Desmond Doss wouldn’t carry a
rifle. That didn’t define his life. What
defined him was what, or who he would carry.
As Desmond Doss and the troops
of the 77th Infantry Division fought to secure Hacksaw Ridge,
recently made famous again by the movie, they came up against seemingly
insurmountable odds. One night, with his wounded friends calling out for help,
while the enemy kept up its barrage, Desmond Doss ran back into the battlefield.
He was on a mission to save those wounded soldiers. He carried the first one to
safety, lowering him on a rope down the escarpment to the beach below. Then he
prayed to his God that he might be mighty enough to save just one more. And he
did. Seventy-five times, seventy-five lives saved by this one soldier who would
not carry a weapon, but who would carry his friends. In the end, Desmond Doss is transformed in
the eyes of his superiors from one mentally unfit to serve to a hero who earns
the rarely awarded Medal of Honor.
As we celebrate the Third
Sunday of Advent, Joy Sunday, we find that God has a title, ‘Mighty Warrior’.
(Zephaniah 3:17) Is this the Messiah whose coming again we await? Don’t we
celebrate the Messiah who is the Prince of Peace? Is the Mighty Warrior also the
Prince of Peace?
The picture painted by the whole
of Scripture is textured with beautiful, multi-layered images of Messiah. When
we take in the full picture we understand why we need a ‘Christ’.
The human race, the earth,
the universe itself, is at war. The war
against sin and sins. The war against evil. The war against complacency in the
face of hate and prejudice. We are in a
war, full of daily battles against so many demons of so many varieties. We long for peace, a peace that will finally
result in joy.
How do we ultimately find joy?
We, wounded soldiers all, are carried by a Mighty Warrior to the shores of
Peace. And when we are safely there, the prophet gives us one more picture
which stirs our souls: The Mighty Warrior ‘will rejoice over you with singing.’
Joy, joy, joy. The Mighty Warrior, the
Prince of Peace, sings with joy over you, his redeemed.
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