A WORD FOR TODAY, November 11, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, November 11, 2025
“This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. You didn’t choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you. I command these things to you, that you may love one another.” John 15:12-17, WEB
I’m not usually a fan of extreme outdoor art installations. Even as an artist, I don’t always appreciate the art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude or understand the value of wrapping 1.5 miles of Australian coastline with a million square feet of fabric. What purpose did Nele Alzevedo’s “Ice Sculpture of Melting Men” serve, since the hundreds of sitting ice figures melted within hours of being placed in display. Where is the beauty in Doris Salcedo’s “Chair Building”? The artists have a point to make, their installations are often poignant and amazing and despite the temporary nature of their creations, they are artists. I appreciate their creativity, but I’m not really a fan of their work. That’s ok, they would probably think that my art is commonplace or perhaps even boring.
I do recall an art installation that really impressed me: Paul Cummins’ “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.” The work was installed in the moat at the Tower of London during the summer/fall of 2014 and unveiled on November 11 of that year. It was made up of 888,246 red ceramic poppies, each one represented the life of a British or Colonial serviceman who was killed during World War I. The poppies were individually made and placed in the ground by a team of artists and volunteers. It included a cascade of poppies flowing out of a window and a spray washing over a bridge. The moat was red with flowers, just as Europe was red with the blood of heroes more than a hundred years ago.
The impact was extraordinary when you considered that each and every one of those nearly 900,000 poppies represented the lives that were lost from one nation in one war. Think about these numbers: the population of Great Britain and Ireland was about forty-six million people in 1914. Of those, ten percent were mobilized for the war. Of that number, more than twenty percent died. Too many young men lost to our foolishness. It is no wonder that we cry out for an end to all war. It seems pointless; too often it is like big boys are fighting over worthless toys. The “toys” are usually land, power, or money, but you get the idea.
Why would we want to remember so much blood that was shed so long ago? It is important for us to remember what has happened in the past so that we do not let it happen again. It might seem to some that the soldiers died in vain, but they believed in the cause for which they fought. War is tragic and horrific, but sometimes it is necessary to stop the wrong that is done and the injustices that are perpetrated. We try to remember so that we will guard against despots that exercise absolute power in a brutal or oppressive ways. Hitler rose to power in the years following World War I, at first seeming like the answer to prayers and then leaving the world tattered and torn from a second, even bloodier war.
Sadly, we do forget. There are even those who deny what happened in Europe in those years, rewriting history to the point of even removing Hitler’s name from the record as if he had no role in the horror. Books have been written rejecting the claims that Nazi gas chambers killed millions and others uplifting the positive impact he had on Germany. This is the first step toward allowing another to gain control and do unspeakable things. The next Hitler may even be in a classroom today, preparing for his or her chance to take power. We remember the dead of the past so that we will be on guard, watching for the signs that should have warned us about the coming trouble.
There will always be those who are willing to do anything to be in control. The Tower of London, the site of the poppy installation, is the site of many innocent deaths, particularly in the medieval period. There were 112 executions, including Henry VIII’s wives Anne and Lady Jane Grey as well as others who were beheaded because he was afraid that they were plotting against him. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, brother of Edward IV, imprisoned his nephews Edward and Richard in the Tower and stole the throne. The boys disappeared; though it is likely they were killed in the Tower, their disappearance remains a mystery even today. Twelve men were executed for espionage during the First and Second World Wars. Blood literally poured on that grass over the centuries.
But the poppies in the art installation stand for something more than blood and death. I am sure you have seen, at some point in your life, people giving away red paper poppies, especially around holidays that celebrate the lives of those who have served. Veteran’s groups do this to remind everyone of the sacrifices that have been made for the sake of our country and every American. The “Buddy Poppy” program helps disabled American Veterans, who are paid to make the paper poppies. Donations also support VFW programs that help veterans and the families of fallen service people.
The aftermath of war leaves behind a land destroyed by bombs, leveled by powerful machines, turned into mud, and blackened by fire. It might be said the only color is the red of the blood of the dead, yet even that quickly dries into the reddish-brown shade of carmine. It isn’t pretty.
Poppies are flowers that leave behind abundant seeds that begin to bloom when the soil is disturbed. When the bodies of World War I soldiers were buried on the fields of Flanders in Belgium, the ground bloomed with those bright red flowers, leaving the impression of the blood of the fallen on the hearts of those who were left behind. Lt Col John McCrae, a Canadian doctor, was so inspired by the sight of poppies that he wrote a now famous poem called “In Flanders Fields.” McCrae was mourning his own losses, but in the midst of the carnage and destruction, he noticed the delicate but resilient Flanders poppies grew in the thousands, which gave him hope.
In the midst of death there is always hope.
“In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row, that mark our place: and in the sky the larks, still bravely singing, fly scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders’ fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe; to you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high, if ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders’ Fields.”
It is sad to know how many were left behind, but the poem by John McCrae reminds us that it is up to us to continue the work and continue the fight for their sake. The poppies remind us that there are those who are willing to die if the cause is right. They have become a symbol of remembrance, not only for those lost, but also for those who took the risk to stand for what is right, the veterans who have fought the battles that keep the rest of us safe. They have taken up the torch from previous generation, faithfully working toward the world for which they died. They remember the sacrifices of those long gone by continuing to fight for what is right.
On this Veteran’s Day we are thankful for those who willingly risked everything for the sake of others. Most of all, however, we are thankful to the One who has set us free from even death. By faith in Him, our Lord Jesus Christ, we have eternal life. He has called us to go forth into the world, fighting the battles that do not spill blood on the land against an enemy that we can’t always see. He has saved us from death so that we can take His life to the world, overcoming the darkness and pain wrought by those who seek control by any means possible.
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