INTRO: THE STORY OF THE FOUR CHAPLAINS
This morning, I’d thought it be good to honor our veterans, and to look at veteran of the faith who served so that others could live. Now, to all you who’ve given so much for this country and for our freedoms —Thank you! It is in that spirit that I’d like to begin our time. That being said, let me start off by retelling the story of Four, heroic Army chaplains in WWII that faithfully served and sacrificed themselves so others could live.
It was the evening of Feb. 2, 1943, and the U.S. Army Transport Ship Dorchester was crowded to capacity. Hans J. Danielsen, the ship's captain, was concerned and cautious. He knew they were in dangerous waters; German U-boats were constantly prowling these vital sea lanes, and several ships had already been sunk.
The Dorchester was only 150 miles from its destination, but the captain ordered the men to sleep in their clothing and keep life jackets on. Many soldiers sleeping deep in the ship's hold disregarded the order because of the engine's heat. Others ignored it because the life jackets were uncomfortable.
On Feb. 3, at 12:55 a.m., a periscope broke the chilly Atlantic waters. Through the cross hairs, an officer aboard the German submarine U-223 spotted the Dorchester and fired. One torpedo hit —striking the starboard side — far below the water line. Moments later, the Captain gave the order to abandon ship. In less than 20 minutes, the Dorchester would slip beneath the Atlantic's icy waters.
Panic and chaos had set in. Men jumped from the ship into lifeboats, over-crowding them to the point of capsizing. Through the chaos, four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness. Those chaplains were Lt. George Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander Goode, Jewish; Lt. John Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark Poling, Dutch Reformed.
Quickly and quietly, the four spread out among the soldiers. There they tried to calm the frightened, tend the wounded and guide the disoriented toward safety. One Army Private found himself floating in oil-smeared water surrounded by dead bodies and debris. "I could hear men crying, pleading, praying," He recalled. "I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going."
Another sailor, PO John Mahoney tried to reenter his cabin, but Rabbi Goode stopped him. The sailor concerned about the cold Arctic air, explained he had forgotten his gloves. "Never mind," CHP Goode responded. "I have two pairs." The rabbi then gave the petty officer his own gloves. In retrospect, Mahoney realized that Rabbi Goode was not conveniently carrying two pairs of gloves, and that the rabbi had decided not to leave the Dorchester.
By this time, most of the men were topside, and the chaplains opened a storage locker and began distributing life jackets. It was then that Engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight. When there were no more lifejackets in the storage room, the chaplains removed theirs and gave them to four frightened young men.
"It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven," said John Ladd, another survivor who saw the chaplains' selfless act. Ladd's response is understandable. The altruistic action of the four chaplains constitutes one of the purest spiritual and ethical acts a person can make. When giving their life jackets, Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew; Father Washington did not call out for a Catholic; nor did the Reverends Fox and Poling call out for a Protestant. They simply gave their life jackets to the next man in line.
As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts could see the four chaplains —arms linked and braced against the slanting deck. Their voices could also be heard offering prayers.
When the news reached American shores, the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy and heroic conduct of the four chaplains.
"Valor is a gift," Carl Sandburg once said. "Those having it never know for sure whether they have it until the test comes." That night Chaplains Fox, Goode, Poling and Washington passed life's ultimate test. In doing so, they became an enduring example of extraordinary faith, courage and selflessness. ------- PAUSE -------- Okay, with that, please open your bibles to 2 Timothy 1 — found on pages 1852-53 of the pew bible.
TIMOTHY: A MAN OF EXTRAORDINARY FAITH
Summary: On his second Missionary Journey, Paul plants church in Ephesus, and in time Timothy is raised up as the pastor of the city church. However, in time, problems in the church at Ephesus set-in. There was widespread defection from commitment to Christ (as chapter 1, verse 15 indicates). And Hymeneus, an early believer turned troublemaker was spreading false teachings among the faithful, like a disease
Okay, so with that in mid, let’s READ 1:1-7
I love Paul’s words, “I am reminded of your sincere faith.” But what he says next is even more beautiful. Paul encouraged Timothy to fan the flame of his faith in the power of the Holy Spirit.
