11/11/2016

Good morning. The centenary of the battle of the Somme has kept the horrors of war strongly in our minds – the brutal five-month battle which, in 1916, left over a million dead and wounded. At eleven o’clock, we’ll mark the moment two years later, when the Allies signed an armistice and the first World War was over. We’ll remember those who’ve died in all conflicts, and we’ll do this on the day the Church honours a saint, who was himself a soldier, albeit a reluctant one.

St Martin of Tours was the son of a Roman officer and in the fourth century, that required him to serve in the military. Martin had become a Christian and faced a battle of conscience. “I am a soldier of Christ”, he said, “I cannot fight”. He was accused of cowardice and imprisoned, but like many who’ve taken a pacifist stand, he didn’t seek an easy way out. He volunteered to go unarmed into battle at the front of the troops. But against all expectations, the invaders sent word seeking peace, and the battle never happened.

But the best known story of Martin is when, on a freezing winter’s day, he met a beggar, whose clothes were so ragged that he’d have died from the cold. Martin took his sword and cut his own cloak in half to give to the man. That night, he dreamed he saw Christ wearing that half-cloak and saying, “Here is Martin, not yet baptised; he has clothed me.”

For Jesus said that whatever is done for the least of his brothers and sisters is done for him. Martin had won the war which will end all wars – against self-concern.

Lord, we remember those who’ve sacrificed their lives in times of war. May your world find the way that leads to peace. Amen.