Message from the territorial commander

Action stations

THE Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral service included many of his personal touches. Not least was the one right at the end. After the Last Post the Royal Marines buglers sounded Action Stations, which would have been played on battleships, calling the crew to get ready. I thought it must have been a personal word for the family: ‘OK, now it’s time to get on with this.’ But perhaps there was another message for all of us, that we need to be battle-ready.

When I heard Action Stations my mind jumped back to when I was a boy watching the TV series Stingray. With puppets similar to those in Thunderbirds, Stingray was about a futuristic submarine that would deal with baddies and save the world. Each programme began with an explosion in the water and the announcement: ‘Stand by for action. We are about to launch Stingray!’ Then as the alarms rang, the commander of the Stingray base would say, ‘Anything can happen in the next half hour.’

I wondered whether Stingray was the inspiration for the song ‘Church on Fire’, which came from Hillsong and was published in the Salvation Army songster journal Sing to the Lord in 2005. It says: ‘The Holy Spirit is here and his power is real,/ Anything can happen and it probably will;/ Something very good,/ Something good is going on around here.’

I thank God that there is so much good going on at this time. There is so much to be thankful for, even as we continue to journey through these days of pandemic. Here in the United Kingdom we are seeing the continuing blossoming of the hope of a brighter reality. But we who should be ready for action will not be stood down. In recent days, when record numbers of people have been infected by Covid-19 in places like Brazil and India, when the evils of racial injustice and oppression have been evident and when football has been on the front pages of our newspapers rather than on the back pages, exposing greed and selfpreservation indicative of significant swathes of our society, we know there are matters that need us individually and corporately to take our stand, to be at action stations. We are not only to be ready for action, but to be in action.

In 1 John 3:18, John says, ‘Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.’ And in Romans 12:9–18, which in some versions has the subheading ‘Love in action’, Paul says: ‘Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’ It’s action stations.

You might want to revisit that passage and ask yourself again: ‘What does this mean for me?’ Not asking yourself what it means for The Salvation Army or for your church, although we need to be asking those questions as well. But asking yourself: ‘What action do I need to take?’ As the song says, ‘The Holy Spirit is here and his power is real.’ And, to paraphrase Stingray, anything amazing could happen, even in your next half hour, if having heard Action Stations you and I decide to move from simply hearing to action itself, doing whatever is required of us.

For some that might need courage – even to pick up the phone, send an email or send a cake, and to be a friend, a comforter, an encourager. You might be called to stand up against greed, to stand up over matters of justice and righteousness. But remember: we have God by his Spirit with us to help, enable and empower us.

Song number 981 in The Song Book of The Salvation Army is ‘Sound the Battle Cry!’. The last verse says: ‘O thou God of all,/ Hear us when we call,/ Help us one and all/ By thy grace.’ And the chorus encourages us, ‘Rouse, then, soldiers, rally round the banner!/ Ready, steady’, then goes on to say, ‘Onward, forward’. So, as Action Stations is sounded, what are we waiting for? It’s time for us to get up and get on with it.

ANTHONY COTTERILL COMMISSIONER TERRITORIAL COMMANDER

* This message is based on a video that can be viewed at facebook.com/ SalvationistOnline or youtube.com/salvationarmyvideo