This is the second Sunday after Easter, but also the day after Anzac Day. This year, we will be sadly missing the usual Anzac Day events, especially the Coogee Beach Anzac Day service, with which St Jude’s has a long association. Our service today will mark Anzac Day through the prayers and a reading from Psalm 46, from which Rev. Andrew Goddard will preach to us.
As Australians, we connect Anzac Day with the phrase, “Lest we forget” from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Recessional”. In the Anzac context it reminds us not to forget the sacrifices made for our freedom, and also not to forget the horrors of war, so that we will strive hard to avoid war when we can.
However, the phrase in Kipling’s poem itself alludes to the Bible, where God warned the Israelites: “Beware lest you forget the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (Deut. 6:12). When life was going well, the Israelites would be at risk of forgetting the God who had given all these blessings.
The same is true of us. As we remember with gratefulness the sacrifices made for us in war time, let us also, “Praise the Lord, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives our sins and satisfies us with good things” (Psalm 103:1-5). Let us remember our good God this day and every day, lest we forget.
Our plan for connecting during the COVID crisis continues to be:
- Posting an online service on Youtube each week
- Holding “live” church services on Zoom at 8 am and 6 pm each Sunday
- Holding live Bible study groups, Youth and Sunday School on Zoom beginning this week (see diary dates at the back for details)
I am hoping we can soon create a structure for a live fellowship time for our 9.30 congregation. “Watch this space” for details.
I know that there is also a lot of encouragement happening informally by phone and email. Thank you to those who have encouraged me in this way. Let’s keep this up!