Scripture: Matt. 5-7, 20:25-28; John 4:22-24, 8:1-11.

With all the bad news in our world, two recent stories of love and mercy deserve our attention. In fact, they portray humans who mirrored God’s goodness.

Last Friday, a two-year-old boy and his grandfather intended to enjoy a lakeside stroll along Lake Michigan, with grandpa pushing the toddler in a stroller. But winds were high with gusts of around 30 mph. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew the strapped-in toddler and stroller into the lake. Witnesses say that the grandfather immediately jumped into the frigid water, concerned only with saving the boy’s life.

But the grandfather struggled in the water, only able to point and shout in broken English, “Child! Child!” One of the witnesses, John Derscheid, called 911. He said that the grandfather, unable to help the child, was moaning and crying in the water. Divers found the boy about 10 feet down in the 42-degee murky water. He was immediately taken to a nearby children’s hospital in critical condition, while his grandfather was hospitalized and treated for exposure. Derscheid said the scene “is going to stick with me for the rest of my life."1

Our second story resurfaced this week after 40 years because the goodness behind it hasn’t been forgotten. March 16, 1968, was a very dark day in the Vietnam War. The American soldiers of Charlie Company opened fire on some 500 unarmed Vietnamese civilians during a “search and destroy” mission. That mission would become known as the My Lai massacre.

The world wouldn’t know until a year later that a 24-year-old American pilot, Hugh Thompson, risked his own life to stop the massacre. He landed his helicopter between the U.S. soldiers and the civilians, and even ordered his gunmen—Lawrence Colburn, 19, and Glenn Andreotta, 20—to fire on U.S. soldiers if they continued the killing.

Meanwhile, Thompson went on to rescue about a dozen civilians inside a bunker, and prepared to airlift them to safety with the aid of two nearby helicopter gunships. But as he began to lift off, Andreotta saw movement in a nearby ditch strewn with mutilated bodies. The three risked their lives again as they landed and rescued a little boy among the dead and took him to a hospital.

Colburn, now 58, is the only survivor among Thompson and his crew. Although all three men were awarded the Soldier’s Medal, he says he’s still haunted by the nightmares.2

The focus of this week’s lesson is the wisdom of Jesus’ teachings. Through the famous sermon we call, “The Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus teaches among other things, how we are treated by God and how we should treat each other,

In the sermon, Jesus taught about God’s love through little children—the kind of love the grandfather showed when he jumped into the water to save the grandson he loved so much. And Jesus taught about mercy—the kind of mercy Thompson showed when he risked his own life to save his enemies that were being mistreated.

As humans, we’re not by nature loving and self-sacrificing. The “Me first” and “Mine!” mentality starts at a very young age. Yet when we come to know firsthand God’s grace—a grace that saves when we don’t deserve salvation—we naturally become more like the God who loves to give. We’ve been given so much. And Jesus’ teachings suggest that the way we can give back to God is to extend that same love, forgiveness and grace to others. And there’s a lot of wisdom in that!  

 ~ nc

1. MSNBC

2. AARP Magazine

 Creative Ministry Center.   www.creativeministry.org