Easter                     March 23, 2008

I have an Easter story to share with you.

During the dark days of WWII, amid the horrors that were being perpetrated by the Nazis, there were also, as we know, pinpoints of light:  Oscar Schlindler for one, and another lesser known, a German soldier, one Private Joseph Schultz.  Sent to Yugoslavia shortly after the Nazi invasion, Schultz was a loyal young German soldier, filled with ideals worthy of his dedication.  One day, while on duty, the sergeant called out eight names, his among them.  Thinking they were about to go on a routine patrol, the soldiers set out.  As they made their way over a hill, they came upon eight Yugoslavians, five men and three women.  Only after they had drawn to within 50 feet of them, the soldiers realized what their mission was, the slaughter of innocent civilians.

The sergeant barked out his orders and the eight soldiers lined up.  “Ready,” he shouted, and they raised their rifles.  “Aim,” and they focused their sights.  Suddenly, in the silence that hung heavy in the air, they heard the thud of a rifle butt hitting the ground, and as the sergeant and the seven other soldiers turned to look, they saw Private Schultz walking toward the Yugoslavians.  Ignoring an order to come back, Schultz walked the 50 feet to the mound of the hill and joined hands with the five men and three women.

After a moment of stunned silence, the sergeant yelled, “Fire!” and Private Joseph Schultz died, mingling his blood with that of those other innocent men and women.  Later an excerpt from Paul to the Corinthians was found on his body: “Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”

Perhaps this may seem a strange story to tell on such a glorious day, yet, the pinpoint of light that we can see in Joseph Schultz is but a glimpse of the radiant new day that has dawned for us in Jesus.  Schultz, a believing Christian, did what any Christian would do..... wouldn’t we?  He identified with victims of human hatred.  He stood with them.  He took them by the hand, and he stayed with them to the end.  He did no more than follow the example of the divine Son of God.  God’s Son did not regard equality with God something to be held onto, but emptied himself and became human like us.  God identified with us in Jesus.  He identified fully with us.  Nothing human was alien to him, not even a tragic, painful, innocent death at the hands of evil perpetrators.  Today Christ stands with us.  Today Christ takes us by the hand, and on the day we die, he will still be holding our hands as he draws us to himself.

What gave Joseph Schultz the courage to step forward and stand with that small band of innocent people about to be murdered?  The Bible passage he carried with him contains the answer.  Love does not stand idly by satisfied with wrongdoing.  Love steps forward and rejoices with the truth.  Joseph’s heart was oriented by love.

Further St.  Paul tells us, “Love bears all things, endures all things.”  If we love, we can put up with anything, even suffering.  That one soldier’s heart loved!  He put up with death!

Moreover, “Love believes all things.”  Ah, now here is an insight!  “Love believes all things.”  Not that one who loves is gullible and believes just about anything.  No.  Paul’s insight is that love comes first.  Then comes faith in God, faith in his promises, belief in life after death.  We don’t first believe in the resurrection and then love because we believe.  No, first we love strongly, we put others before ourselves, we live for others.  Then belief comes easily, then we believe strongly.  Private Schultz stepped forward so naturally without hesitation, with courage and faith because he believed that his death would be a new and better beginning.  And he believed it so firmly because he first loved those eight Yugoslavian men and women!  Yes, love easily believes all things revealed to us by God.

Are you uneasy about life after death, maybe struggling with some doubts, unsure about the resurrection?  Take out your yardstick.  How much do you love?  That much will you believe.  Want to believe more?  Then love more!