Sermon on Remembrance Sunday - Fr Sam Rossiter-Peters

In this moving Remembrance Sunday reflection, Fr Sam challenges how we imagine heaven and the life to come. Too often, he observes, we picture heaven as “earth but a bit better”. A continuation of our current joys without the pain. But, as Fr Sam powerfully reminds us, that vision cannot hold for those who have seen or suffered the worst that humanity can do. For them, heaven must be something entirely new and not an extension of this world, but its transformation.

Drawing from Jesus’ exchange with the Sadducees about marriage and resurrection, Fr Sam shows how Christ reveals heaven not as a continuation of earthly relationships, but as a perfected network of love, where all are united in and through the Holy Trinity. Using vivid imagery and honest theological reflection, he weaves together the themes of war, suffering, love, and divine relationship, reminding us that we were created for connection with God, with each other, and with creation itself.

Remembrance Sunday, then, becomes more than a moment to mourn the fallen. It becomes a symbol in need of fulfilment: a call to live differently now, to build peace, and to embody the divine love that heaven promises.