FORGIVING
HIS SHOOTER

Topics: Courage; Forgiveness; Freedom; Grace; Healing; Mercy

References: Matthew 6:14–15; 18:21–35; Colossians 3:12–15

For two decades, Wayne Messmer, forty-nine, was an announcer and singer for sports teams in the Windy City. After singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a Chicago Blackhawks game in 1994, Messmer was shot by two teenage boys. The bullet passed through the singer’s throat, so doctors weren’t sure if Messmer would sing again. Amazingly, six months later, Messmer returned to the microphone.

Physical healing was one thing; emotional release of the hatred and resentment he felt was another. For that, Messmer had to trust Christ, his Savior, to help him reach the point where he could forgive his shooters. When he did, he found freedom. As he says in The Voice of Victory, “Over a period of contemplative and reflective prayer and meditation, I was confident I had set myself free from the chains that had connected me to the incident.”

Although one of the boys had been released on a plea bargain, the other, James Hampton, was still in jail. To prove that he truly had forgiven his would-be killers, Messmer drove 225 miles to Galesburg Correctional Center and asked to see Hampton.

Several years had passed, but Messmer found the grace to say, “James, I’m here to see how you are doing.” After a two-hour emotional visit, Messmer turned to leave. Reaching out and touching Hampton’s forearm, he offered a benediction: “James, I bid you peace.”

—Pat Karlak, “Messmer Writes of Recovery, Forgiveness,” Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illinois (January 16, 2000)