do what we do?
Trumpet
calls in church
At a recent funeral we
played the Last Post and Reveille as part of an RSL
farewell to a returned serviceman.
Why these two particular trumpet commands; the last of the
day signalling lights our and the first commanding all to
get out of bed ready for service.
At this point we see again the profound way in which the
message about Jesus of Nazareth has penetrated out culture.
We play the Last Post to farewell a dead comrade, to remind
ourselves that we will all face death whether in battle or
our beds. None of us, even our heros, are immortal. What
the Apostle Paul calls ‘the wages of sin” come even to the
most noble of humanity.
We pause, we mourn, we remember.
But we are not left “to grieve as those without hope”. (1
Thessalonians 4. 13-18)
Reveille is sounded. A new day is announced. We are called
to look forward to the day of resurrection. We are reminded
that all who die in the faith of Christ are destined for a
“resurrection like his”. (Romans 6.1-5)
So when you hears these call remember the Easter message:
Christ is Risen
He is risen, indeed!