Waterloo

Prayer for the Day presented by Reverend Dr Rosa Hunt, minister of Tabernacl chapel in the city centre of Cardiff.

Hello. On this day in 1815, a great battle was fought between the Duke of Wellington, and Napoleon Bonaparte, near the village of Waterloo in what is now Belgium. It turned out to be Napoleon’s final defeat. Waterloo ushered in a long period of peace among the great powers of Europe, but at tremendous human cost. Tens of thousands were killed or wounded on one battlefield in a single day.

The memory of the battle has persisted in British culture. London's Waterloo Station and Waterloo Bridge are named after it, and it gave rise to the phrase to meet your Waterloo. Meaning to suffer a final defeat.

I find it difficult to celebrate military victory which comes at such human cost, even when it leads to peace. But when the Swedish pop group ABBA wrote their song Waterloo, they gave the phrase a new twist. In this song the narrator casts herself as Napoleon and the person she's fallen for is the victorious army. "Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war ... feels like I win when I lose.” However we may feel about the power dynamics in this song, it is a reminder to us all that surrendering our own ego and desire for control to the life-changing power of genuine love may be the best thing that ever happens to us.

Loving God, in your son Jesus Christ you showed us that victory over violence and evil is, paradoxically, to be found in loving our enemies. And sometimes our greatest enemy is ourselves, as we cause suffering by trying to control and manipulate the world around us. Give us the freedom to surrender ourselves to your love and in so doing to find the victory of a life of compassion. In the name of Jesus who showed us this way. Amen