Core Scripture: “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

Message: Mortars sizzled, exploding on the runway.  Concrete splattered the windows of the plane, but there was no direct hit.  It accelerated down the runway like a bat out of hell until the big bird launched itself off the broken ground.  The Viet Cong had not succeeded in taking it out.  Over 100 American soldiers were headed home from Vietnam. 

A cheer of sheer jubilation erupted from the men.  They were that much closer to being reunited with their family and friends back home.  My now good friend Michael Clark, proudly dressed in his Navy whites, arrived home safely to Travis Air Force Base in California.  There he took a bus to San Francisco International Airport. Little did he know that this was possibly the worst city for a Vietnam veteran to show his face.

Getting off the bus, the soldiers were swarmed by a mob of about 20 protestors.  Shouting and shoving ensued.  They were pressed up on like packed sardines.  Dog crap was smeared across Michael’s pristine uniform.  Saliva clung to the side of his shoulder.  It was complete and utter chaos.  Michael had no idea this was going on back home.  He admitted later he never wore a Vietnam veteran hat for at least another ten years.

When I first heard this story from Michael as I interviewed him back in the summer of 2024, I couldn’t help but tear up.  His pain became my pain.  The story came out slowly, painfully.  His weathered hands rubbed a few tears leaking from his eyes upon finishing.  His final comment to me was that he was never as scared in war as he had been that day in San Francisco.  There were some people living in the country that he was sacrificing his life for that just didn’t understand. 

Michael Clark has always been a hero to me since we met back in 2022.  Two years later I wrote a book about him, Wisdom From a Warrior, that was soon after published in the Library of Congress.  The interview I did that day was hands down the most intense one I conducted.  It was the one that tore at his heart the most.  He could barely say another word after finishing.  Silence lingered thickly in the air as I typed up my final notes. 

How could anybody be treated so poorly?  Michael didn’t ask to go to Vietnam.  He was drafted.  Forced beyond his will.  And he served his country proudly, dodging death on multiple occasions, until he made it back home.  It wasn’t until the Gulf War that America, according to Michael, finally started welcoming home these veterans.  It is tradition when they cross paths in public for Vietnam vets to shake hands and say, “Welcome home” with a wink.  Because they sure didn’t feel that welcome in the 1970’s.

Nobody knows this type of pain better than Jesus.  Imagine you just had a parting meal with your best friends, knowing each and every one of them would desert you by the end of the night.  You prayed in anguish, sweating blood, for God to take this cup of suffering away, but He didn’t.  It just wasn’t in His will.  One of your best friends soon betrays you.  You are spit on.  Beaten.  Clubbed.  Scourged.  Verbally assaulted.  A crown of thorns is thrust upon your head, and you are forced to carry your own cross to be crucified. 

It is not the nails or loss of blood that kills you on the cross.  That in itself is agonizing, but it is not what kills you.  It is not the splinters digging into your back.  Not the dislocation of your shoulders nor the traditional breaking of legs.  You die because every breath you take is a chore.  You have to push up from your entire body for your lungs to inhale.  Crucifix victims die of burst capillary fluid overtaking their lungs, causing your heart to stop working. 

Jesus Christ endured the unthinkable, and He, much like Michael, prayed to not go into that war.  But He did so willingly.  Why?  So you and I could be free from sin.  So we one day as Christians could join Him in heaven, walking the streets of gold, basking for all eternity alongside Him.  Jesus knows pain like none other.  He empathizes with every struggle we face, and He never fails to walk us through each one. 

I saw Michael this morning.  We shared coffee and conversation at Price Chopper, not to mention a few free delectable slices of cake in honor of Veterans Day.  I don’t see my friend as much as I would like to.  Weekly trips to the hospital for chemotherapy and doctor appointments fill his schedule.  But not today.  Today we relished the hour-long conversation before he had to leave for his next appointment. 

It was my hope to do an interview with him and post the interview to my YouTube channel, but we didn’t have the time.  Instead, I opted to get someone to take our picture outside (see photo above).  I don’t know how much longer my friend will be here for me to visit, but I do know that his kind spirit will always be inside me.  That was more than apparent while driving home when an idea struck me.  I was going to pay it forward.  Just like Mike had done for me so many times before.

It was February of 2022 when I met Michael Clark at 7-11.  He shared a story from Vietnam, and I offered to buy his coffee.  He refused and told me he was buying MY drink.  We exchanged numbers and the rest is history.  He told me later he tries to do one act of kindness every day for someone.  That day I was his act of kindness.  I wanted to experience that same feeling today and pulled into Abelardo’s for their Wednesday taquito special.  You can’t beat eight taquitos for eight bucks! 

After ordering, a sweet couple came in after me.  I greeted them and told them I was paying for their meal.  They were shocked.  Kindness almost seems revolutionary today, but they embraced it and sat down with me to eat.  I told them about Michael and how he inspired the kindness they were experiencing right then.  I even showed them the picture above on my phone.  It was a half hour lunch so well spent.  Our conversation ranged from dogs to moving to church. 

Their names were Alfredo and Kelly Rodriguez.  I knew I had to commemorate our lunch with a picture, so I got one of the employees to snap a quick photo.  I then asked permission to write about this story on my blog, to which they eagerly responded yes, and we exchanged phone numbers.  The coolest thing about that encounter was that Alfredo told me he was going to pay it forward again.  Who knows who that will be, but I do know this: God was behind our meeting every step of the way.

Challenge: You go and do the same.  Pay it forward.  Thank a veteran, and if you find a Vietnam veteran, be sure to welcome them home.  One small act of kindness can provide a domino effect of compassion down the road.

Song application: “Revolutionary” by Josh Wilson

Why does kindness seem revolutionary?
When did we let hate get so ordinary?
Let’s turn it around, flip the script
Judge slow, love quick
God help us get revolutionary

Just for fun: I loved coaching my son’s rec basketball game last night.  We won the game by 2 points, blowing an 8-point lead in the last minute.  Three bad passes and three steals followed by layups led to quite the dramatic finish.  We got the ball back, up by two points, and the ball was passed to a player right in front of me.  The poor kid hadn’t scored all game and had the basketball IQ of a baby, so he launched a 3-pointer from 25 feet out.  It didn’t even come close, and the other team rebounded with ten seconds remaining.  We then stole the ball back, which set me off screaming, “HOLD THE BALL!  NO SHOOTING!  HOLD THE BALL!”  Thank God they did.  It is at those moments you realize the human brain does not fully develop until you are 25.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for those who proudly have served our country in our nation’s military.  Help us recognize their sacrifice today and spread love, not hate.  Amen.