Wednesday, November 11, 2026

“If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.” (2 Timothy 2: 11 -12, New Living Translation)

                Hanging just above my desk is a framed collage of four panoramic pictures that include my father, then staff sergeant, William F. Soble, each with a large unit of the men he was assigned to train for battle during WW2. He is front and centre in the first row in each of them.  As I watched our poignant Remembrance Day service at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church last Sunday, my eye wandered over to the pictures and I wondered how many of those young men never came back home. I also wondered how my father felt about training those men, some of whom would be killed in combat. He never talked about his army days – to me anyway. I wonder if he himself wanted to go and test his skills.

                Contemplating war, however justified, is a sobering thought. To be honest, I find Remembrance Day rather sad and depressing in some ways. Yet, it is very necessary and right that we remember those supreme sacrifices which these men and women have made for our country. We can borrow Jesus’ words for the day, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:3 (Revised Standard Version)  

What is truly tragic is that humankind, especially world leaders, still call their young men and women into harm’s way. Some say that between 200,000 to as many as 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the Ukraine war alone, wiping out a large portion of Russia’s future. The Ukraine has lost between 55,000 to 150,000 soldiers. For what good purpose?  Some words from the folk song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, strike home: “Where have all the young men gone. They're all in uniform. Oh, when will you ever learn? Oh, when will you ever learn?”

Nevertheless, today we should remember our Canadian veterans, both the dead and the living. I was surprised, this week, to learn that there are 4300 veterans still alive from WW2 and the Korean War. Some of them must have been very, very young when they enlisted, perhaps fudging their real ages, eager and willing to put themselves on the frontlines to fight the foes of freedom. It makes me wonder how I might have reacted when I was 16 or 17 years old and war broke out. I don’t have any comfortable answer to that. But I sometimes worry about my grandchildren if there ever was another global conflict. War always seems to be just around the next corner.  Yet, there are times when we are called upon to be brave, honourable, bold and sacrificial when it comes to confronting the evils that lurk in our world who wish to do us much damage and harm. It is a powerful and daunting dilemma.

Today, we need to pray for the current member of our armed forces and for their families. They are so much more than just a uniform. Again, I look at the bright, young faces sitting there with my father. I am reminded that, then and now, these soldiers were and are all sons and daughters; some are brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, grandsons and granddaughters, etc. If the terrible accident at Wainright speaks to us at all, there are young men and women who are still ever near dangers, put at risk and face terrible consequences as members of the Armed Forces. However we feel about war, they merit our compassion, support, encouragement and prayers. “Bless them, O Lord, and keep them safe. May there be true peace in their and our lifetime.”

“The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2: 4) Amen to that!

 

Prayer,

O God of peace, today, we remember the high cost in human life that wars have caused and continue to cost. We are grateful for those who have chosen to protect our freedoms and keep us out of harm’s way. Watch over all men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. Comfort those who still grieve losses and injuries due to their service.  Help us all to be peacemakers and veterans of love and compassion. In Jesus’ name, Amen.