An Anzac day challenge

"...So we may ask, as we gather within earshot of the ANZAC commemorations, which story are we to tell now?

Poet Wilfred Gibson says:

We are to ‘feel the heartbreak in the heart of things.’

This takes us to Detention Centres – that is prisons - to our north, the deep fear in many Australians of invasion, as permission to treat people seeking asylum badly. We must make the connection between those fleeing their homes and the war in Syria – as happened for people in Afghanistan and Iraq. Be angry at the waste.

Isn’t it is time for congregations Sunday by Sunday, as a matter of conscience, to heed the call to civil disobedience? Faced with years of imprisonment and large fines, we must act together, shaping a renewed ecumenical movement, welcoming our sisters and brothers from distant lands.  

Isn’t it time for us to warn politicians that our actions can put us outside the faith: as we do violence so we become an opponent of the Gospel.

Isn’t is necessary for us to hear the story of the First Peoples of this Land. Especially we who benefit from the invasion, with violence and deaths.

  

It is urgent for us to appreciate and celebrate the rich culture at the heart of this Land and its First Peoples; broken, yet in surprising ways, finding new life. Joining together with joy.

If we forget our story we no longer know who we are.

That is why we have listened to Scripture today, sung hymns, prayed, lit candles – and why we have donned our ecclesial uniform of servant’s clothes and the fiery red of the Spirit.

We are invited into a ‘counter’ story: a remembering that resists the drive to conflict and fear.

... 

He conscripts for life. And gives us a story to tell us who we are.

So don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise! The powers love to make mayhem. They insist that war never ends; they use church language and try to convince us we are powerless to stop the chaos.

But we can resist! We need to train even more seriously than the military do. We have to take risks.

So acts of imagination are called for, ones we must share with children and grandchildren, as they look toward their future. Even working for the abolition of war!

We must say all this for Jasmine who stood up for a man about to be deported, and now faces the power of the law.

We must say it for the Brisbane Canon, Peter, and the Sanctuary church movement. To Grandmothers against Detention, and ‘Love Makes a Way! To all who gather to write letters, visit the detained, keep hope alive in a welcoming and friendly Australia.

To those who craft a Treaty with and for the First Peoples.

And to ourselves as we practice the art of declaring the oppressive powers to be null and void.

In his life Jesus embodies the dream the prophets announced – of a world transformed, rich in life-giving. Peace, Shalom, Salaam for humans and nature alike.

And for this Pope Francis announces the call to non-violent discipleship,

  

And then we must expect that the Spirit of God, the wind of life, will create turbulence that pushes our little boat into surprising places.

So grieve and  be angry at the waste;

Remember..

Act for Peace.

This is the counter story Jesus tells, as he conscripts us for life.

That is what Easter celebrates!

Jesus Christ is risen: Alleluia;

 He is risen indeed, Alleluia." 

Rev Dr Wes Campbell - for full sermon see sermon's page.