To Remember is to Live Justly

Remembrance Day Message 2025

As I think about my service to the Canadian Armed Forces as an Armoured Reconnaissance Soldier, I can’t help but be humbled by how small my service feels in comparison to the countless men and women who have gone before me. My time in uniform represents only a small piece of the much larger story of courage, sacrifice, and endurance that defines those who serve.

Today, as we gather across this country in acts of remembrance, we do more than bow our heads for a moment of silence. We gather to remember in a way that should shape how we live. Because remembrance, if it is to mean anything at all, must become a way of life.

It is easy to mark a single day on the calendar and feel that we have done our part — that we have honoured the fallen, the wounded, and the weary. But remembrance that ends at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day is not remembrance at all. True remembrance changes how we see one another, how we live toward one another, and how we serve one another.

Forgetting the Names That Matter

In January of this year, Petty Officer Second Class Applin died while serving his country. In September, Warrant Officer Hohl was found deceased while on Operation Reassurance, serving in Europe as part of our commitment to deter aggression.

How many of us knew their names?

How many of us know the name of an RCMP constable who never came home from a shift? Or a firefighter who succumbed to toxic exposure years after running into burning buildings? How many of us know the nurse or paramedic who quietly battles post-traumatic stress from what they’ve seen while helping others?

The truth is, most of us don’t. However, we do know the names of our favourite athletes, actors, and the latest celebrity to make the news. We remember the heroes of entertainment while forgetting the heroes of service.

We are a society that bases worth on visibility. If it’s not in the spotlight, it fades from our attention. We reward popularity, not sacrifice. We applaud those who entertain us while often overlooking those who protect, heal, and rescue us.

Yet the call to remember demands more from us. It demands that we live differently — that we notice, honour, and support those whose service often comes at the quietest cost.

The prophet Micah wrote,

Micah 6:8 NASB95

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

If we are to truly remember those who laid down their lives, we must do justice for those who still bear the wounds of service. We must love mercy toward those who suffer unseen. And we must walk humbly, acknowledging that our peace and freedom were bought with someone else’s courage.

The Forgotten Battles

While we stand here in peace, somewhere right now, grenades are being thrown and bullets are being fired. Somewhere, a young Canadian is standing a lonely sentry post far from home. Somewhere, a nurse is walking into another twelve-hour shift, unsure what she’ll face, or a firefighter is heading toward another blaze, or an officer is responding to another call.

We live in comfort because others willingly step into discomfort. We rest in peace because others remain watchful.

And yet, when they come home — physically, mentally, or spiritually wounded — our remembrance often stops short. Too many veterans are forgotten. Too many first responders carry invisible scars. Too many families silently carry the weight of service long after the world has moved on.

The Gospel of John records the words of Jesus,

John 15:13 NASB95

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

When we think of those who have served and those who continue to serve, we see this truth embodied in flesh and blood. They have laid down comfort, safety, and sometimes life itself for others. They mirror, however imperfectly, the self-giving love of Christ.

But remembrance is not meant to be passive admiration. It is an invitation to live by that same love — to serve, to care, and to remember.

A Call to Remember Through Action

If remembrance is to have meaning, it must be expressed not only in ceremony, but in care. It must be seen in how we support the veterans in our communities, in how we treat the nurse who looks tired, in how we respect the officer standing on a cold street corner, and in how we comfort the widow whose husband never came home.

We can no longer afford remembrance that lasts one day a year. We must become a people who remember through how we live every day of the year.

As a pastor and a veteran, I’ve seen both sides of this story — the honour of service and the silence that too often follows it. I’ve sat with veterans who feel forgotten by the system they once defended. I’ve seen the quiet strength of spouses and children carrying burdens they never signed up for.

When we forget them, we fail them. And when we fail them, we fail the very essence of remembrance itself.

The Pattern of Christ

The story of Christ is, in many ways, the ultimate act of remembrance. At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and wine and said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” He was calling His followers not merely to think about Him, but to live out His example of sacrificial love.

Every time we take communion, every time we act in self-giving love, we remember Him.

Likewise, every time we choose to live with compassion, justice, and humility, we remember those who have served. Every time we care for the wounded, the lonely, the forgotten, we embody the remembrance we speak of today.

The cross of Christ and the poppy on our lapel both remind us of sacrifice — not to glorify death, but to honour love. Both point to the truth that freedom, peace, and redemption are costly.

The Hope Beyond the Battle

For those of us who have worn the uniform or stood beside someone who has, we know that service changes a person. You come face-to-face with humanity at its best and worst. You learn what courage looks like — and what fear feels like.

And yet, the hope of Scripture reminds us that one day, war itself will be no more.

Isaiah 2:4 NASB95

And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.

That is the future hope we long for — a world where remembrance will no longer be needed because peace will no longer be broken.

Until that day, we remember. We live in gratitude. We act in compassion. (And) We walk humbly before our God.

Closing

So today, as we stand in silence, let it not be an empty gesture. Let it be a renewed commitment — to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.

Let us remember not only the fallen, but the living. Not only the past, but the present. And let our remembrance today become action tomorrow.

Because remembrance that does not shape how we live is merely memory. But remembrance that moves us to love, serve, and act — that is honour.

And that is what those we remember today deserve most.