Chaplain

ANZAC Day is a time to recall the self-sacrifice of our armed forces and this theme of self-sacrifice is especially poignant in the current state of our country. The ANZACs volunteered to the rallying call that they were needed to protect the rights and freedoms of the empire. The young men and women took steps forward to surrender their rights, their health, their life to protect others. As they found themselves in the trenches their focus would have been less broad and perhaps focused on protecting and even dying for their mates. Each year we take time to remember their sacrifice and the continuing sacrifice others have made through our recent history in the armed forces.

It is said that this is where our national spirit was born (or at least clarified) and as I reflect I see this as true in our country. 2020 has seen a renewal of this spirit. The summer of fires revealed Australians are still willing to sacrifice for others. The firefighters, the emergency services, the Army and Navy, neighbours caring for neighbours and civilians opening their homes as refuge for the fleeing strangers. We remember the 25 who died in NSW during the fires. They left families and friends to mourn the loss, as they made the ultimate sacrifice for others.

The spirit of self-sacrifice is stirred in our community as we face the Covid-19 crisis. The self-sacrifice of our nurses, doctors, cleaners, emergency workers as they stand in the breach knowing that they are at higher risk of catching the virus. The self-sacrifice of each of those who have closed their business’s door knowing there will be long term cost but, for the protection of others, they will endure. Even each of us as we stay at home; we don’t meet up with the family, we don’t go to the beach or the movies or the restaurant because we know we need to sacrifice our rights for the benefit of others.

This is the spirit of self-sacrifice of our nation forged by the ANZACs and remembered and celebrated each ANZAC day.

So as I stood in the dark on my driveway with candle in hand, I thanked God for our ANZACs and all those who have made sacrifices. As I did, the words of Jesus filled my mind: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13.

It was a foreshadow of his own sacrifice for us to make us his friends. A sacrifice that was needed, a sacrifice that stands for any who would accept it, a sacrifice that took his life for the benefit of others. This sacrifice bespeaks love as does the sacrifice of ANZACs and all who give their life for the benefit of others.

Ms Bronwyn Lihou
Senior Campus Chaplain
blihou@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9830

Ms Fiona McKenzie
Junior Campus Chaplain
fmckenzie@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9953 6022