No . 138 The Trusty Servant cloister ?’ It is an unusual , if not unique , way of remembering and honouring the dead . But I think Headmaster Montague Rendall knew what he was doing .
There are perhaps three reasons why a cloister is appropriate . The first is that a cloister is a place of peace , a tranquil space , and in a world where peace is in short supply it speaks to us of what might be : a tranquillity so often in short supply .
But secondly , and rather by contrast , in a medieval monastery the cloister was the place where the monks would have meditated , studied and exercised . In many monasteries , manuscripts were written in or around the cloister – one of their advantages was that they were roofed but provided ample light . Cloisters had an educational purpose : so this cloister is hardly out of place in a College such as this .
And then too cloister also had a connective purpose : it was often placed in the sunniest location and provided a connection , physical and psychological , between the Abbey or Priory church and the more domestic areas such as the refectory and chapter house . And this cloister too is found at the heart of this College , not tucked away in an obscure corner . And we should keep those who died in conflict at the heart of things too – so that we pass their names on a daily basis , neither out of sight nor out of mind , so that , in a sense at least , they are with us still : and so they should be , ‘ lest we forget ’. Lest , to our peril , we forget .
So much for the word ‘ cloister ’. What of the word memorial ? To help us reflect on that I want to read some words from the prophet Isaiah . In Isaiah 56:5 we read this , ‘ I will give , in my house and within my walls , a monument and a name better than sons and daughters ; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off .’
Isaiah has a very specific group of people in mind : a group which might strike you as rather bizarre . He was speaking of eunuchs – those who by their very nature would not have sons and daughters to carry their name forward as , as it were , a living memorial to them . But to such people , the Lord God says , I will give , in my house and within my walls , a monument and a name better than sons and daughters .
And I ’ m sure you can see how this applies here . The young men who are commemorated in this memorial cloister were cut off in their prime , and the vast majority would have had no offspring to follow them , and to keep their name alive . But instead they have this : within this house and within its walls , a monument and a name .
And actually the reason my mind went to this verse of Isaiah is that those words translated in English , ‘ a monument and a name ’ are in Hebrew ‘ Yad vashem ’ – which as I ’ m sure you know is the hugely sobering Holocaust memorial centre outside Jerusalem . But this place too is Yad Vashem – it is a monument to all those who died , and it gives a name
The Bishop of Winchester
to each one who died : each name carved in the stone of this memorial cloister that their name may last , and that they be not forgotten .
But – lest we forget – there are not one but two memorials in this place . Round the edge we have this beautiful cloister , but at its heart we have the cross of Christ : Jesus Christ , who in his greater love , laid down his life for his friends : for us .
The cross stands as a sobering sign of suffering . Jesus knew what it was to suffer death . The Father knew what it was to lose a beloved Son .
But the cross too stands as a sign of hope . On the cross death and sin were defeated . In his resurrection he opens the way to the Kingdom that is to come : a Kingdom of justice joy and peace .
Standing today in this cloister , in the shadow of the cross , as dark clouds seem to gather , we could do no better today than to commit ourselves to the work of that Kingdom of justice , joy and peace . And we could do no better than to commit ourselves too to the one whose death and life opens the way to that Kingdom for each of us and for all of us : to Jesus Christ our Lord , the Prince of Peace . Amen .
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