April 6-7 – Greater love....

"And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it, because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see”. ---1 Peter 1:4–5 TLB

The death camp Auschwitz became the killing centre during WWII where the largest numbers of European Jews were murdered by the Nazis. One Christian man who died here became a martyr to the truth of evils of Nazism - a true hero for our time, a saint who lived what he preached, total love toward God and man ...

Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest who died as prisoner 16770 in Auschwitz, on August 14, 1941. When a prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected 10 others to be killed by starvation in reprisal for the escape. One of the 10 selected to die, Franciszek Gajowniczek, began to cry: My wife! My children! I will never see them again! At this Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His request was granted ...

Inevitably, the community came under suspicion and was watched closely. Then in May 1941 the friary was closed down and Maximilian and four companions were taken to the deathcamp Auschwitz, where they worked with the other prisoners. 

One day an SS officer found some of the heaviest planks he could lay hold of and personally loaded them on the Franciscan's back, ordering him to run. When he collapsed, the SS officer kicked him in the stomach and face and had his men give him fifty lashes. When the priest lost consciousness the Nazis threw him in the mud and left him for dead. But his companions managed to smuggle him to the camp infirmary - and he recovered. The doctor, Rudolph Diem, later recalled:'I can say with certainty that during my four years in Auschwitz, I never saw such a sublime example of the love of God and one's neighbor.'

In order to discourage escapes, Auschwitz had a rule that if a man escaped, ten men would be killed in retaliation. In July 1941 a man from Kolbe's bunker escaped. The dreadful irony of the story is that the escaped prisoner was later found drowned in a camp latrine, so the terrible reprisals had been exercised without cause. But the remaining men of the bunker were led out.

'The fugitive has not been found!' the commandant Karl Fritsch screamed. 'You will all pay for this. Ten of you will be locked in the starvation bunker without food or water until they die.' The prisoners trembled in terror. A few days in this bunker without food and water, and a man's intestines dried up and his brain turned to fire.

The ten were selected, including Franciszek Gajowniczek, imprisoned for helping the Polish Resistance. He couldn't help a cry of anguish. 'My poor wife!' he sobbed. 'My poor children! What will they do?' When he uttered this cry of dismay, Maximilian stepped silently forward, took off his cap, and stood before the commandant and said, 'I am a Catholic priest. Let me take his place. I am old. He has a wife and children.'

Astounded, the icy-faced Nazi commandant asked, 'What does this Polish pig want?'

Father kolbe pointed with his hand to the condemned Franciszek Gajowniczek and repeated 'I am a Catholic priest from Poland; I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children.'

Father Kolbe was thrown down the stairs of Building 13 along with the other victims and simply left there to starve. Hunger and thirst soon gnawed at the men. Some drank their own urine, others licked moisture on the dank walls. Maximilian Kolbe encouraged the others with prayers, psalms, and meditations on the Passion of Christ. After two weeks, only four were alive. The cell was needed for more victims, and the camp executioner, a common criminal called Bock, came in and injected a lethal dose of cabolic acid into the left arm of each of the four dying men. Kolbe was the only one still fully conscious and with a prayer on his lips, the last prisoner raised his arm for the executioner. His wait was over ...

In Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, stands an impressive memorial—a constant reminder of horrors past - Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance, built to commemorate Anzac Day.

In the middle of the floor of the main chamber is an open square, surrounded by wreaths. The inscription at the bottom of the square reads, “Greater love hath no man,” in crisp, golden letters. On November 11, Remembrance Day, at exactly 11 o’clock, a ray of sunlight filters through the roof and illuminates one word: LOVE.

The phrase sums up the sacrifice the Anzacs made for peace, for their homes, families and friends, the reason for the memorial, for the ceremonies and for the days of remembrance. Anzac Day—in Australia and New Zealand—has always been a great occasion to remember the sons, brothers and fathers lost to war and to celebrate the mateship we pride ourselves in.

When the motive is driven by love, to give one’s life can be the greatest gift. In the horror of war, we can imagine the hand grenade falling into our trench full of our brothers and sisters who find themselves in a fate assigned by the evils of the world. There is no time to think, but only to act. No one should have to fall on that grenade to save others, but someone will, and did, out of the habit of LOVE.

In the quote “Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13*) Jesus speaks to His disciples, not only predicting His imminent death and sacrifice but also exhorting them to lay down their own wilful selves and become loving servants and friends.

This phrase can be seen repeated on war memorials around the world, and behind them lie the stories of those who willingly laid down their lives for their friends – you, and me. They sacrificed their lives to give us peace and safety in ours on this earth. But no-one has sacrificed as much as the one Christ made on our behalf when He left His Father in heaven to put the Plan of Redemption into action.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus did not go to Jerusalem to preach; Jesus went to Jerusalem to die. He didn't have to die; he chose to go to Jerusalem. He understands that He must offer His life to complete His mission. For Jesus, to be obedient to God’s will, even to experiencing suffering and a fierce, brutal death, was not a sacrifice, but an act of LOVE – He died in our place. Jesus said, “There is no greater love than this, that someone should lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends. . . .”
But why did he choose to leave His Home in heaven in exchange for birth in a filthy cattle stall to die in the prime of life when He didn't have to? One word and His Father would have taken Him straight home. “Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven.” the life of the Creator of the world was put on the line in order to redeem us and give us eternal life

No, He didn't have to die. He chose the suffering, humiliation and indignity of death on the cross because He couldn't bear to return to heaven and spend eternity without us – His friends – and He did it because He LOVES us.

“Written in Red” sung by David Phelps is my music choice – a moving rendition of LOVE. Click on the picture to listen.