Luke 9:22-26
“The Art of Being A Hero”
By: Rev. Kenneth Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, a hero is a person of great strength and courage who is regarded by others as an ideal or model.
Sadly, many of those whom we give the title of hero too are not good role models…
…many people are considered heroes who have achieved a certain level of material wealth or worldly fame….no matter how uncourageous or morally weak they may be!
Many of us in America have gotten our ideals all twisted up…
…but on September 11, 2001, in a matter of a few seconds two symbols of American prosperity came crashing to the earth!
September 11th shocked this nation, and in remembering that tragic day: let us gain a renewed respect for those who have proven themselves to be true heroes!
The firefighters, police, and rescue workers who risked their lives and even gave their lives to save others are true heroes!
And who better than some of these heroes is there…as we remember the events of September 11…to remind us of the Ultimate Hero---Jesus Christ—Who gave His life, not just for a community, but for the entire world?
Jerry Sillcocks is a New York firefighter and a Christian who helped search for survivors at “ground zero.”
He writes that he and his co-workers called this place the “pit.”
“Almost everywhere I looked, mighty columns of steel were twisted into sad, pointless sculptures, towering over the tragic scene as we worked to find survivors…gray smoke was everywhere…
…I’m no theologian—I’m a New York firefighter—but I can’t imagine Hell being much worse than the ‘pit.”
…. “I have no idea what Hell is truly like…” Jerry writes, “But I’ve seen a place so bad that I want to do everything I can to make sure my friends, family, and neighbors know Jesus and will spend eternity with Him.”
And this is the job that all of us are called to do!
If September 11 can teach us anything….anything good at all….
….certainly it shows us that by following the model of Christ….ordinary Christians like you and me can be heroes!!!
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
One thing September 11 has shown us is that we never know…none of us ever know how much time we have—or how much time those around us have…therefore it is imperative that we spread the news of the saving Gospel of Christ with everyone we can!
On the morning of September 11, Jeannie Braca switched on the television to check the weather report, only to hear that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center.
Jeannie’s husband, Al, worked as a corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald.
His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One.
Al had gone to work as he normally did that morning.
Al had survived the World Trade Center bombing in 1993….
…he had even helped a woman with asthma escape from the building.
Jeannie knew that Al would do the same thing this time, “I knew he would stop to help and minister to people,” she said, “but I never thought for a minute that he wouldn’t be coming home!”
Sometimes the cost of being a hero is our very lives.
“What good is it” asks Jesus, “for a person to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?”
This is a saying of Jesus which is found in all 4 Gospels, and in two Gospels He says it more than once. No other saying of Jesus is given this much emphasis!
To “forfeit” means to lose what is of greatest value.
And that which is of greatest value is eternal life with God forever!
Yet, how many of us forfeit this greatest of all gifts…this greatest of all treasures through the pursuit of wealth, honor, privilege, and carnal satisfaction?
It just doesn’t make any sense!!!
How deceptive are the things of this world…and how crafty is Satan…that so many people are willingly giving up their lives…being caste away to hell for these empty treasures which never truly satisfy!
It’s the great lie that too many of us believe!
It’s the great snare or trap of the devil!
Kurt Cobain, the former lead singer of the hugely successful rock band—Nirvana—spent his entire young life so miserable because he had not yet achieved the fame of being a rock star.
Once he became the most famous rock star of his generation---he was so miserable with his fame that he killed himself at the age of 27.
Back to Al Braca, the corporate bond trader who was in the 105th floor of Tower One on Septmber 11…
…like so many others who were in that building…a week later, Al’s body was found in the rubble.
Al’s wife—Jeannie and his son--Christopher were devastated!
Then…then…the reports began to trickle in from friends and acquaintances….
…Some people on the 105th floor had made a ‘last call’ or sent a ‘final e-mail’ to a loved one saying that “a man” was leading people in prayer.
A few referred to Al by name.
Al’s family learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the attack!
When Al realized that they were all trapped in the building and would not be able to escape, Al shared the gospel with a group of 50 co-workers and led them in prayer.
This news came as no surprise to Al’s wife—Jeannie….
….for years, she and Al had been praying for the salvation of these men and women.
According to Jeannie, Al hated his job…
…he couldn’t stand the environment.
It was a world so out of touch with his Christian values…
….but he wouldn’t quit.
Al was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness…and although Al would not have put it this way…to be a hero!
Al was not ashamed of Christ and Christ’s words…and he paid the price of taking up his cross daily.
Al shared his faith with his co-workers….many of whom sarcastically nicknamed him “The Rev.”
The Bible teaches us that those who choose the world and its things and pleasures over Christ are embarrassed and ashamed by such things as:
….being known as a true believer…
….following and obeying Christ completely….
…witnessing and standing up for Christ and morality…
…having less because of giving so much…
…not compromising and going along with the crowd…
…not joining in when others are gossiping and stabbing others in the back….
…and the list could go on and on.
Jesus says: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him or her when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
Simply stated: the person who loves the acceptance and recognition of society, and the pleasures of the world too much to give it all up in order to bear the reproach of Christ is missing the mark!
Life on this earth is but a flash in the pan compared to eternal life with God!
The people with whom Al Braca worked mocked him because of his faith, but when horrible things happened in their lives, they always asked Al for prayer.
Obviously, deep down, they must have thought of Al as a hero….which is an ideal or model.
Al would pray with his co-workers and share the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
And on that fateful day…on September 11, in the midst of the chaos, Al’s co-workers looked to him—and Al delivered!
At the same time, Al too tried to get a phone call through to his family.
Al asked an MCI operator to contact his family.
“Tell them that I love them,” he said.
It took the operator more than a month to reach the Bracas, but the message brought them much-needed comfort.
“The last thing my dad did involved the two things most important to him—God and his family,” his son Christopher told a writer for Focus on The Family—where I found this story.
“He loved to lead people to Christ. That takes away a lot of the hurt and the pain.”
The bible tells us that Jesus also had to suffer many things….
….He had to be rejected…
….He had to be killed….
…but on the third day He had to be raised to life!
Death has no victory over Christ….
….and death has no victory over those who deny themselves and take up their cross daily to follow Him!!!
The New York firefighters…
…the police
…the rescue workers
…the people who gave up their lives in that plane that crashed in Pennsylvania… …all those who gave and risked their lives on September 11 are heroes.
America lost a lot of good people September 11th, and there are many broken lives.
It will be many years—if ever—before the emotional scars of that day heal.
But as the anniversary of September 11 approaches…let’s not forget what it means to be a true hero.
We, as Christians, have the incomparable opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those around us and continue the art of being a hero!
