Fourteen-year-old Rex brought out the last and biggest birthday present of them all for his Uncle Hugh. A broad smile betrayed Rex’s pride. It was the first time he had ever given a present to the uncle he loved so much. Always before his parents bought a present and just put Rex’s name on it, but this time Rex had bought the present with money he had earned working at the grocery down the street.
“It was supposed to be for Christmas,” Rex told his uncle. “But I couldn’t wait.”
“Wow, this must be a really great present if you couldn’t wait to give it to me,” his uncle said.
“At least your birthday is in December,” Rex added as his uncle tore away the wrapping paper, “so it’s almost like a Christmas present.”
“Hey, this is beautiful! I mean, man, this is really beautiful!” his uncle exclaimed. “Rex, you must be working a lot harder than I realized at that store, because this must have cost a lot!”
“Not that much,” Rex said as he beamed with delight at his uncle’s excitement about the gift.
“Man, I’m going to have to get a fancier apartment to hang this in. It’s way too beautiful to hang in my place.”
Rex laughed at his uncle’s words, and watched happily as his uncle ran his rough hands over the glassy-finish on the wooden sides of the case that housed nine military medals.
“So how did you manage to swipe all my medals from Vietnam?”
“I told you to be more careful to lock your door when you go out. You never know when somebody will sneak in and steal your stuff,” Rex answered with a smile.
“Yeah,” his uncle responded, “but if I locked my door these medals would still be in a brown paper bag stuffed under the living room couch.” Then again looking at the case full of military medals, his uncle said, “I never knew these things could look this pretty.”
Rex sat back in his chair, satisfied that he had managed to give his uncle a very special gift. He sat quietly as his uncle stared in silence at the medals in the case. Meanwhile, Rex’s parents went into the kitchen to finish getting the birthday dinner ready.
Rex had worried that seeing the medals displayed might remind his uncle of things that he would rather forget. These worries returned as he watched his uncle sitting uncharacteristically silent looking at the medals. Rex’s smile gave way to a look of concern.
Finally, his uncle looked up at him and said, “Rex, you know some people would look at these medals and think that war was wonderful and glorious. But if people know anything, they should know that these medals remind us of the pain and suffering that comes from one nation lifting up the sword against another nation, or one person lifting up their hand against another person. Rex, God does not want men and women to learn the so-called arts of war any more. Like the Bible says, God wants us to stop beating on each other. Instead, God wants us to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. If we keep lifting up our hands against others, we will never enjoy the peace that we so desperately want and that God is working so hard to give us. Rex, these medals are powerful reminders of how not to seek peace. Thank you. You’ve given me a really great gift.
Later that evening, just after his uncle had left to go home, Rex heard someone knocking on the door. Rex said to his dad, “I bet Uncle Hugh forgot something.” He ran to the door to tease his uncle about being so forgetful.
“Are your parents here?” a neighbor said to Rex as he opened the door.
Rex’s dad stepped up beside his son.
“There’s been trouble down the street,” the neighbor said, “a man’s been hurt. I don’t know who he is, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen him visiting with you folks in the past. I thought you would want to know.”
“Thanks,” Rex’s dad said as he started out the door and down the street. Rex followed on his dad’s heals. Seeing the flashing red lights, they both broke into a run.
A circle of paramedics were working on somebody lying on the sidewalk. Rex couldn’t see who they were working on. He stepped up onto a nearby porch, hoping to see over the heads of the paramedics. That’s when he spotted the wooden case with his uncle’s medals. It was leaning against the bag that held his uncle’s other birthday presents.
“Dad, look,” Rex said as he pointed to his uncle’s presents sitting on the sidewalk.
Just then, one of the paramedics stood up.
“I think that’s my brother,” Rex’s dad said to the paramedic as he hurried to get something from the emergency vehicle. “He was just at our house. It’s his birthday.”
As the paramedic returned with a box of medical supplies, he asked Rex’s dad, “What’s his name?”
“Hugh,” Rex’s dad answered.
Rex didn’t like the worried look on the paramedics face, as the man joined the others gathered around Rex’s uncle.
“Hugh, can you hear us?” they began asking. “Hugh, we need you to wake up now. Can you hear us? We need you to wake up.”
As the paramedics continued working to help his uncle, Rex noticed a woman sobbing as a police officer talked with her. Her head and arm were bandaged. Rex recognized her as one of the women who worked the street corner. He could hear her talking to the officer about his uncle.
“He just stood there!” she sobbed. “I told you. He didn’t do nothin’! My boyfriend was hittin’ me, and this guy just came from nowhere and stepped in between me and my boyfriend. So my boyfriend just started hittin’ him, and he wouldn’t stop, and this guy didn’t do anything to defend himself. He just stood there, letting my boyfriend beat him and beat him. O God, is he going to be okay?”
“Did he say anything to your boyfriend?” the officer asked her.
“He just said, ‘Stop hittin’ her. Hittin’ people never solves anything.’ That’s it. That’s all the guy said. But I think my boyfriend was trying to use his fists to prove this guy wrong. Because he just kept hittin’ this guy. And he never did anything!”
“Have you ever seen this man before?” the officer asked.
“No. At least I don’t think so,” she answered. “I see a lot of guys, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” the officer agreed.
“So who is he?” she asked. “Is he like Jesus or something?”
“What do you mean?” the officer questioned.
“Well, he must have heard my boyfriend call me a worthless good-for-nothin’. Cause right before he passed out, he looked up at me and said, ‘Don’t believe him. You’re worth dyin’ for.’ And that’s when my boyfriend started kicking him in the head. I tried to stop him,” she continued. “He ain’t dead is he? Nobody ever died for me before –ceptin’, of course, Jesus. God, don’t let him be dead!” she sobbed again. Then looking up at the officer she asked, “Why didn’t he fight back – or at least protect himself?”
“I don’t know,” the officer answered.
Rex didn’t say anything, but he knew the answer. He glanced over at the wooden case holding his uncle’s war medals, and he remembered his uncle’s words, “These medals are powerful reminders of how not to seek peace.”
“He ain’t dead is he?” Rex heard the woman repeat to the officer. “’Cause if he dies, that changes everythin’”
“Yes, ma’am,” the officer answered. “It sure does. Dying changes everything.”
The tears clouding his eyes blurred the lights of the ambulance as Rex watched it drive away with his uncle inside. Rex knew why his uncle had stepped between the woman and the man who was hitting her. His uncle believed with all his heart that Jesus had brought a new way into the world – a way of peace – a way to live and to die. And Rex knew, even as the ambulance sped away toward the hospital, that this is exactly what his uncle had done. He had given his life for peace.
Questions for Meditation, Discussion or Preaching
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
