A WORD FOR TODAY, October 29, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, October 29, 2021
“Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things. The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9, WEB
Master Sergeant Roddie Edmunds was captured with many Americans by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. The prisoners were divided and Roddie ended up as the ranking non-commissioned officer in a concentration camp with more than twelve hundred other soldiers. It was near the end of the war and the Germans were about to lose. Soon after they arrived at the POW camp, Commandant Siegmann of Stalag IX-B ordered Roddie to send all the Jewish soldiers in front of the barracks. Instead of sending two hundred or so out to be murdered, he ordered the whole contingent of POWs to go out. The Commandant was furious and refused to believe that they were all Jewish. Roddie refused to give up those who were. Even when the Commandant put a pistol to his head, Roddie insisted that they were all Jewish and warned that the Commandant would be punished for war crimes if even one of his men were hurt that day. According to the Geneva Conventions that required prisoners to give their name, rank, and serial number, they were not required to give their religion. The Commandant backed down and more than two hundred men were saved.
Roddie never told his family about this encounter, but they learned about it after his death in 1985 when they discovered diaries that he kept during that time. He never received any official recognition for his actions. After further research, Roddie’s son found some of the men who were saved that day and they confirmed the story. Yad Vashem, which is Israel’s official memorial for those who suffered during the Holocaust, posthumously recognized Edmonds as “Righteous Among the Nations,” Israel’s highest honor for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. Roddie is only one among five Americans so honored and the only American soldier to be given the award. Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev is quoted as saying “...Edmonds seemed like an ordinary American soldier, but he had an extraordinary sense of responsibility and dedication to his fellow human beings.”
Roddie took his responsibility for the men under his leadership very seriously; he was even willing to die for them. Then he didn’t tell anyone afterwards to be rewarded for his incredible courage. He was born and raised in Tennessee and attended a Methodist church in his youth, but other than that we don’t know anything about his faith. We know little about his life after the war, except that he led a rather average middle-class life with a wife and at least one son. Even now Roddie is relatively unknown, but in the atmosphere of our current world, he is a man we should know and emulate.
It is unlikely that we’ll ever be in the same position as Roddie Edmunds. We are unlikely to save two hundred men of another religious faith by standing firm on what is good, right, and true. We are unlikely to even face death for the sake of another in such a dramatic way. But we are reminded that God gives us opportunities to stand for those who can’t speak for themselves, to risk our own life to guard and protect others and perhaps even save them from the threats of this world.
Experts disagree about the timing of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He was likely in prison at the time, but most agree that it was probably in Rome and that he was confined to a house where he was allowed to preach and teach to his disciples. Still, Paul knew what it was like to risk everything for the sake of the Gospel, and he encouraged others to do the same. The Christian life is not meant to be one safely hidden away from the dangers of this world, but to be one that does what is good, right, and true.
In Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, Martin never explains the commandments from just a negative point of view. He doesn’t just say, “Thou shall not...”; instead he reminds us to do what is necessary to make life better for others. Under the Fifth Commandment, Luther writes, “You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.”
Roddie could have protected his own life and that of a thousand other men by sending those two hundred or so men to their death and it wouldn’t be counted against him as murder. The blood would forever be on the hands of that Commandant. However, Roddie knew it wasn’t enough to protect the thousand who were not Jewish. He knew that he had to do whatever he could to guard and protect the lives of those who had no way to protect themselves, to make life better for them. We are called to emulate men like Roddie, to be Christ-like in all our actions, willingly standing for those who can’t stand for themselves, obeying the commandments by helping and supporting them in every physical need even when it is risky and inconvenient to us.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.