End to arms but fight goes on

Salvation Army Lieutenant Phil Mellsop echoed the sentiments of speakers from one end of New Zealand to the other when he addressed his town's Anzac Day service in Kaitaia on Friday.

Hundreds had gathered at Te Ahu, he said, along with New Zealanders and Australians around the world, to remember the servicemen and women of yesterday, to remember their mates and those who they had fought alongside, who had shared their fear and courage.

"They, and we, remember on this day those who gave their all and did not survive to enjoy the peace and plenty that this land had to offer them," he said.

"We remember that war is not glorious - it is hell. It is not triumphant - it is cruel, hard, barbaric, wretched and inhuman. Yet despite all of this, men and women went forth from these small islands of ours, tucked away, deep in the South Pacific, to join the fight for freedom - the fight for justice, and the fight for peace.

"Today is the day set aside for remembering.

"We say 'Lest we forget,' but what is it that we really want to remember?"

Young New Zealanders, he said, may never again be called to take up arms as they were in the two world wars, but one thing had not changed. As Edmund Burke had said, 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing.' And that was as relevant today as it was when young New Zealanders left their homes to fight against the injustice that others were trying to impose upon them and their loved ones.

"Are we willing to fight for justice and peace as our forebears did?" he asked.

The spirit of the ANZAC was that people stood side by side fighting for freedom, against the things of this world that oppressed them.

"If we want to continue to live in a land of the free, we must stand together and find solutions to injustice in this community. We must be willing to stand tall and be counted. Is there to this day injustice and oppression for some? Do we turn a blind eye or shirk away from addressing these?

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Generations past left this land to fight, and yet we are often unwilling to fight in our community for what is true, just and right. If we each did our part what a difference that would make.

"Freedom comes at a cost, and the cost for these men can never really be understood.

"Today we stand on their shoulders; the heritage they left is still here today. It's easy to come to a service, and then go home, and for life to go on the same as before. We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice.

"As Christians around the globe have reflected on Easter this week, we have gathered to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that acknowledges its demand, for a response in the way we live from day to day. Does Anzac Day also demand an on-going response as we reflect on the loss of life and sacrifice given of those who have gone before? Is there a way we can honour those who made this sacrifice?

"We may not be called to a war with guns and armour. As guardians of this land we are called to leave this place better than we found it, but there is a cost to do this. Are we willing to fight for justice and peace as our forebears did?

"It is my prayer today, not only that each one of us remembers the sacrifice that servicemen and women made on our behalf for our country, but we too honour their sacrifice by continuing to fight for freedom, peace and justice - here in our community."