February 14, 2006

[Rev. Doc]

The Greatest Is Love

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
I Corinthians 13:13

Imagine four Army chaplains during an icy storm at sea; four men in uniform holding hands as they gaze over the rail of their sinking vessel. They are watching lifeboats pulling away from their reel*ing ship, the U.S. transport Dorchester. The story of these chaplains is a remarkable ac*count of love and sacrifice.

The scene takes place February 3, 1943, off the southern tip of Greenland. The winter night covers the ship like a blanket. Most of the 909 aboard ship are asleep below the decks.

Suddenly the Dorchester jerks and shud*ders. A German torpedo has smashed through her star*board side! In a raging torrent, the sea spurts through the gaping wound. The Dorchester has been dealt a mortal blow. She is sinking.

An order is given to abandon ship. Aboard the dying vessel, men -- many of them injured -- search frantically for life jackets. Some stand in shock, not knowing how to react to the catastro*phe.

Amidst the chaos stand four pillars of strength, four Army chaplains:

George L. Fox, Methodist; Alexander Goode, Jewish; Clark V. Poling, Reformed; and John P. Washington, Ro*man Catholic. They calm the panic-stricken, help the confused search for life jackets and aid the soldiers into the lifeboats swinging out from the tilting deck.

When no more jackets can be found, each chaplain takes off his own and straps it onto a sol*dier who has none. The lifeboats pull slowly away from the doomed vessel. Only 299 will fi*nally sur*vive this night.

As the Dorchester slides beneath the icy water, some can see the four chaplains, hand in hand, praying to the God of them all. The chap*lains' different theological opinions did not seem to matter much on a sinking ship. All that mat*tered was that, at a time of crisis, they lived their love. Yet even for us, every day in lesser ways, that's all that ever matters.

Prayer: Ask God to help you live a life of love daily.

"Dare to love and to be a real friend. The love you give and receive is a reality that will lead you closer and closer to God as well as those whom God has given you to love."
~Henri J. M. Nouwen