There is a New Year's Honors List on which those who have been adjudged to have done outstanding work in their community are honored by a decoration. It is traditionally presented by Her Majesty the Queen. One of the most moving moments was when a Knighthood was presented to Captain Tom Moore. The investiture by Elizabeth II took place outside in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle on 17th July 2020. She used the sword that had belonged to her father George VI. It was the Queen's first official engagement in person since the start of the COVID-19 lock down. During the pandemic and with his 100th birthday approaching Tom Moore began a fundraising campaign for the NHS supporting staff and volunteers. His aim was to complete a hundred lengths of 27 yards (25 meters) of his garden doing ten lengths a day using his walking frame and calling it “Tom’s 100th Birthday Walk for the NHS.” His goal was to raise £1,000 by his 100th birthday on 30 April.
In the 24-day course of his fundraising, he made many media appearances and became a popular household name in the United Kingdom, earning a number of accolades and attracting over 1.5 million individual donations. On the morning of Moore's hundredth birthday, the total raised by his walk passed £30 million, and by the time the campaign closed at the end of that day, it had increased to over £32.79 million (worth almost £39 million with expected tax rebates). His birthday was marked in a number of ways, including fly pasts by the Royal Air Force and the British Army. He received over 150,000 cards and was appointed as honorary colonel of the Army Foundation College. On 17 July 2020, he was personally knighted by the Queen at Windsor Castle. He died on 2 February 2021 at Bedford Hospital, where he was taken after being treated for pneumonia and then testing positive for COVID-19. This most remarkable man will never be forgotten and has been rightly honored.
Other honors are bestowed on people who have made outstanding differences in their communities and will have passed more quietly but will not have moved the population of this country in such a dramatic way. Knighthoods are often received by wealthy businessmen, who have donated significant amounts of money to political parties or causes much needed in humanitarian areas. Most of the honors are made to Civil Servants who have done their work without any stains on their career and will receive the standard reward in due course. There are nowadays honors given in achievements in sport and areas of entertainment. Outstanding academic achievements, where the results of examinations are above the normal levels, are said to have been achieved with honors. All these achievements are noted and are given as a reward for what they have achieved.
Many do not set out to be rewarded but simply do the job that needs to be done. As we all have opportunities given to us from God Himself, it is simply a matter of doing what we feel is right and correct, as Jesus illustrated in his parable about the Samaritan, who stopped and helped the injured traveler, who had been set on by thieves on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. He was being left for dead by all those who walked by on the other side. Jesus cleverly used the story to illustrate that it is not always our friends who come to help us. We all need to love everyone including our enemies. Traditionally a Samaritan was an enemy of the Jews, but here, is this example, all the Jewish travelers walked by on the other side and it was left to the Samaritan to stop, help and see to the comforts of this man. He dressed his wounds and took him to the local inn, where he left money for his recovery until he came by again. His honor would surely be given from the one true God regardless of race or religion. We are often asked to do the same but without any tangible reward.
Sunday, 9th May 2021
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