... hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
This evening we went to a combo Communion service and Baptism for a couple of boys. It was actually a great way to begin Easter weekend.
The pastor told a story though, I'd never heard before. One that really was amazing at what this man was willing to do. Maximillian Kolbe. A Polish Priest in a German Concentration camp. Let me share it with you.
A prisoner had escaped from Auschwitz. The camp's rule was that if one prisoner escaped, ten died in his place. All day the weak and underfed men from the escaped prisoner's block were made to stand in the sun without food and water. When the man was not found, a prison guard randomly called out the names of ten men who were to die in his place.
When Sergeant Francis Gajowniczek heard his name called, he cried out, "Have mercy! I have a wife and children." But mercy was a commodity in short supply in Nazi death camps.
Into the gap stepped Maximilian Kolbe. He moved forward silently. Asked what he wanted, he replied, "I am a Catholic priest from Poland; I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children." Hesitating a moment in face of this noble gesture, Commandant Fritsch accepted the replacement. Maximilian and nine others were sent to Building 13, to starve to death.
During those two weeks when typically men are screaming and groaning in agony, Maximilian led the victims in hymns and prayer. When he became too weak to speak aloud, he whispered his prayers. After two weeks, only four of the ten were still alive. Maximilian alone was completely conscious. The guards needed the space for more prisoners and decided to hasten the deaths with lethal doses of carbolic acid. Maximilian was last.
Wow - would I be willing to do that?
Humm - something to think about!
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