大象传媒

Good morning. Today marks the anniversary of the death of Woodbine Willie 鈥� Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy:聽 the army chaplain during the First World War who ministered among the troops in the worst of times.聽 鈥淏attles do not make for carefully balanced thought,鈥� he once wrote. 聽鈥淭he brutality of war is literally unutterable.聽 There are no words foul and filthy enough to describe it.鈥�

What could one man do in the face of this unutterable horror?聽 He offered little things, that for those who received them were not little at all:聽 friendship and comfort, the sharing of a Woodbine or two, prayer and presence.聽 He was awarded the military cross helping the wounded in no man鈥檚 land at Messine鈥檚 Ridge, in Belgium.

The story鈥檚 often told about the time when he crawled out to a working party putting up wire in front of their trench.

A nervous soldier challenged him, asking who he was.聽 He said "The church."

When the soldier asked what the church was doing out there, he replied "Its job."

He saw himself in those circumstances as a means of God showing solidarity with suffering humanity. 聽聽Studdert Kennedy鈥檚 poetry is equally earthy and earthly 鈥� with its blunt speech imitating the language of ordinary soldiers.聽 But it is contemporary, responsive and heartfelt.聽

His passion for all people who matter to God continued in his ministry after the war, outspoken in his working for justice on behalf of the poor.

Lord, who shares our pain and grief, give us grace today to offer simple kindness and support to those in need, that we may glimpse the glory of God in the face of the crucified saviour, for your love鈥檚 sake.

Amen.