Pastoral Letter 213
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and peace to you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
During the week there were two commemorations. On Wednesday, 24 April, Armenians commemorated the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915, during the WWI, when Europe and Middle East were living one of their darkest periods of the history of war and destruction, the Ottoman Empire planned and executed a systematic ethnic cleansing of the Armenian nation, capturing and torturing the elite leadership on the night of 24 April 1915 and forcing the people to be deported into the Syrian deserts. As a result, 1.5 million Armenians, men, women and children were massacred. After 109 years, the Turkish government is still in denial of what happed then was indeed a Genocide. Several nations stand in solidarity with the Armenians by recognising the massacres to be a Genocide. We hope and pray that soon the Australian Government takes the right step and stands on the right side of the truth, with NSW, South Australian and Tasmanian State Governments, who have recognised the Armenian Genocide.
On Thursday, 25 April we, as Australians and New Zealanders, commemorated Anzac Day and remembered those who gave their lives for freedom during the war in 1915. 25 April is one of Australia’s most important national occasions, which marks the anniversary of the first major military action. Anzac Day is a solemn day to stand up, ponder and remember all those men and women who were ready to give their lives for freedom and justice. During the landings on the shores of Gallipoli and subsequent days, Australian and New Zealand army lost more than 20,000 soldiers, who sacrificed their lives for their countries. Today we commemorate all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations and the contribution and suffering of all those who have served. Lest We Forget!
Please join us tomorrow to worship with us and commemorate ANZAC DAY as we have done in the previous years on the nearest Sunday. But if you are not able to join, please light a candle and join us from home following the attached Order of Service.
We farewelled Molly McConville on Tuesday 23 April at 11:30 am with a Funeral Serviced followed by wake in the hall. Thanks for those who came and joined Molly’s family and paid their respects to a longstanding member of our congregation.
Just few reminders.
– Next Friday, 3 May at 1:30 pm, there will be Senior Lifesaving Skill Refresher followed by refreshments. If interested, please register with Penny.
– Next Sunday, 5 May at 12 noon, we will have our traditional Mother’s Day fellowship meal. Please put your names down.
Please continue to pray for those who are going through difficult and tough times, seeking God’s presence, help and healing.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for the victims of the Armenian Genocide and remember those brave Australians and New Zealanders who served and gave their lives for their country.
- Pray for peace, harmony and good to prevail in Australia and the whole world.
- Pray for the Middle East, and the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
- Pray for the people Artsakh who are refugees in different parts of Armenia facing many challenges.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the struggling and the stressed.
Best Regards
In Christ
Krikor
MESSAGE
by David Cook from Our Daily Bread Ministries
A Meaningless War
When World War I broke out in 1914, some of the young men sent into battle thought it would be a short adventure, an experience of a lifetime that they could tell their children and grandchildren about.
The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914 had sparked a war with Serbia, dividing Europe and dragging many other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, into what they called the “Great War”. But the young men soon found that it would be no adventure. The war would last more than four years, killing 17 million people and wounding another 20 million. For many, it seemed to be a purposeless war that no one knew how to prevent, and, once started, no one seemed to know how to end.
It was only four years later, at 11 am on 11 November 1918, that the Armistice a -cease-fie-came into effect. In June 1919, the Great War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles between the victorious allied forces and Germany.
“The young men of the Commonwealth embarked on what they thought would be the adventure of a lifetime,” observed Australian art critic Robert Huges.
“A cross between a game of cricket and a game of polo. The mechanised murder which they found in the Somme valley would stretch languages’ ability to describe horror …”
The Great War saw millions of people fight with great courage in battle for the sake of loyalty to king and country. Unfortunately, it wasn’t “the war to end all wars”, as some labelled it at the time. In 1939, just 20 years later, World War II broke out, and between 1939 and 1945, it killed more than 60 million people.
