When We Waltz With Matilda Again: Reflections for Anzac Day

Of all the days to consider the words of Isaiah chapter 11, this may seem the most ridiculous. On this day exactly a hundred years ago, young men from Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand battled the Turks in what became known as the Gallipoli campaign. A failure from the Allied perspective, this battle cost between 470,000 to 503,000 (Turkish records are not terribly precise) young men, some with wives and children and some who did not yet have either of these blessings. So often we read these types of statistics and don't really think about what it means. One death is tragic. 500,000 deaths are staggeringly horrific or, at least, it should be. And it was all for nothing- petty rivalries, greed and everything else that is part of human depravity and wickedness. All for nothing.

So why on this day of all days do I want to bring to our attention this prophecy? Because on this day of all days, the promise is sweeter than ever. The prophecy reads:

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious."

Ironically, one of the titles given to this hellish episode of madness was "The War to End All Wars." Also Ironically, in December of 1914 the True Source of peace actually brought about peace for twenty-four hours on Christmas day as men on both sides put their weapons down to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. In Christ, the walls break down and old rivalries are buried. In Christ, we are ultimately brothers of one blood- His blood. German, French, Australian, Italian or American, if we are in the host of the redeemed and the Body of Christ, we are one and we are brothers. And when nations come to Him, and Scripture plainly teaches they will (e.g. Isaiah 2:2; Rev. 21:24), those nations are bound together by the same faith, the same Lord, the same sacrificial blood.

In the prophecy above, the images used are often employed to depict mighty kingdoms and empires. Think of Daniel's visions for example, with the lion, the bear, and leopard. The great and mighty warriors will one day lay aside their swords and feast peacefully at the Table of bread and wine. This peace is not one that man can bring about on his own, but must be the result of the power of the Gospel.

 This song, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle, is a fitting tribute for Anzac Day as is the song it refers to, Waltzing Matilda which is a frolicsome little folk song quite popular in Australia (the term "to waltz Matilda actually refers to travelling the outback but for the purposes of this post I will use it a little differently). In the song, the soldier can no longer "waltz Matilda" in the outback.

But as the Gospel triumphs over the kingdom of the world, the graveyards of war will give way to the dance floor, where  we will clap and laugh as we dance to the sound of joyful songs. And on an even greater dance floor yet to come, we the Bride of Christ will dance with our Beloved.