It’s Veterans Day as well here in the United States, and it is appropriate to thank all veterans on this day. Thank you all.
But as the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, it is also an appropriate time to join the rest of the world in commemorating the anniversary of that particular day. We need not celebrate the later Treaty of Versailles, which contributed to the atmosphere resulting in World War II and the Holocaust, to celebrate the end of such a brutal and pointless war.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in Paris (a time that passed hours ago), 100 years ago today, World War I ended. The war killed a minimum of 16 million people and contributed to the deaths of as many as 100 million. War is sometimes the answer to a set of problems, but rarely. More often, as the war in Yemen today, it leaves people blown to bits, or starving, and always miserable, for no good discernable purpose. Hopefully the message of the end of World War I can reverberate today and help put a stop to stupid and pointless conflicts of our modern day as well. And this day can be a day in which we think about peace, and thank our military members primarily for their efforts in helping to maintain peace.
It is the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost. The title of today’s Bach cantata is “Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht” (False world, I trust you not). It is a solo cantata for soprano, with the full choir appearing only in the final chorale.
As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
The Widow’s Offering
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
The text of today’s piece is available here. It contains these words:
Honesty is banished from the world,
falsehood has driven it away,
now hypocrisy
remains in its place.
The best friend is unfaithful,
o miserable condition!
It’s all the same, it’s all the same,
even if I am repudiated!
If the false world is my enemy,
O then God will yet be my friend,
He who deals honestly with me.
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