REMEMBER the PRESENT

 NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Psalms 33:20-22

Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in You.

Just last week the Canadian Army deployed a regiment of military engineers to give support and training to new recruits in the Ukrainian Army, who are training in Poland. Our service women and men will bolster the work already being done by the Polish army. Canadian troops have also been assisting and Supporting the Refugee Reception Centres in Poland. 

On November 8, 2022 Canadian military Veteran Joseph Hildebrand, who served two tours in Afghanistan died as a volunteer while fighting on the front lines in Ukraine. Joseph’s brother said that they had no ethnic or family ties to Ukraine, but his brother just decided he wanted to help.

I mentioned this today. Because in this week of remembrance we often focus on those who served our country in the past and made “the ultimate sacrifice” in offering their very lives. And it is right to do so. To give thanks for their service, to be mindful of the impact of war, on families, in towns and cities, and our country.

However, sometimes on this week of remembrance, we overlook that just as women and men served our country in the past in world wars, there are women and men, who have left their families for a tour of duty in places of hostility and tensions, unrest, and war. Some, even as volunteers. They put themselves in “harms way” because they just want to help. We should remember them and their families this week too.

LET US PRAY

God of peace,

We pray for those who have served our nation and laid down their lives to protect and defend our freedom, asking that we remember their sacrifice and make right use of our liberty.

We pray for those who still bear the scars of their service, asking for healing for them in mind, body, and spirit.

We pray for those who serve us now, especially for those in harm’s way, asking that you shield them from danger and bring them home in safety.

We pray for all those who govern, asking that you turn their hearts and minds to the work of establishing a peace born of justice and equity.

We pray for all those who are caught up in conflict around the globe this day, civilians and peace-keepers and the poor who have no escape, asking that we have the courage to defend the defenseless, make room for those who flee for safety, and look to that day when we will train for war no more.

May the peace you gave us, the peace that passes all human understanding, be the peace that guides and sustains us. For it is in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.