Bless Them All

In regard to the current crisis in the Middle East, I’m reminded of an old song I heard in a movie with Robert Ryan. I believe the film was called, “Marine Raiders” and featured this song where they stood around a piano and sang, “Bless Them All”. It went something like this:

Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all.
The long and the short and the tall,

Bless all those Sergeants and WO1's,
Bless all those Corporals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
Cos' we're saying goodbye to 'em all.
And back to their Billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean,
So cheer up my lads bless 'em all

 

The song stuck with me. It comes to mind repeatedly when I see and hear the sad news emanating from Gaza. Both sides are hurting and are caught in a cycle of violence and mis-understanding and hatred. We are hearing stories of one side pitted against the other.

God would not be willing to take sides, and neither should we. But rather simply say, “Bless Them All, bless them all, the Long and the Short and the Tall” I am hoping and praying for the violence to end sooner rather than later. I pray for cooler heads to prevail to forge a lasting peace for the people who live their lives in this troubled region.

God, I am grateful to live in a place where rockets and bombs are not a part of my everyday existence. Please make us mindful of those who do not live in a peaceful land. Give them hope that soon they too may live in a settled and peaceful environment. In Christ’s Name, Amen