Friday, January 28, 2011

I remember this dusty soldier...

When we study the face of the man wearing the golden helmet we know there were a lot of men who could have posed as a model. It had been a time of burning villages, looted churches. This man has turned within. What friends were lost? What orders did he have to carry out? We resonate with his sorrow.
We all free associate. What comes back to me is a hot afternoon east of Munich. We were packed in a station wagon and I was driving. I had been asked to lead an overseas contextual study program in pastoral care and these were D.Min. candidates. We were on our way to 10th army headquarters, where a creative ministry was being carried out. The traffic went from slow to stop. When we got to the intersection there was an American sergeant, obviously a 20 year man, eating dust as he pushed troop trucks through civilian traffic. As he waved us through, I yelled, "Sempi fi, Mac!" His face lit up that part of Bavaria.
Some reader may wonder why a person like myself, who has a comfortable retirement, should be writing a blog. By next week it will be a predictable chore. Motivations are always mixed, but my friends will shrug and say, "He has a need to shout encouragement to those eating dust and carrying out their duty." Hearing any more horrendous stories I - we, Annelie, too - do not need, but we do want to share some hard won understandings - and some victories.

No comments:

Post a Comment