Give peace in our time

There are many phrases in the English language that come from The Bible – “money is the root of all evil” for example, (By the way the exact quote is "The love of money is the root of all evil")

Or Shakespeare – “Cruel to be kind” “Murder most foul”


Or The Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer has given us a phrase that has gone down in history. It is a phrase used by Neville Chamberlain in 1938 “peace in our time.”

Chamberlain – consciously or unconsciously – was quoting a prayer of intercession from the Book of Common Prayer “Give peace in our time O Lord.”

Chamberlain, returning from a meeting with Adolf Hitler, thought he had negotiated a peace agreement to prevent war. And Chamberlain no doubt sincerely believed that by obtaining Hitler’s signature on a peace agreement, he had prevented another generation of British men and women from being engulfed in war. Let’s not forget, the First World War had ended just 20 years before. Just under a year later Chamberlain’s dream of “peace in our time” was in tatters.

As we all know, this year marks 100 years since the beginning of the First World War. It also marked the 70th anniversary of D Day in the Second World War.

100 years seems so long ago in some respects. But in others it does not. In my life time I’ve met and known of men who served in the First World War. There was a real sense of touching history. Now they are all dead. So maybe for people today WW1 is now very much history.

And yet WW1 seems to cast a long shadow that even touches the lives of children today. Several years ago I visited the Belgian town of Ypres. For me it was a kind of pilgrimage as I had a grandfather who had fought in WW1 in Ypres. In fact he was severely wounded there whilst trying to rescue two comrades. For this he was mentioned in dispatches. My grandfather Ira Thomas was one of the fortunate men to survive the war, though he was left with physical and mental scars for the rest of his life.

When I visited Ypres I was surprised to see so many youngsters in the town visiting the large military cemetery at Tyne Cot and also attending the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. The Menin Gate is a memorial similar to Marble Arch in London. And inscribed on the gate are the names of over 54,000 British and Commonwealth men who were killed in fighting around the town and who have no known grave. 54,000!

Yet many of those 54,000, and many of the hundreds of thousands others of all nationalities including of course Germans who also died in WW1, believed they were fighting the war to end all wars. They died hoping that the world would never see war again.
And no doubt men like my grandfather came home from the battlefields of France and Belgium almost 100 years ago with the same hope. With the ending of war they may have thought that the prayer from the Book of Common Prayer - “Give peace in our time O Lord” - had been answered. That is why Neville Chamberlain – almost an object of ridicule now – was hailed by many as a great statesman when he came back from Munich.

Chamberlain firmly believed that his famous piece of paper ensured there would be peace. He firmly believed there would be no more war and the next generation would not spill their blood.

But the hopes of my grandfather’s generation were dashed in 1939. And their hopes and the hopes of us all have been dashed ever since in wars fought in places such as Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars between countries such as Israel and Egypt. Civil wars in the former Yugoslavia. War in Syria today. The list goes on and on and on.

All in all, over the last 100 years there has been a distinct lack of peace. There appears to be no likelihood of peace in our time. Though it must be said that apart from in the Balkans, Europe has been at peace. For the last 70 years there hasn’t been war in Europe. Europe has known a peace like never before.

“Give peace in our time O Lord”

The longing for peace is very Biblical.

Scripture makes peace a consistent theme throughout Jesus' life. When He was born in Bethlehem, the angels called Him the Prince of Peace. During his lifetime he preached peace and love constantly.

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Jesus wanted nothing more for people to love one another and live in peace. But as we know only too well, no matter how much we may long for peace, it never seems to come about.

Why is that?

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr said

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

Real peace can only come about when underlying conditions of injustice and exploitation which fan the flames of resentment and which finally lead to War, are removed.