The eleventh hour is synonymous with crunch time. To step in at the 11th hour brings us back from the brink of disaster or calamity. Eleventh hour reprieves bring a tight rescue. A small delay and the consequences are irreversible. Sometimes decisions have to be made and to avoid them means that a particular course will follow. The 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in the 11th year confronts us with the decisions we make to take a stand or not to take a stand, to intervene or not to intervene, the moments when history changes.
Robert Runcie, a former Archbishop of Canterbury and holder of the Military Cross from the Second World War, said that war is always a sign of human failure. It means that other options have failed or been shut down. Nothing but force will stop an aggressor and that brings much suffering and death.
The day of elevens is the anniversary of the cease fire which brought an end to the First World War in 1918. It is the bringing back from the brink of destruction and killing. It is the full-stop to hostilities just before the clock moves into a new period at midday or midnight.
May our remembrance give us pause to reflect on all that makes for peace and true harmony between people, on what resolves conflicts so that they are brought to an end rather than just a pause in hostilities until the next time. In South Africa, after years of hatred and oppression under apartheid, this was achieved through the truth and reconciliation commission. The process involved restorative justice. This requires the honest admission and facing up to hurts caused and injuries inflicted. It is only then that the hurt that leads to anger and aggression can be put to rest.
Whatever the conflict the eleventh hour reminds us that time is limited and it will run out. Before it is too late and hostility breaks out it is time to seek the peace that comes through honest and humble acknowledgement of the sins that separate us from one another and from God.
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