Bonus: “More Than Absolutely Necessary”

Sermon

Remembrance Sunday

Holy Communion – November 5, 2023

Ruth 4:7-17

Psalm 127

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13, 17-20

Matthew 23:1-12

“More Than Absolutely Necessary”

Wars, as we have seen, and seen so very recently, have a way of bringing out the best in people, and the worst. Here I think, not of our present times, but of one of my favourite movies, Passchendaele, directed by noted Canadian director, Paul Gross. My choice for a villain is the overly pompous recruiting officer who back home is nothing but a bully, but out in the field, in the actual smoke and guns of battle, turns out to be nothing but a coward. And my hero, of course, is Sergeant Michael Dunne, who goes far beyond the call of duty, far beyond what is absolutely necessary, in his heroism and bravery and in his support of his fellow soldiers.

Indeed, this reminds me of my own grandfather, Jack (John Martin) Shield, who left his settled farm life outside of Fort McLeod, Alberta, and enlisted in the army, even though he was underage. Jack Shield served with the 8th Battalion, CEF (The 90th Winnipeg Rifles, known as The Little Black Devils) at Vimy, at Passchendaele (in the Third Battle of Ypres) and at Amiens in the First World War. His career was noticeable not so much in that he was gassed at Ypres, but that he went on to earn a Distinguished Conduct Medal, the second highest medal for bravery—after the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Amiens. He refused to ever talk about it, but in reading his military record from Veterans Affairs, I discovered that his particular unit, on August 8, 1918, had already lost all its officers in that morning’s attack and was at the present point pinned down by enemy machine gun fire. Jack Shield is reported to have said to his fellow soldiers, ‘It’s either them or us, boys, so let’s go for it.’ (He was thinking that their choices boiled down to either being killed or taken prisoner.) So, he led his men over the top in a surprise move, captured the machine gun nest plus some prisoners, and was wounded in the process. Previous to this, he could well have accepted defeat and consigned himself and his fellows to an uncertain status as

prisoners of war, but he chose to go ‘beyond the call of duty’, far beyond what was absolutely necessary, and take his chances.

That is exactly the kind of thing that we see depicted in our Scripture readings for today. Boaz is wealthy landowner and a distant relative of a newly arrived foreigner, Ruth, and decides to risk it all by agreeing to marry her. He isn’t the nearest relative, not at all, so it isn’t really incumbent on him. But, nevertheless, he takes on the role of a go’el, a saviour-redeemer, to rescue her and her mother-in-law Naomi, from poverty and an uncertain future. Boaz goes the ‘extra mile’, far beyond what was absolutely necessary. Later on, Christians would apply this very same idea to Jesus and what He has done for us!

The apostle Paul repeated this kind of behaviour in his own life and ministry. As we read in today’s letter to the church in Thessalonica, he could well have expected them to pay his ministry costs, but, no, together with Aquila and Priscilla, he worked night and day at their joint tent-making trade, in order to free the local church in Thessalonica from that financial burden. Once again, he goes far beyond ‘what is absolutely necessary.’

And, believe it or not, this is the same kind of thing that Jesus expects of us. In today’s reading from Matthew, He lambasts those who sit on their laurels and pompously expect others to laud, honour and praise them—all that, without doing anything themselves. Instead of being served by others and basking in their approval, Jesus says that His followers and disciples are to themselves be the servants of others.

And, here we can learn something from my own grandfather’s experience at Vimy. Vimy was a turning point for Canada and Canadian troops, not only for having a unified Canadian corps and command for the first time, but also for its preparations. For a change, the men in the field were meticulously and rigorously trained, drilled over and over again, in mock simulations of battle conditions. And not only that, they were instructed in the overall battle plan so they could see what its objectives were and how they fit into that. That meant that, if worst came to worst and obstacles arose in the heat of battle, they could use that knowledge of their objectives to come up with another way of achieving it. This very tactic on the part of their superiors denoted a level of trust and confidence in the frontline troops that was often lacking. And that is exactly what our Saviour has done with us. He has given us an overall sense of His plans and His strategy and

has instructed us in our individual place within it. But, as with Vimy, He expects us to use our noggins, our brains.

And that sense of using our own noggins and initiative, and going far beyond what is absolutely necessary, is exactly what our Saviour expects of us in the here and now. As my grandfather Jack and countless others gave up their comfort and freedom and settled existences over the years to serve their country and community whether at home or abroad, so too He calls us. Jesus Himself gave us far more than most would consider ‘absolutely necessary’, and so He expects this of us as well. Thanks be to God for such an incredible and unfathomable gift. Amen.