His words of encouragement are important and set the stage for the remainder of his letter to Timothy — not only for what he endured, but more importantly for what Timothy also endured: people were gossiping and creating dissention, and others were abandoning the faith and the church — and this, most likely, got Timothy down, so to speak.
He’s saying to Timothy, “Tap into that strength and that power, which is the Spirit of Christ — and minister as the man of extraordinary faith I know you to be.”
ENCOURAGED TO BE A MAN OF COURAGE
READ VV 8-15
Do “not be ashamed” of the Gospel – Paul uses the word combination, not ashamed five times in the entire book – either speaking of himself or by imploring Timothy to not be ashamed of the Gospel or of him, or of his duties as a Christian. He says….
“Do not be ashamed to”….
to testify about our Lord as a workman who correctly handles the word of truth
of what you believe and have been entrusted to guard and profess
Of others who are suffering because of their faith – Paul says everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Likewise, five times, Paul encouraged Timothy to endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus for the sake of the elect in discharging the duties of the ministry
Okay, let’s jump over to Chapter Two and read VV 1-13 to wrap up our time: READ VV 1-13
ENCOURAGED TO BE SELFLESS
READ VV 1-13
Paul says, “be Strong”…. And this is why:
You’re going to endure hardship and be tested – therefore have great faith in Christ Jesus
But more importantly, be strong for the sake of those who need Jesus Christ. In the spirit of the four chaplains: be strong for those who don’t have life jackets, for those who are helpless and confused and afraid – be strong and give them your life preserver (Jesus Christ), be strong and pray for and encourage those the enemy is trying to kill, be strong for those who are drowning or burning in the flames. Be strong, and do what you can to preserve life.
V.4 “No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer.”
The ambition of the Christian soldier must be that of pleasing the Lord Jesus. The phrase “one serving as a soldier” is not merely a reference to someone’s serving as a minister or a full-time Christian worker. Paul desired that all believers live as soldiers.
The soldier was concerned to obey his commander twenty-four hours a day, and Paul wanted Timothy to display the same zeal in commitment to the Lord.
He encouraged Timothy not to be absorbed with mere living or existing. Instead, Paul promotes a life of full and faithful service to the one who enlisted (or recruited) us into the service of the Lord — that being the Jesus Christ.
Paul is saying, “Serve the Lord with a singular focus. Don’t get distracted by the things that matter, instead, keep your eyes on the target.
Talk about how soldiers in combat have to stay focused — the danger of not keeping focus leads to
Possible death to self or others — hands of the enemy or friendly fire.
In the Navy, we practiced over-and-over-and-over again to fight the ship in times of combat. A failure to keep focused on the mission at hand, and on your shipmates, could lead to death by fire, or drowning (in the case of the ship going down).
WRAP IT UP.
RELATE ALL THESE THINGS TO THE CHURCH
If we fail to maintain our focus on Jesus Christ, and on selflessly serving others in the faith, we endanger our own faith… it’s easy to become complacent and to slip into lives of ease and comfort. When this happens, the enemy can fire upon us, or we can get shot by friendly fire – as was happening to Paul and Timothy (and they hadn’t lost focus)… the enemy is so out to get us that we have to keep our focus as alert and dutiful soldiers in Christ Jesus.
If we fail to maintain our focus on Jesus Christ, and on selflessly serving others, those we’re sworn to protect could die.
If we fail to maintain our focus –as sailors in God’s Navy – then we or others could die by fire, or our ship could sink.
For all these reasons, Paul is encouraging us — as he did with Timothy — to
Serve faithfully as men and women of extraordinary faith
To be those who live, eat, and breathe Christ and live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
to not be ashamed of the Gospel, and to testify about our Lord
to continue believing in what we’ve been entrusted to guard and profess
but most important, Jesus Christ —speaking through Paul, says “encourage one another and build up one another in the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Jesus says, “Be selfless – give yourself, your money, your time —all that you have and who you are to me —and when you do that, you’ll truly be living as a solider of Christ in the Power of the Holy Spirit.”
