ANGLICAN MEDIA SYDNEY http://www.anglicanmedia.com.au/news/archives/000909.php#more

March 24, 2003

The darkness of these days will be dispelled by God’s radiance says Defence Force Bishop Read the address from Dr Tom Frame, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force, given at a service of prayer for those deployed to the Middle East.

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A service of prayer for those deployed to the Middle East The Anzac Memorial Chapel of St Paul, Duntroon Thursday 20 March 2003

Proverbs 2: 1-15, Psalm 46; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 5:1-12

Some days live in our memories because they are marked by moods and feelings that are unexpected or unfamiliar. This is such a day. The mood throughout the ADF over the last few days has become decidedly sombre while many across the nation have described their feelings as solemn. We gather today as an extended family of people to demonstrate our support, and to offer prayer, for our colleagues who are about to engage in armed conflict, and to remember before God their families and their friends. We also gather to uphold coalition military personnel, especially those of the United States and United Kingdom, based around Iraq. And we gather to intercede for the long-suffering and oppressed Iraqi people as part of a larger prayer for lasting peace and real justice in the Middle East. As we do, we need to engage our hearts, minds and spirits and, can I suggest, to focus our petitions on three things. First, the need for a proper sense of duty. Second, the requirement for a commitment to discipline. And third, the necessity of hopeful determination.

Let me begin with duty. It is one of this nation’s great but rarely celebrated achievements that our security needs are met by an entirely volunteer defence force, and that a genuine spirit of service and altruism characterises the corporate ethos of the ADF. And praise be that we have highly trained and motivated men and women who are prepared to perform their duty effectively and efficiently wherever and whenever the government directs. Those deployed to the Middle East at this time need our prayers as they fulfil their duty to the ADF, mindful of its high standards and proud traditions. But they also have a duty to the nation; they are now representing Australia and its people; they serve on our behalf and they willingly accept this weighty responsibility. And they have an overarching duty to God to whom they are ultimately accountable for all they think, say and do. In our second reading, St Paul explains that some things – like judgement, wrath and revenge – are matters for God not men and women. God knows the counsels of the heart and is neither fooled nor mocked. What we have asked them to do as ADF members, as Australians and as human beings brings with it the burden of enormous responsibility. Their sense of duty will, we pray, carry them through these difficult days with their honesty, humility and humanity intact.

We must also express our empathy and solidarity with those families who are coping without a loved one. The contributions made by spouses and children, parents and siblings, friends and neighbours, should not be overlooked. Nor should we ignore their daily deprivations, the loneliness and frustration, and understandable anxiety about the safety and welfare of their loved one. The 2,000 deployed personnel are surrounded by five times that number who await their return. Let us remember our duty to support and care for them as well.

Let me continue with discipline. The Australian Government can and does deploy the ADF on behalf of this nation’s interests because, and only because, it is characterised by a solid core of self and unit discipline that builds on the firm foundation of a sense of duty. Those who have deployed are likely to be placed in the most extraordinary ethical dilemmas with the kind of discretion to act that is only ever given to the well disciplined. In this conflict, they will inevitably face extreme trials and tribulations requiring their total commitment to the values and complete adherence to the virtues that mark them out as ADF members, and Australians, and morally responsible beings. It is never enough in a crisis to be physically and mentally robust. The first reading, from the Proverbs of King Solomon, reveals that wisdom and understanding come from contemplation of God and the spiritual self-awareness that flows from meditating on the divine character. May those deployed sense the presence of the Creator and the blessings of communion with the God in whom we live and move and have our being. As we have brought to mind families and friends, let us also remember that standing behind our servicemen and women are a great many people who have their own disciplined vocations and a role to play in these unfolding events. We must pray for Dr Hollingworth, as our Head of State and Commander-in-Chief; Mr Howard, as he accepts responsibility for the Government’s decisions; Mr Crean, as he discharges his very necessary duties as Opposition Leader; Senator Hill and Mrs Vale, as they represent the ADF in Federal Cabinet and Parliament; General Cosgrove, Vice Admiral Shalders, Air Marshal Houston, Lieutenant General Leahy, and Vice Admiral Ritchie as they lead the ADF, and Mr Rick Smith as he directs the invaluable work of the Department of Defence. There are a great many people who have and will contribute to the conduct of this operation, whose disciplined actions and reasoned attitudes will effect its outcome. And for the rest of us who feel deeply for our friends and colleagues, we must be disciplined in our prayer for them, prayer that continues beyond today, prayer that emanates not just from the lips but that arises from the deep recesses of the heart.

