SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10 2024 - FOR WHAT WILL YOU FIGHT?
November 10, 2024
Deborah Laforet
For What Will You Fight?
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by
your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
Tuesday night, I watched a show, read a book, and went to bed. I did not stay up to
watch election results. So, on Wednesday morning, after a good night’s rest, I went online to see
what had happened and discovered that Donald Trump would be the next President of the United
States.
Like me, this has probably been the main topic of conversation for you this week. It’s in
the news. It was mentioned in all of my podcasts. Every group of which I’m a part, either online
or in person, expressed their fears, their anxieties, the awful feeling in the pit of their stomachs,
and their general feeling of impending doom.
For those of us with family and friends in the US, we hold worry about more rights being
stripped away, about protests and riots, and, here in Canada, we are worried that this presidency
could affect the world stage and could cause more conflict, more lives lost, threats of war, and a
loss of security and peace.
One thing I’m not going to do today is tell you that everything is going to be fine,
because I don’t know that. I have lived through many struggles in my life, including a world
wide pandemic, but I have not lived through world wars, a wide spread economic depression, or
the unjust reign of a dictator. I have been fortunate, but I know that great upheavals can happen
at any time. What can I offer today that might bring some hope and assurance? Good question.
We honour Remembrance Day once a year, on November 11. Why? Why do we
continue to honour the soldiers of the World Wars when there are so few left? Why do we recite
poems, blow trumpets, and wear poppies? Are we glorifying war? Does the honouring of
soldiers of war devalue the promotion of peace?
I struggle with Remembrance Day and I wonder every year how I’m going to approach it.
My dad and all his brothers were in the Navy. On November 11, which is Veteran’s Day in the
US, I remember my dad, who boarded a submarine in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and never returned
home, not because of war but because of illness. This day feels significant for me, because I
know he is one of the veteran’s honoured on this day, but I struggle with a day that seems to
honour war and the soldiers of war. I struggle with the amount of money nations put into
weapons and defence. I struggle with a culture that glorifies its military, sells weapons that
support foreign wars, that signs up young people with stories of heroic adventures, only to treat
them poorly upon their return.
And yet. And yet, in a 1948 speech to the British House of Commons, Winston Churchill
said, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” There are moments in our
history when we honour those who sacrificed their lives, and we rememberer so that we don’t
forget why.
In the Black community, we hear about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, both
assassinated for the roles they played in the civil rights movement. In Canada, we remember
Terry Fox. He lost his life to cancer but not before he tried to run across Canada to promote
awareness and research to fight against this disease. Some remember Louis Riel from their
history classes, and, although there are conflicting stories, he was killed in 1885 by the Canadian
government while fighting for the Metis people. We remember soldiers who died in war. Some
are not given a choice when they are sent into battle, but many willingly sign up because they
believe in the cause and they are willing to sacrifice their lives for their country or their
community. And of course, as Christians, we remember Jesus, killed by the Roman Empire, an
occupying military force in Israel, killed because his non violent resistant actions were seen as
treasonous to that empire.
All of these people are remembered because they put their cause before their lives. They
believed in what they were doing, and knew that their lives would be at stake in doing it. We
remember them so that we don’t forget their cause. What was so important that they were
willing to put their lives at risk? What can we learn from them? Are there aspects of our lives
for which we would sacrifice our lives for the lives of our families and friends?
For what would you stand up and fight, and I don’t mean necessarily with guns and fists?
Many of the people I mentioned fought with non-violent actions of resistance, without physical
violence. At this time, I’m inviting you to think about for what you would fight. For what would
you give your life? I’m going to give you a few moments to think about and then I’ll offer some
time for people to share.
I encourage you to hold onto to what’s important, to hold on to what brings you joy an to
what fills you with love. Remember this in the coming days, weeks, months, years. We are not
helpless. We have ways of finding hope, creating peace, and spreading love. We can fight for
our loved ones. We can fight for justice. We can actively love each other and find and keep joy
in our lives. These are all acts of resistance against a world that wants us to feel fear. We are a
light-hearted and justice seeking community, that loves and supports one another. That cannot be
taken from us.
In Isaiah, in the passage Fred read for us, we hear a metaphor. Wolves will never dwell
with lambs and leopards will not lie down goats. The cow will not feed with the bear and lions
will not eat hay like an ox. This is against the natural order of things. But if we read this as
metaphor, might we hear the stranger being welcomed as a neighbour, the criminal being trusted
with a loved one, the strong and arrogant walking in humility with the oppressed and
downtrodden, and all being led by a child, the smallest and most vulnerable amongst us, but
possibly the wisest and from whom we have the most to learn. This is the world that we attempt
to make possible, the world that is worth fighting for.
I’ve written a blessing that I’d like you to read with me. I want you to remember for
what you would fight, remember what others shared. We’re going to bless each other, so invite
you, to reach out your hands, towards your community and say these words with me.
Blessing
O holy one, you are with us in all that we do. You surround us and fill us with your
love and peace. May the words and the thoughts that came to each one of us, be held as
holy and sacred. They hold importance to us. They hold value. They are worth fighting
for. May we never have to face that fight, but if we do, give us the strength to fight without
violence. Give us the wisdom to know when it’s the right time. Help us to always see you in
all creation so that we hold all life as precious. All this we pray, in the name of Jesus, who
sacrificed his life. Amen.
Isaiah 11:1-9
(Introduce yourself. - Do not move or tap microphone.)
Today I am reading a passage of peace from the book of the prophet
Isaiah, chapter eleven, the first nine verses.
1 Then a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse;
from Jesse’s roots, a branch will blossom:
2 The spirit of Yahweh will rest on you -
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of counsel and strength,
a spirit of knowledge and reverence for Yahweh.
3 You will delight in obeying Yahweh,
and you won’t judge by appearances
or make decisions by hearsay.
4 You will treat poor people with fairness
and you will uphold the rights of the land’s downtrodden.
With a single word you will strike down tyrants;
with your decrees you will execute evil people.
5 Justice will be the belt around this your waist -
faithfulness will gird you up.
6 Then the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the young goat;
the calf and the lion will graze together,
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear;
their young will lie down together.
The lion will eat hay like the ox.
8 The baby will play next to the den of the cobra,
and the toddler will dance over the viper’s nest.
9 There will be no harm, no destruction
anywhere in my holy mountain,
for as water fills the sea,
so the land will be filled with knowledge of Yahweh.
May the Spirit guide our understanding of this holy scripture.