes the finiteness of life and the power of death. I know that I have used these words of Tillich before but they stand to be heard again today.
“..Suddenly the lid was torn off. The picture of Death appeared, unveiled, in a thousand forms. As in the late Middle Ages the figure of Death appeared in pictures and poetry, and the Dance of Death with every living being was painted and sung, so our generation – the generation of world wars, revolutions, and mass migrations – rediscovered the reality of death. We have seen millions die in war, hundreds of thousands in revolutions, tens of thousands in persecutions and systematic purges of minorities……
But who can bear to look at this picture (of death)? Only he who can look at another picture behind and beyond it – the picture of Love. For love is stronger that death…..It is love, human and divine, which overcomes death in nations and generations and in all the horror of our time. Help has become almost impossible in the face of the monstrous powers which we are experiencing. Death is given power over everything finite, especially in our period of history. But death is given no power over love. Love is stronger. It creates something new out of the destruction caused by death; it bears everything and overcomes everything. It is at work where the power of death is strongest, in war and persecution and homelessness and hunger and physical death itself. It is omnipresent and here and there, in smallest and most hidden ways as in the greatest and visible ones, it rescues life from death. It rescues each of us, for love is stronger than death. “
( Paul Tillich The New Being, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, NY 1955 p. 171-174 )
It is this vision of love that is presented to us throughout the Gospel and especially in the life of Christ who gave his life that all might live. Hold on to that vision through on this Remembrance Day and in the days and weeks ahead as we face life in all its heartbreak and all it’s glory.
Let us Pray:
God of compassion,
Comfort us with the great power of your love in the midst of life
In our sorrow, fear, and helplessness, give us the way to find peace.
Scatter the darkness of the day with the light of your love
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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