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Today's Gospel in Art - Armistice Day

  • Patrick van der Vorst

Armistice Day, City Hall Philadelphia, 11 November 1918 © Library Company of Philadelphia

Armistice Day, City Hall Philadelphia, 11 November 1918 © Library Company of Philadelphia

Gospel of 11th November 2020 - Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, 'Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.' When he saw them he said, 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.' Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, 'Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.' And he said to the man, 'Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.'

Reflection on the Photograph

Today we commemorate Armistice day. In 1918, the Allied Forces and Germany signed the armistice at Compiègne, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western front, which took effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The very first celebration of this date, the first Armistice Day, was held at Buckingham Palace where King George V hosted a 'Banquet in Honour of the President of the French Republic' during the evening hours of 10 November 1919. The evening included a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for those who had died in the war and those left behind. This would be the basis for a yearly day of remembrance, which we still celebrate today. Our photograph was taken in Philadelphia on the very day the news of peace broke there. It was taken on 11 November 1918, and we see crowds filling the streets surrounding City Hall and at the centre we see a replica of the Statue of Liberty, which was unveiled on April 6, 1918 during the Third Liberty Loan drive (a liberty bond sold during World War I that helped cover the war expenses of the United States. In effect, the bonds were loans from citizens to the US Government which would be repaid with interest in the future).

Around 17 million people, soldiers and civilians, were killed during the Great War: a staggering number. And yet sometimes it seems that the brutality of the First and Second World Wars hasn't properly taught us any lessons. It makes us realise how now, even during these difficult times of pandemic, we have to appreciate peace. Peace is very precious. Peace gives us the space to nurture our friendship with God and live in hope. It is therefore sad that even in times of peace we see human dignity, freedom, housing… just some basic solidarity, still being denied to great numbers of women and men in our society. Whilst we pray especially today for all our brothers and sisters who have fallen during the wars, we also pray for those still not living in peace or in the dignity they deserve. May our God of peace bless them and us and come to our aid.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/603

Christian Art - www.christian.art

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