On the 7th of November 1919, King George V made a proclamation, part of which reads:
It is my desire and hope that at the hour when the Armistice came into force – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – there may be for the brief space of two minutes a complete suspension of all our normal activities. During that time, except in the rare cases where this may be impracticable, all work, all sound and all locomotion should cease, so that in perfect stillness the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead.
All sound, all movement cease… Silence.
There must be a deep reason why, in a church service, it feels right to stand in silence when we remember all those fallen in war. I recall Remembrance services where you could actually hear the 11.00am gun salutes from the Tower of London or the royal parks. But we are
also painfully aware of all the conflict happening right now on our doorstep; much loved friends in real danger. What consolation is there?
Silence can certainly be a powerful response in our own hearts, what affects us personally. It can express every kind of emotion and feeling. At one end of the scale, there's the sadness when you come into a wood expecting birdsong and there is none. At the other end,
the grief when you lose a loved one and no longer hear their voice. Perhaps we think of the Lord's Prayer: Remember the Sabbath Day – the day of peace and tranquility that follows the six days of labour and work – our personal battles. We pray that the Lord's will be done as it is in heaven.
In the Book of Revelation, John describes an angel opening a seal just before the Last Judgment:
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
The Writings say that the word 'silence' has various meanings in the Word: In general, it signifies everything which causes it, including astonishment, which has a special cause in Revelation 8:1 – see Apocalypse Explained 487. John also hears the blowing of
trumpets. In the context of Remembrance now, we can focus on the great losses in two World Wars and all conflict since. The silence in
heaven was certainly dramatic. But how did it come about in the practice of Remembrance?
It's a hard question. There was a particular tragedy in the First World War that played a part in our present widespread traditions. There were several people involved, including a Reuters correspondent in contact with London, but it was the Mayor of Cape Town in South Africa, who had got a telegram notifying him that his oldest son had died on the Western Front (1). This seems to have led in part to the idea of remembering all those who had fallen. First by the firing of the midday gun (2) followed by two minutes' silence – one minute to
remember the estimated 12000 fallen and the second in gratitude for those who survived. All this was marked by a military bugle call.
Music expresses so much! The playing of The Last Post marked the end of the fighting. The Reveille was played at dawn to wake the soldiers. This also hinted at the traditional Christian belief that all who had ever lived from the beginning of the world would rise at the Last Judgment. It's a complex and moving story, but I think we can see the hand of Providence in how it has spread all over the world.
Think of all the hidden elements that come together in Remembrance, especially the Last Judgment. We believe the Lord is powerfully
leading mankind in hidden ways, while still preserving our freedom.
He really is in charge.
However we observe it, we remember:
The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. Habakkuk 2:20
(1) During the Germans' final large offensive, begun in March 1918, he was gassed and died of gas poisoning in April 1918.
(2) The gun was fired every day at midday, commemorating the signing of the Armistice early in the morning on November the 11th 1918. It took effect at 11.00am, hence that all those who fell in WWI be remembered on the anniversary of the Armistice: 11.00am on the 11th day of the 11th month 1918.
