The 25th of April, Anzac Day, marks the anniversary of the landing of the Australian and New Zealand troops on the shores of Gallipoli in Turkey, in 1915. This has grown to be a sacred day for us to reflect on life, it’s meaning, it’s wars, and it’s tragedies.
We do not gather together on this day to glorify or romanticise war and death, but to remember its cost. We are reminded that peace comes at a price, and that the freedoms we so often take for granted have already been paid for, by those who came before us. There’s an old saying, which goes “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Remembering is not a passive act – it is an active choice to look at and acknowledge what has come before. May we always make the choice to remember what happened on this day 110 years ago, and in every war since, and in doing so, recommit ourselves to the values they fought for: justice, freedom, and peace.
We all long for a world of peace – but in reality, we live in a world that is harsh and unpredictable. So, we are faced with a difficult but important question: what does it take to secure peace? What is the cost? Sometimes, peace calls for restraint and refusing violence. Other times, it calls for the courage to stand up and defend what is right, even at great personal cost.
Today, we honour those who answered that call for peace – not because war is ever desirable, but because they were willing to endure its horror in the hope of a better world. Many faced unimaginable suffering; they gave everything they had, even their very lives, out of love for their country, their families, and future generations. It is this selfless love and commitment that we remember and give thanks for today.
One thing to remember, however, is that while self-sacrificial love is woven through the spirit of the Anzacs, this is not where that love was born. It didn’t come from politics, power, or war. It came from something deeper. Jesus tells us repeatedly to love God, and therefore to love others. He speaks of the greatest kind of love in John 15:13 – “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This is the sort of love shown by Jesus, and by our veterans, and it’s so much more than a warm fuzzy feeling. Jesus laid down His life, not for fame or glory, but so that others, meaning us, might live. He entered the brokenness of the world and overcame both sin and death, through His ultimate sacrifice. The Anzacs followed this example, through their own self-sacrifice for others.
A huge part of what sustained the Anzacs was the Christian story of suffering, redemption, and resurrection, and the possibility that when bad things happen, they can be redeemed for good. And regardless of how we view war, we should be willing to honour and remember those that laid down their lives for us.
“Lest we forget” is a solemn phrase used on Anzac Day and other days of remembrance. At its heart, it is both a warning and a promise. It means “let us not forget”. Let us never allow the memory of those who suffered and died in war to fade, and let us never forgetthe terrible cost of war – the lives lost, the families broken, and the wounds carried long after the battle ends. Forgetting the horrors of war makes it easier to repeat them. Remembering helps us count the cost before choosing conflict, and to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.
To those who gave their lives for us and our country, we honour you, and we thank you. Lest we forget.
Very good! It would have been nice to have heard something like this from our leading politicians
Good job as always, Jayu. You put things very well. Bless you,