Time for amendment of life

He had been the camp doctor and had taken part in some of the gruesome experiments which were done to prisoners, and of course there were meticulous records of it all.

He was summoned before the chief US officer who said:

“From what I have seen and heard and read, you should be shot.

However, my job now is to see that these former prisoners are strengthened for living, not managed for dying.

I need doctors to help do that.

I have you as the camp doctor, and a former Jewish prisoner, to care for all of these suffering people.

I think that you have been a very poor doctor, but you are what I have to work with now, so I want the two of you to work together.

If you do, you may live; if you do not, you will surely die with a bullet in your head from one of my angry men.”

The doctor thought to himself, “Yes I have been a poor doctor.

I have treated the sniffles and minor aches of the guards, and have ignored or done harm to these hundreds of prisoners.”

And so they began their work.
The Nazi doctor had to learn compassion all over again from the frail Jewish former prisoner;

--how to deal gently with the people,

--how to see what was wrong with the whole person,

--how to point to hope in the situation where there was much despair.

Oh, yes, many of the former prisoners still died because of their weakened conditions, but others lived and began to prepare for a life beyond the confines of this hospital camp.

The former Nazi had changed, too.

Now he could speak the language of those whom he had considered inferior to him.

He could see things through their eyes.

As the months passed and the health of many improved, the health of the Jewish doctor declined.

At last he revealed to his colleague that he was dying of inoperable cancer.

And one day very soon, he was gone.

As it happened, that very day was the one chosen for the camp to be dismantled and the patients moved to their homes, or to other hospitals.

The American officer summoned the doctor, and they talked about all that had happened and how the doctor had learned again about life.

The American officer sat quietly looking at the doctor for a long time.

There were two little piles of documents lying on the desk in front of him;

one from the Jewish doctor who had died that morning, and one from the former Nazi doctor standing there.

Slowly and deliberately, the American officer removed the identity photos from both books...and switched them,

and handed the man his new identity as a Jewish doctor who had been a prisoner.

“Go,and live, the American officer said to him, ...and he went.

It was another chance at life for one who certainly deserved death.

What a wonder!

...and it is our story also!

Everyone here has at various point done despicable things.

If you are having trouble remembering of them right now, we only need to spend some time with Luther's explanations of the Ten Commandments from the Small Catechism, and we can all discover some in short order.

Just for one quick example, think of the 5^th commandment: “You shall not kill.”

“Well,” we piously intone, I haven't murdered anyone today... or ever;

so, I think that I have kept that commandment just fine.

But hear again Luther's explanation.

We are to fear and love God so that we do not endanger or harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all of life's needs.

Have we done all of that? ...anyone?

We may have treated the cases of sniffles and the aches and pains of those closest to us,

but it seems true also that at best we have ignored the needs of so many others and at worst, have done them grievous harm,

just as did the rich man in Jesus' parable.

This rich man saw Lazarus day after day outside his door, and knew his name, but did nothing to help this man.

He simply and totally ignored Lazarus as the rich man feasted day after day.

Lazarus was a living reminder to the rich man that life is more than one's private party; it is also about community and connections and love and faithfulness – and the rich man ignored all of that.

Then, after death, he wants the heavenly Abraham to got to be a messenger to his five brothers, in order to warn them of trouble ahead if they don't amend their ways.

But Abraham refuses, saying If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.

In Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, there is such a visitor, the ghost of Marley the old partner of Scrooge.

But that is just a story.

God has sent his Word into the world in person, our Lord Jesus.

He has said and done all that we need to know.

We do not need to consult horoscopes or Ouija boards.

We don't need to wait for some other message or interpretation.

We need only to hear the Good News of Jesus and respond to it, and we will be so busy with the ceaseless round of worship of God and serving the needs of all our neighbors that we will have no time at all for thinking about being superior to one another,

or looking for some guru to give us the latest spiritual fad that wills set us apart from the rest.

Jesus intends us to be busy in ways that unite us to himself and thereby to each other.

We cannot all be best buddies, but we can rejoice in our connections through Christ the vine.

I'm remembering a dear lady from our years in Catawissa.

Lois Fisher wasn't a member of the congregation, but was a Baptist from Danville, and a sister to one of our folks.

She got involved in the quilting group that met each week, just like our group here at St. Mark's.

She became passionate about the work, and led the group in the production of a great number of quilts.

What was her motivation?

Out of curiosity, she had gone to New York City with a friend and had participated in aiding the homeless and hungry in the city.

She could have said, as do so many, that she had done enough, but she went on that trip, saw and helped, and came back fired up about what more we can and should be doing even in our little corner of the world.

Until her final illness, she worked and encouraged others to lay aside TV game shows and card clubs and instead to work together in ways that can benefit many.

Here's the story of Lucy Luc, 34, who lived in a ritzy NY suburb, who agreed on a whim to go on one of her church's midnight runs to NYC.

That night they took soup, sandwiches, hot chocolate, and clothing and blankets that had been donated.

Their first stop was at 1 AM in Central Park, where 50 homeless folk quickly gathered.

Lucy was frightened, wondering if the folks were crazy or drunk.

She passed clothing out the van window and the folks tried them on and if it didn't fit, gave them to someone else to try.

They seemed so glad to receive the things.

She gradually warmed to the task, and fully participated in all the activities.

Back at home the next day, she alternately laughed and cried as she thought about the night....until she went the following evening to a fancy party.

She told her friends about what she had done the night before and they were shocked, calling her flat out stupid.

She says, “They look at me now like I'm different, and I am.

I guess I have lost my sense of boundaries between us and the homeless.”

We don't have to travel to NYC; we have such things as the Thrivent Build for Habitat, Family Promise of Lycoming County, the Life-chain, the CROP walk active right here.

Those who have participated know that it is not difficult, that there are things for every age and ability to do.

Throughout the past 2000 years, it has consistently been the church that has taken the lead in care for the poor, the sick, the widowed, the unborn, the orphan, the hungry.

From the earliest days of the church, when others would run away from whatever plague was afflicting the city,

it was the people of Christ's church who were empowered by the Lord Jesus to stay and serve.

Let's not be confused: 100 years ago some folks thought that doing these things was itself the gospel.

No, Lutherans take it as our task to remind everyone that the Good News is God's gracious gift that calls us to himself.

The church word for that is “salvation.”

But we also know that whenever and wherever we grasp that word of salvation, things will happen,

because we will be bubbling over with enthusiasm to share both the things that we have and the things that we know.

We will also want to help our society become now a little closer to what we anticipate it will be in heaven.

In the light of that truth,

let all who have heard and seen and received,

also joyfully go and say and do. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.