Let me conclude with determination. The public debate over whether Australia ought to participate in a campaign to disarm Iraq has covered a great deal of ground, including various contested depictions of the past and a range of conflicting descriptions of the present. A decision has been made and a course of action determined. While we mustn’t underestimate the immensity of this campaign and what the next few days and weeks might bring, we need to look ahead and acknowledge the uncertainties of the future. As we do, let us focus on those things for which we all aspire: to live in peace with our neighbours in a just society, to know liberty of speech and freedom of religious expression; to enjoy the fruits of our labours with dignity. Let us focus on these things, the things that are noble and which bring nobility to humanity. The things that would make a caring and compassionate society in which, to quote Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from the third reading, the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the persecuted and the outcast could be called blessed.

In contemplating the future, let us signal our determination to honour and esteem those who have fought in this campaign as men and women deemed worthy to stand beside every other veteran of every other campaign in which Australians have served as equals. They deserve to be acknowledged not just for doing their duty but for their contributions to a world in need of selflessness and service. Having given so much of themselves, I am sure they will welcome whatever role Australia plays in rebuilding of Iraq and in forging a stronger international order as a reflection of our genuine desire to be a good citizen in the community of nations. To disengage would be an abrogation of international responsibility and perilous for our own national well-being. In writing about the rise and fall of ancient Athens, the great historian Gibbon wrote: ‘In the end, more than they wanted freedom . they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life and they lost it all – security, freedom and comfort. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society, but for society to give to them; when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free’. Let us be determined to pursue freedom . not just for ourselves . but for every human being.

Can I suggest that what begins with this service might be ended with another gathering . when anxiety is superseded by contrition . a time in which we gather before God not as ADF members or Australians but merely as human beings and that we simply lament our inability to live in peace. A day in which we express our sorrow that sanctions were ever necessary and wars were ever required. But it might also be a day in which we declare our sincere belief that God can banish from the human heart the spirit that makes for war. With this distinct possibility and renewed hope, let us work under God for the day when, as we sang in the words of Psalm 46, wars will cease, bows are broken, spears are shattered and chariots are burned in fire. This requires, of course, more than wishful thinking or empty slogans; it demands a determined act of will among disciplined individuals and societies, and challenges us with a duty to live differently . to live in the light of a God who creates, redeems and perfects . whose ways are marked by love.

There will inevitably be some who say: I hear you . but tell me . how can the presence of so much evil be compatible with a God of love? Why doesn’t God simply remove evil from the world? If he cannot, he is not almighty; if he will not, he cannot be good. But here I would point to the Jesus I follow and which ADF chaplains proclaim. He was crucified in the first week of April in the year 30. This was an evil act of gross injustice. But the tomb, a symbol of finality, that held Jesus’ body was found to be empty by his disciples three days later. Their message was one of unrestrained hopefulness: Jesus is risen! Human history had been transformed. This is the heart of the Christian message. In raising Christ from the dead, God shows that he can overcome evil. Death was not, is not, the last word. So by means of both the Cross and the Empty Tomb the conviction grew that evil does not cancel out God but that God will cancel out evil . and not be evil means. What happened to Christ is evidence that God not only deals with evil but transforms it . by a demonstration of love . into a venue for good.

It is my belief and, I trust, your prayer . that the darkness of these days will be dispelled by light – God’s radiance. A new day will dawn and our hope shall be renewed. Amen.

Dr Tom Frame Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force

PHOTOS AVAILABLE Australian Defence Organisation Media Centre http://www.defence.gov.au/opfalconer/images/gallery/200303/200303a.htm

Bishop Tom Frame http://www.anglican.org.au/defence/bishop.htm