November 2009

No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, -

November!

Thomas Hood's dismal and pessimistic view of this month may not be ours, but perhaps it is in part because there is less to look at outside ourselves, that we focus especially during November at looking inwards and backwards, and remembering.

The month begins with the memory and celebration of All Saints, followed immediately by All Souls, and going on six days later to give thanks for the Saints and Martyrs of England, before Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day.

But what do we do with all these memories? Certainly we are not then to stay in the past: we have to look back in order to look forward better.

For that to be possible, we must try, of course, to learn from our memories, from our past. As Edmund Burke observed, "Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it." Knowing it is not a guaranteed safeguard against repeating it, but it does at least help the chances. Which is why it is so vital that we do remember.

Celebrating the Saints is something which our Cathedral has been focussing on during the last few years. There have been new windows dedicated to Thomas Traherne, modern icons of St. Ethelbert, and the shrine of St. Thomas restored. All of these help us to learn more and be encouraged in our own discipleship by the examples of these local saints.

Remembrance Sunday and Day hold their vital importance for us as we give thanks, especially for those who have made the greatest of all sacrifices for us for peace and freedom. We honour them best by our responsible use of that freedom, working for the common good with love and truth. But we are also mindful of the continuing conflicts in the world, not least in Afghanistan, and the weekly death toll, as our soldiers struggle with other nations and local Afghans to help build a more just and free society there.

Some memories we have will be painful, others joyful. My sense of remembering always goes back to Jesus' own words, "Do this in remembrance of me." It is in our worship, especially at the Holy Communion, that all memories take their proper place and perspective and help us, in God's power, to live redeemed and renewed lives. The greatest memory of all is of Jesus' death and resurrection, forgiving us and making new life possible now.