Compassion and mercy are two of the biggest attributes of our loving God!

 We are made in God’s image these fruit in our lives are priceless gifts of Holy Spirit!

In 1942, the Nazis were actively and forcefully rounding up Jews in France. In the picturesque farming village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon (in southern France), Reformed Church minister Andre Trocme inspired an entire village to change lives. And, as it turns out, the world in which we live.

Each of the citizens of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon voluntarily risked their lives to hide Jews--in homes, on farms, and in public buildings; Jews who were being rounded up by the Nazi SS for shipment to the death camps. (It is said that there was not a single home in the village that did not shelter a Jewish family.) Le Chambon-sur-Lignon became known as the "City of Refuge."
Whenever Nazi patrols searched the village, the Jews were sent, surreptitiously, out into the woodland countryside. One of the villagers recalled, "As soon as the soldiers left, we would go into the forest and sing a song. When they heard that song, the Jews knew it was safe to come home."
It is estimated that as many as five thousand lives were saved--many given passage to Switzerland. One reason for this display of compassion? These French villagers were descendants from the persecuted Protestant Huguenots. Their own history of persecution connected them to the plight of the Jewish people hiding in their homes.
Perhaps that is true, I do not know.
I only know that for whatever reason, the villagers choose love.
And the rest, well, the rest is history.
Two things about this story struck me.
One, the extraordinary power of compassion (and the courage to practice compassion in a world that measures and weighs and judges).
Two, the power of love and music to bring each and every one of us, home. Home, the place where we are given value and love and dignity.
What song did the villagers sing?
What kind of music represented freedom and well-being and love and home?
Or maybe it's not that important. The song, I mean. Although, it is certainly our knee-jerk reaction to figure it out. But maybe, just maybe, the song is compassion. Plain and simple.
Whatever it is, the song brings people out of hiding, out of unease, and out of fear. The song invites courage and renewal and resilience.
This week Pope Leo reminded us all. “Caring for others is ‘the supreme law’ that comes before society's rules.”
And caring for others, well, that is music worth singing. And it is the music of Grace.
Or in the case of our 90-year-old matriarch, it is the music to remind us that there are always sandwiches to be made. “Sabbath Moments” Terry Hershey