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| The Flood, Norman Adams, 1961 |
Introduction
You can hear an audio recording of this reflection at this link.
Hello and welcome to Start:Stop in the beautiful surroundings of St Stephen Walbrook. Every Tuesday morning we start the day by stopping to reflect for a few moments inspired by an event from this week in history, through the lens of a reading from scripture, with time for reflection and prayer - all lasting no more than ten minutes. You’re welcome to stay for as long as your schedule allows.
In the early hours of 17th May 1943, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command executed “Operation Chastise”. The mission was immortalised in the film “The Dam Busters”.
On being awarded ten thousand pounds after the war in payment for his design, the inventor of the famous "bouncing bombs", Barnes Wallis, refused to accept the cash; reputedly explaining his decision by quoting this passage from scripture:
Bible Reading - 2 Samuel 23.13-17
Towards the beginning of harvest three of the thirty chiefs went down to join David at the cave of Adullam,
while a band of Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the
Philistines was then at Bethlehem. David said longingly, ‘O that someone would
give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!’ Then the three warriors broke through the camp of the
Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and
brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, for he said, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink
the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?’ Therefore he would
not drink it. The three warriors did these things.
Reflection
The story we’ve just heard is placed at the end of the
account of King David’s life but may be a flashback to an earlier time, before
pride caused him to stray from God.
David had sought refuge in the cave of Adullam with his band
of fighters, evading Saul and his men. Lying in the dust, tired and thirsty, he
yearns for the cool pure waters of the city of his birth - Bethlehem. Overhearing
their leader’s craving, three of David’s devoted fighters decide to bring him
what he wanted. This involved not only breaking through the enemy line in the
valley of Rephaim, which lay between the cave and Bethlehem, but also risking
confrontation with the fighters stationed at the enemy garrison in the City.
Against the odds, the three fighters succeed, returning with
some water - although we can only speculate at what cost. David was so touched by their bravery that he couldn’t bring himself to drink it - instead, he poured it out - as an
offering to God.
What seems at first to be a rather ungrateful act, is quite
the reverse. David felt that the love his followers had for him was so great
that he could not keep it to himself, so he offered it to the only one great
enough to receive it. David’s “flashback” reminded him of a time when his
humility was greater than his pride.
On the night of May 16th 1943, 19 Lancaster Bombers from 617
Squadron took off from their base in Lincolnshire to execute Operation
Chastise. The aircraft had been modified to deploy special bouncing bombs,
which evaded anti-torpedo nets that had been installed to
protect critical infrastructure.
Designed by Barnes Wallis, an aeronautic engineer, who
carried out much of the development work in his spare time, the bombs were only
effective if dropped from a height of just sixty feet above the water. Low
level precision flying was therefore needed.
During the mission, some of the squadron flew into overhead
power lines, others were dazzled by searchlights and crashed before deploying the
bombs; but two dams were breached after several attempts. Eleven of the nineteen
bombers returned in the early hours of May 17th; 53 members of the squadron had
been killed.
After the war, Barnes Wallis applied for an award to cover
the cost of developing the bombs. On receiving £10,000 he decided to donate the
funds to his former school, establishing a bursary for the education of the
children of RAF personnel killed in action. In explaining his decision, Wallis is said to have quoted the words of King David; “Can I drink the blood of the men who went at
the risk of their lives?”
As a result of its popular portrayal on the silver screen, the mission on the night of May 16th and 17th 1943 has entered into folklore and, like Robin Hood or King Arthur has become, for many, a source of national pride. But some have begun to myth-bust the Dam Busters raid.
While not detracting from the ingenuity of Barnes Wallis or the devotion and
bravery of the squadron, contemporary historians such as Max Hastings highlight
not only the loss of life suffered by the airmen, but the devastation caused by
the biblical wave of flood waters that killed over one thousand people - mainly
women, working as forced labourers in the Ruhr valley.
Like King David’s flashback to the cave of Abdullam - or contemporary perspectives on the Dam Busters Raid, perhaps we need to myth-bust our own pride? To break through our self-importance. To recognise that we are all reliant on the devoted service of others - not just those closest to us; our families, friends and work colleagues, but to farmers, labourers, transport workers, teachers, the military, intelligence and emergency services - people that we have never met, who have worked, are working and will continue to work each day so that we might have food, water and freedom - so that we might have life.
We can give thanks for this unimaginable sacrifice by taking a leaf out of David's book - and offering it back to the only one great enough to receive it. So let us offer our work today in service of Jesus Christ - the one who is the perfect image of sacrificial love, whose blood was shed once for us all.
Meditation
A few moments of silence before we pray.
Prayers
In our prayers, the response to “Lord, break down our pride”
is “May your love flow freely through us.”
Lord, break down our pride.
May your love flow freely through us.
Help us to blast through the myth of our self-importance.
Forgive us for the times when we’ve loved ourselves more than
we’ve loved others or loved you.
Lord, break down our pride.
May your love flow freely through us.
Help us to recognise the sacrifices of those working on our behalf; the people
who are close to us and those we will never meet.
May we remember the ultimate sacrifice you made on the cross.
Lord, break down our pride.
May your love flow freely through us.
Let us show our gratitude for these sacrifices by dedicating our work to your service.
In the midst of the busyness and pressures of today may we offer the love we have
received back to you; the true source of that love.
Lord, break down our pride.
May your love flow freely through us.
Blessing
Let us go now in the knowledge that our work today
is blessed by the love of God the Father;
made visible to us in his Son, Jesus Christ
and enlivened through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Closing Words
Thank you for joining us for this Start:Stop reflection which will be repeated in a few minutes. Please do join us for our special events and services throughout the week, including a fantastic rush hour concert on Thursday with the De Kooning Ensemble. Please do support the church and these young artists by coming along if you are able at 6pm. I hope you have a wonderful week.
Image : The Flood, Norman Adams, 1961
Further Links: Gethsemane by Jack Guterman, painted 1943 shortly before he died in theDam Busters Raid.
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