All warfare is tragic. But World War I was seen as especially purposeless and meaningless. French theologian Jean Calvin once said, “War ought to be nothing else than an attempt to obtain peace.” But there appeared to be no clear cause or reason for World War I. Many historians observe that it was hardly inevitable and wonder if it was pointless. Such a lack of purpose added to the weight of grief of the many millions who lost loved ones in battle. If you visit the battlefields of World War I today, you’ll be struck by this sense of meaninglessness, expressed in countless epitaphs, “Our hearts are broken, for what?”
A Historic Battle
There is another war, however, that also had worldwide implications, but this one was inevitable. Unlike World War I, it was fought by one man on one battlefield. This man was in fact born to fight this battle, a battle in which He represented the interests of all humanity. This battle had purpose, and its roots lie in the very beginning of history itself.
According to the Bible, God created the world and the first humans, Adam and Eve, to have a perfect, everlasting relationship with Him in a garden paradise called Eden. But they did not trust God fully and disobeyed Him-they ate the fruit that He clearly told them not to eat. This sin-missing the holy God’s perfect standards-destroyed their perfect communion and relationship with God and separated them from Him, the source of eternal life. It was as if they had pulled the plug of an electric device out of the power socket-without connecting to the source of electricity, they lost power. Their sin resulted in the penalty of death.
Since then, we, the offspring of Adam and Eve, have been talking to God in the same way. Just like they wanted Eden but didn’t want God, we too tell God, “We want all you can give us. But we don’t want you.” But we have found that life without God is full of trouble and strife-as seen in our wars, violence, breakdown of relationships, and constant struggle in life. Being separated from God, we have come under the control of sin, which destroys our relationship with God and with each other. As a result, we all deserve the punishment of death and separation from God.
God, however, gave Adam and Eve-and all their offspring-hope. From the very beginning of time, God had a plan to reconcile humankind back to Himself, and to offer the hope of another paradise. God said that a man would come and crush the enemy, though he would be wounded in the process. “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring,” God said, addressing this man. “He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
This message was repeated throughout the Old Testament. The man is coming, God said, and the battle would be fought. This battle would involve two fronts. This man would not only contend with sin and its source, but also bear the punishment for all humankind’s sins, so that we can be forgiven of our sin and be reconciled to Him. Isaiah, the prophet, said of this man: “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins … All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 55:5-6).
In the New Testament, we see the man arriving. The man, Jesus Christ, not only lived a perfect life on earth, but was also in perfect harmony with God, whom He called His father. He said that He came to give His life so that we would be set free from control of sin.
Jesus went to the battlefield in the war against sin, where He was killed. Ironically, however, His death won the battle no both fronts.
By dying on the cross for our sake, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, so that if we believe in Him, we are no longer accountable for our sin before God. His death means we are forgiven and spared the punishment that we deserve- death and eternal separation from God. Paul, a follower of Jesus, said: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
At the same time, Jesus was resurrected three days after He died. His victory over death showed that He has won the battle against sin and its power to kill. In raising Him from the dead, God showed that He accepted Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death. Paul wrote: “He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God” (Romans 4:24).
God’s Offer of Forgiveness and Reconciliation
As we commemorate the end of WWI and the ANZACs and pay tribute to the brave men and women who died in battle, we can take comfort in the fact that while wars between men may never end, the ultimate battle has been won. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has conquered sin and death itself.
You and I are the beneficiaries of this profound victory. We have the assurance that God has forgiven us and the penalty for our wrongdoing has been paid by Jesus. We are no longer under control of sin and do not suffer its consequences of death. This assurance of forgiveness, reconciliation and victory is ours when we confess our sins before God and believe that Jesus died and rose from the death for our sake. We will then enjoy the fruits of Jesus’ victory over sin: while we still have to navigate life with all its challenges, we will have the secure knowledge that Jesus is walking with us through our battle-a battle that He has already won.
Will you accept this offer? You can now pray and say to God:
I’m sorry that I have ignored You and lived life my way, wanting what You could give but not wanting You. Thank You for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for my wrongdoing. Please forgive me and help me live a life that recognises You as my Maker and Owner. Amen!