Reading
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” – Matthew 5:7 (NET)
Reflection
One of my favorite stories is about a pilot named Franz Stigler, who was a decorated hero flying in Hitler’s Air Force in World War II.
It’s important to remember the historical context here. Both sides had been taught to hate the other. In Stigler’s case, he had been taught the Nazi propaganda that he was a part of the “Master Race,” which called on him to show no mercy in battle to the inferior races he fought against. War is a kind of competition with deadly consequences.
But Stigler was raised a Christian. He carried prayer beads into battle and always asked God for guidance, even in the midst of war.
In December 1943, he intercepted a badly damaged American B-17 after it had dropped its bombs over Germany. Franz Stigler had to decide whether to live out the Nazi doctrine of hate or to obey Jesus’ command for mercy.
The bomber was shattered, its crew wounded, and it was barely staying in the air. Stigler closed in and had every chance to destroy it. Instead, after seeing the condition of the aircraft and its crew, he chose not to fire. He tried to signal the American pilot, Charlie Brown, to land or divert, but Brown did not understand. So Stigler did something almost unbelievable in the middle of a war — he flew alongside the crippled bomber and escorted it to safety, shielding it from German anti-aircraft fire before saluting and breaking away.
Stigler’s brother, another German pilot, had been killed in the war. Stigler could have chosen revenge. Instead he remembered Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Nearly 50 years later, Charlie Brown tracked him down, and the two men became close friends for the rest of their lives. The two friends toured the world, inviting people to resist hating one another and instead choose peace. When Brown died his obituary included his “brother Franz.” When Franz died his obituary listed Charlie Brown as his “brother” as well.
Prayer
Today Jesus, I will have the opportunity to look down on people around me. Help me instead to see each person as your precious child. Let me show mercy to others as you have been merciful to me. Amen.
