by Helen Jesze 14th November 2025

“And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you
before I suffer … And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave
unto them saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in
remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper saying, This cup is the
new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:15, 19, 20 KJV

This week is Remembrance week. Last Sunday was Remembrance Sunday, and on Tuesday 11th November was Remembrance or Armistice Day. This is to remember and honour the millions who lost their lives, fighting for peace in the First and Second World Wars. In England many people wear a red poppy at this time. The custom came about because in May 1915, Canadian doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote his famous war poem: In Flanders Fields, following the devastation he witnessed on battlefields in Ypres, Belgium, where more than a million soldiers died between 1914 and 1918.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

My mother’s father, Alfred, fought in both World Wars and he came home an
embittered man, who had lost his faith in God, as he had seen so much suffering.
After several years, he came back to God, after his life was spared when he was
locked in a giant refrigerator by accident! Just before he died, he was found and he kept his vow, to serve the Lord the rest of his life. He realised in a new way that wars come because human beings have a free will and they can use it for good or to bring evil.

I attended a service last Sunday where part of it was dedicated to “Remembering
those who had fallen” and there was two minutes silence as we remembered. While there are so many parts of our world today where there are wars and killing, yet for most of us, we live in freedom and peace, because of those who gave their lives, and paid the supreme sacrifice .We knew a man called Otto, who fought in Stalingrad in the war. It was often hand-to-hand fighting, and there was terrible suffering. When he came home after the war, he was plagued by nightmares for many years. Later he found a measure of healing through Jesus.
Yet despite all the killing and danger, there are wonderful stories of those whom God saved. Our late friend Hal Herman, an ex-Hollywood photographer, who was sent to photograph the battles in the Far East, had no explanation that he was still standing when bullets were flying to and fro, and soldiers constantly being struck down at his side. When he came home, he no longer made films but sought the meaning of Life.

A cleaning-lady gave him a New Testament and he read it for hours. He said, “The living Jesus came into my room and showed Himself to me, and I gave my life to Him”. Hal became a flaming evangelist for Jesus. American friends bought him a tent which he shipped to Berlin and he held services for the thousands of Germans who had lost their ‘god’ of Hitler, and now gave their allegiance to Jesus Christ. He took the first recorded photos, flying in a helicopter, after the atomic bombs were dropped over Japan. Hal, together with his beautiful wife, Mildred, continued to travel the world preaching until he was 96 years old. George interpreted for him many times.

Some relatives of George, Ewald and Elsa, had a wonderful story to tell. They were young Christians, living in Poland, when the war broke out. They were engaged to be married and agreed that at the first opportunity they would meet in a certain town, when the war was over or when he came home on leave. Ewald went off to fight and was in a part where thousands of young men were dying. Elsa was terrified as she read his letters, and one day she prayed: “Lord, even if he has to get wounded, bring him home safely.”

Before he had gone off to war, Ewald had been given a New Testament and he always kept it in the breast-pocket of his tunic. In odd moments between the fighting he would read a few verses. One day, a bomb went off near him and he was wounded by shrapnel, but no-one could understand that he was still alive, until they saw that the little New Testament in his breast-pocket had prevented the shrapnel going into his heart!! Ewald was wounded and sent home to recover. God had spared his life and answered Elsa’s prayer. Yes, we should “Remember them” and thank God for all those who have fought for our freedom, and also, let us pray for those who are caught up in conflicts nowadays.

In our Bible verses above, Jesus and his disciples were at the Last Supper. His heart was heavy for he knew that in a few hours he would be betrayed, taken prisoner, tortured and die on a cruel Roman cross, for the sins of Mankind. It was the Feast of Passover and Jesus took and broke the bread, but he said something they had never heard before. “This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me.” As he passed around the broken pieces of bread, I wonder if the disciples had really heard this statement, and I am sure they did not understand what he meant.

Then as he passed around the cup of wine, Jesus said: “This cup is the new
testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” What did he mean? “new
testament”? Jesus was proclaiming that the Old Covenant which God had made with his people the Jews, was about to be fulfilled and he was ushering in a New
Covenant, sealed with his blood, which was to be available for Jews and Gentiles. He commanded them: “Do this in remembrance of me”. We remember Jesus and his suffering and resurrection every time we take Holy Communion. Yes, we will
remember those who died BUT far greater and more compelling should be for us to REMEMBER HIM.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you for all those who died that
we might live in freedom and peace. Comfort those who
mourn at this time, we pray. But much more we thank YOU
for the great sacrifice you made, when you gave your life for
us, that we might live in harmony with you and be saved from
sin and Hell. You were not a martyr, you laid down your life
willingly and we praise you with all of our hearts for your
great Love! Thank you, Jesus! Amen