大象传媒

Good morning.聽聽 The centenary of the battle of the Somme has kept the horrors of war strongly in our minds 鈥� the brutal five-month battle which, in 1916, left over a million dead and wounded.聽 At eleven o鈥檆lock, we鈥檒l mark the moment two years later, when the Allies signed an armistice and the first World War was over.聽 We鈥檒l remember those who鈥檝e died in all conflicts, and we鈥檒l do this on the day the Church honours a saint, who was himself a soldier, albeit a reluctant one.聽

St Martin of Tours was the son of a Roman officer and in the fourth century, that required him to serve in the military.聽 Martin had become a Christian and faced a battle of conscience.聽聽 鈥淚 am a soldier of Christ鈥�, he said, 鈥淚 cannot fight鈥�.聽 He was accused of cowardice and imprisoned, but like many who鈥檝e taken a pacifist stand, he didn鈥檛 seek an easy way out.聽 He volunteered to go unarmed into battle at the front of the troops.聽 But against all expectations, the invaders sent word seeking peace, and the battle never happened.聽

But the best known story of Martin is when, on a freezing winter鈥檚 day, he met a beggar, whose clothes were so ragged that he鈥檇 have died from the cold.聽 Martin took his sword and cut his own cloak in half to give to the man.聽 That night, he dreamed he saw Christ wearing that half-cloak and saying, 鈥淗ere is Martin, not yet baptised; he has clothed me.鈥澛�

For Jesus said that whatever is done for the least of his brothers and sisters is done for him.聽 Martin had won the war which will end all wars 鈥� against self-concern.聽聽聽

Lord, we remember those who鈥檝e sacrificed their lives in times of war.聽 May your world find the way that leads to peace.聽 Amen.