Gospel in Art: Armistice Day, 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

Three Red Poppies, Early 1920's to late 1940's, Lawn cloth, silk and metal, mixed media © The Royal British Legion

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 11 November 2026
Matthew 25:31-40

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, 'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him, saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me." '

Reflection on the Red Poppy

Today is Armistice Day. At eleven o'clock on 11 November 1918, the agreement ending the fighting on the Western Front came into effect. The peace treaties would follow later; this was the moment when the guns were finally to fall silent. We can scarcely imagine what that silence meant to those who had endured years of bombardment. Since 1919, the United Kingdom has marked the anniversary with a Two Minute Silence: a small interruption in our day in which to remember lives interrupted forever!

Jesus' call to forgiveness asks something demanding of us on a day like this. Remembering honestly means acknowledging suffering and injustice, while resisting the temptation to pass hatred from one generation to the next. Today we pray for those mourning the dead, those living with the wounds of war, and those working towards reconciliation. We remember especially the people of Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, the Middle East, and all whose homes and families have been scarred by violence in recent years.

Many of us will have been wearing a red poppy these past days. Its story begins with a real flower growing in an almost unimaginable landscape. Poppies flourished in soil disturbed by shelling and trench digging, bringing flashes of red to devastated fields. In 1915, the Canadian doctor and soldier John McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields after the death of a friend near Ypres in Belgium. His image of poppies growing among soldiers' graves gave grief a form that people could picture and remember. A fragile flower became a powerful expression of loss, remembrance and hope.

Two women helped turn that poetic image into a lasting tradition. In 1918, the American academic Moina Michael was inspired to wear a poppy in remembrance and encouraged others to do the same. Frenchwoman Anna Guérin developed the idea of selling artificial poppies to support people affected by the war, and in 1921 persuaded the newly formed British Legion to adopt the flower. Nine million poppies were ordered for that first British appeal, which raised £106,000 to help veterans. The following year, a factory was established to employ disabled former servicemen in making them. From the beginning, remembrance was joined to practical care for the soldiers.

I am sharing an image of the first three decades of poppies. The poppy's design has continued to evolve, with the Royal British Legion introducing an entirely paper, plastic-free version in 2023. Yet its simple shape remains instantly recognisable. Like a small work of art worn close to the heart, it expresses something for which words can feel inadequate. And perhaps wearing it should leave us with a question as well as a memory: how will we continue to help make the peace ...?

LINKS

Christian Art: www.christian.art
Today's reading: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-25-31-40-2026/