President speaks at VE anniversary service
Rev Dr John Alderdice
Church of Ireland Press Office
A special Service of Thanksgiving took place on Sunday 4th May at Belfast Cathedral to mark the VE(Victory in Europe) Day 80th anniversary commemorations in the city and across Northern Ireland.
The service was organised by the Cathedral in partnership with HM Lord Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle, DBE DStJ DDL, and the Northern Ireland War Memorial Museum.
Many organisations that were involved both on the Home Front and at the Front in the war in Europe were represented and participated in the service. The service will be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Radio Foyle at 9.03am on Sunday, 11th May and will be available for listening back afterwards at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002ccbt
The preacher on Sunday was the Rev Dr John Alderdice, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland.
His sermon is below:
Readings – Isaiah 25:1-9 & Romans 8:31-39
Text: Matthew 20:27-28
Jesus said:
“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
These words of Jesus from Matthew 20 come at the end of a conversation about the nature of greatness in the Kingdom of God. Earlier in the story the mother of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, asked if they could be given the key seats of influence and power in Jesus’ kingdom… to sit at his left and right. Jesus made it clear that this was a request that he was not in a position to grant. Jesus used this opportunity to contrast how leadership appeared to work in the surrounding culture as opposed to the Kingdom of God. He said, ‘whoever wants to become great among you, must be your servant.’
To the Christian, Jesus Christ is saviour, forerunner and example. We see Jesus’ sacrifice, his death on the cross as the ultimate act of service, and celebrate his resurrection, his victory over sin and death, and the new life he offers to all. Jesus fulfils his own words… ‘whoever wants to become great among you, must be your servant.’
As we gather on this day, we are reflecting with thankful hearts on a historically significant date… 8th May – victory in Europe Day, especially as these 80 years and generation who lived through the war passes.
Today is our opportunity to give thanks to God for an end to the second world war, for peace, and for all those who made that peace possible.
After six long, hard years of war, the news came: the fighting in Europe was over. That day, the world exhaled. People filled the streets—laughing, crying, singing, hugging strangers. There was great joy—but also immense sorrow. Everyone knew someone who hadn’t come home.
Today, we remember those who served in uniform, yes. But we also want to shine a light on those whose bravery played out here in Belfast, in homes and streets, in Harland and Wolf, in Mackies, and the rope works… not on battlefields, but in everyday life. Quiet heroes who never asked for recognition.
The events that had the greatest impact on this city directly of course took place a few years earlier in April and May 1941. I am sure there are a few others here like me who remember studying the details of the blitz in history classes and reading the stories of the impact of the blitz… perhaps we have seen pictures of the immense destruction in parts of the city… not so much on the industrial installations, but on the narrow back to back terrace streets of north and east Belfast in particular… the tragedy, fear and uncertainty, but also the sense of solidarity, determination and courage.
Such experiences bring people together and precipitate courageous acts, examples of bravery, and personal sacrifice. Brian Barton describes how people in despair and desperation dug through the rubble of the homes of their families and neighbours in Sussex Street and Vere street in search of survivors.
He also comments on the bravery of individuals like James Gracey, an air-raid warden who entered burning houses during the raids on 15th April to try and rescue people and notes the accounts of young medical professionals and trainees dealing with the aftermath… the injured, dying and dead!
I’ve read the story of Auxiliary Nurse Denise Forster (21) on duty at the Ambulance Depot on the Holywood Road when it was hit by a high explosive bomb. She managed to clamber out of the wrecked building to rescue others from the rubble. And there was Alexander Cecil Hill (17) a civil defence messenger who directed traffic to safety despite being severely shaken by an explosion nearby. Later, while delivering an urgent message he was blown off his bicycle by explosions twice but each time he remounted and delivered the message.
These are stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the face of the most difficult of circumstances, circumstances that are hard for us to comprehend. Such sacrifice is the best reflection of our humanity, and I would like to suggest reflects the nature and character of our creator God in whose image we are made.
The wider setting of the passage that we heard from Isaiah 25 is concerned with God’s judgement and reign over what is, in contrast with what I have just said about the best of our human nature…, the worst of human nature… our rush to conflict, violence and destruction...
The prophet makes clear the Lord God’s concern for those who suffer because of the ruthlessness of nations and their leaders, especially the poor and the needy. God offers a refuge and a shelter to those who suffer and promises judgement on those nations and leaders who will not turn from their pride (v.10). God’s ultimate invitation to all peoples is to come to the finest of banquets where it says in verse 8… ‘he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.’ These words look forward to the fulfilment of God’s promises and the restoration of creation as God intended it.
This theme of divine invitation and provision is further reflected in the passage from chapter 8 of Paul’s letter to the Romans where it is clear these promises of God are fulfilled through the sacrificial actions of Jesus. In this part of his letter Paul is reminding the church of the life God offers us through Jesus… the forgiveness we can know for human brokenness and sin. The healing and reconciliation offered to us by the risen Jesus. There is no denying or hiding from the reality of human suffering, but amid such experience, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We may not experience it fully now, but God promises that those who trust in him will… what a promise!
As we remember with thankful hearts the end of the second world war and where we have come from, the question and challenge remain as to how we are to live in our current time.
I would think that all of us will have heard the quote, attributed to the philosopher George Santayana, or a cliched version of it… ‘those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’
These are sobering words as we look at our world today… war in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. We see the devasting impact of advanced weaponry not just on combatants, but on innocent civilians in residential neighbourhoods, hospitals, and schools. War and conflict is a consequence of human sin, it is not something to be revelled in.
We are also conscious of the increasing fragmentation of politics, of rhetoric that stirs division and suspicion in a post truth world.
We may even experience close to home, fears and anxiety about the state of our communities, our world and our futures.
What should our posture be in this world?
I return to those words of Jesus from Matthew 20…
“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
For those of Christian faith our calling is to serve our King Jesus, who gave himself for us, and calls us to a life of service… serving others, witnessing the love of God, seeking to make the world a better place, peace building, and looking out for those who are most vulnerable.
Such a life is to be an example to those around us and a pattern for those who do hold positions of power and authority across our nations in these days… that our leaders might be people of character, integrity and service.
We should not underestimate the challenge of this task, but neither should we underestimate God’s provision… we in our own strength cannot transform the world, but we are to be first transformed by the love of Jesus and live it out in our lives and relationships, giving of ourselves so that others might flourish. Amen