On October 12, 1917, Alfred faced his most daunting test yet. Hundreds of British soldiers had been charged with reclaiming the village of Poelcappelle in Belgium from the Germans. It was an important location from a strategic standpoint and Allied forces resolved to have it back under their command. The British troops attacked on a day that poured down rain, suffering heavy losses. One hundred fifty-eight men in Alfred’s battalion of 484 were killed, wounded, or MIA. No one could locate the missing men as they were scattered across miles of sucking, waterlogged foxholes and craters in the mud. Stuck in the middle of No Man’s Land, they were unable to communicate their positions back to their allies in the safe zone without being killed.

          When Alfred Mendes’ commanding officer asked for a volunteer to do the almost certainly fatal job of running out to locate the positions of the surviving men and then reporting back to the troops – Alfred volunteered for the job.

          Miraculously, he survived and . . . located a number of survivors, enabling them to be rescued. It was an act that later won Alfred the Military Medal for bravery. His actions became the inspiration for the film 1917. In an interview, writer and director Sam Mendes explains the source of the film: “I had a story that was a fragment told to me by my grandfather, who fought in the First World War. It’s the story of a messenger who has a message to carry.”

          As Memorial Day 2020 approaches and we pause to remember those who gave so much that the blessings of freedom might still be ours, it is appropriate to pause and give thanks for the One who volunteered to leave the safety of Heaven and traverse a different battlefield every bit as threatening (And more so in many ways!) as the one described above, for the purpose of delivering the most important message anyone could hope to receive: 

          “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that

            Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16,

            NIV)

          It is a familiar message to most, probably the one verse that nearly everyone has learned by heart. Some find it too familiar, even tiresome. Yet, I never tire of hearing it.  I hope you feel this way. Most of all, I hope and pray that you have received this message and all the more importantly – received the messenger, Himself. 

Your Servant in Christ, Pastor Paul