These Heroes Are No Sandwiches
The June 14, 1999 issue of Time Magazine offered a list of 20 people they considered to be heroes of the last 100 years.
Some of those names I recognized and possibly agree could be considered heroes, names like Billy Graham, Anne Frank, Helen Keller, Mother Teresa, and the American G.I..
Still others listed I question their being called heroes. Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, or the Kennedey’s. I guess it would depend upon your definition of the word “hero”.
Still others were names that I didn’t recognize and had to look them up to see what they were known for. Names like Emmeline Pankhurst, Bill Wilson, or Harvey Milk.
If I were to ask you who your heroes were, what names would you give me? Would I recognize any of those names? How do you define the word hero? I have my own definition but I had to look up the word in a dictionary just to see how “they” defined what a “hero” is.
Of course, just as each of us may have different ideas or definitions, the dictionaries I looked in had different definitions. My 1946 edition of Webster’s dictionary says that a hero is “a man of distinguished valour or intrepidity”. Then, of course, I had to look up “intrepidity”. It means, “fearless bravery in danger”, “undaunted courage”. Good definitions, I think.
Then, in Cody’s Merriam-Webster dictionary, a hero is, “one that is much admired or shows great courage”.
Finally, in my Random House college dictionary a hero is defined as, “a man regarded as having heroic qualities and is considered a model or ideal” and “a small loaf of Italian bread”.
It is interesting to me how our definitions of hero have been modified over the past 57 years. We have gone from “fearless bravery in danger” to “one that is much admired” and “a small loaf of Italian bread”.
September 11, 2001 changed our definition of hero again, I think. On that day 2 planes crashed into the twin towers, 1 into the Pentagon, and still another crashed in a field in Pa.
Immediately after each crash, Police, Fire and Emergency Medical personnel rushed to the scenes. As hordes of people were fleeing these scenes, these men and women were rushing in to help protect the innocent and rescue those who were injured. In the hours and days and weeks that followed, I think we came to understand what the word "hero" really means.
We haven’t seen heroism on that scale in a long time and I think it was obvious that we, as a nation, had forgotten who the true heroes really are. For some reason, we had been putting that label on people who could play sports, sing songs or act on TV or in the movies.
But on September 11th, we learned who the true heroes are. On that day, we discovered that:
• True heroes aren’t the ones rushing for touchdowns, they are the men and women who are rushing to the scene of a burning building, or an automobile accident – willing to risk their own lives to save the life of someone else.
• True heroes are not recognized because they wear baseball uniforms, they are recognized as the men and women in Police, Fire, and EMT uniforms. They are the ones who are wearing the uniforms of our various branches of the military.
• True heroes aren’t the people who take center stage at a concert, they are the ones taking classes in their spare time so that they are trained to the best of their ability when they come to your aid.
• True heroes aren’t the ones wearing gold medals on their chests, true heroes are the ones with the badges on their uniforms.
• True heroes aren’t the modern day pop stars driving around in their big limousines, they are the officers driving around in cars that promise to “protect and serve.”
On September 11th, we redefined what a hero is and who our heroes are. That is why we decided to have this special service today. Although the men and women here today would probably deny the idea that they were somehow “special” or “heroes,” we recognize in them the selfless sacrifice that is inherent in heroism.
The members of the State Police, the Sheriff’s Department, Fire Department, Emergency Medical teams, or the Armed Forces aren’t in this for the money, they aren’t in it for the glory. These men and women have stated that they are willing to put their lives on the line for us – that if it came right down to it, they would be willing to sacrifice their own life in order to save the life of another person.
God’s word tells us that that kind of commitment is very rare. He says “Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person someone might actually die.” Paul is telling us that it is very difficult to die for someone else. The general thought process is, if we do give our lives for someone else, we would like to think that they “deserve” our sacrifice. We don’t want to “waste” our life, our sacrifice, for someone who hasn’t earned it.
But listen again to the rest of the words of Paul in this passage: “But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us”. Amazing words from an amazing God. What God is telling us in this passage is that while the men and women who are heroes in our community are willing to sacrifice their lives for someone – hopefully a good and righteous person –, thankfully they don’t ask first. They don’t check your references when they get to the scene to make sure you are worthy.
Jesus Christ willingly died for the evil and unrighteous person. He died for the “sinner.” He died for the dope fiend on the corner. He died for the murderer in prison. He died for the child molester. He died for Hussein, Bin Laden, and Hitler. And he died for you. And he died for me. “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
His life was not given because we deserve it. We haven’t earned the right to go to heaven. Jesus died exactly because we couldn’t earn it. Jesus – in every conceivable way – became a true hero. Although innocent of any sin – He was willing to die for us –to sacrifice his life in order to save another.
Like the heroes of 9/11, He willingly sacrificed His life so that we could live – the difference being that he didn’t die so that we could add a few more years to this life – he died for our eternal life. And He didn’t ask us to make ourselves better first or turn over a new leaf. He didn’t tell us to “earn His death.”
Tom Allen, a pastor and former Army Ranger, tells this story:
I finally saw Saving Private Ryan about two weeks ago. I was extremely proud until the last minute of the movie.
As the movie began, I was proud watching the Rangers take Omaha Beach. Then the story begins when they receive a mission to go deep into enemy territory to save Private Ryan. They hit skirmish after skirmish, and some of them are killed along the way. They finally get to where Private Ryan is holed up, and they say, "Come with us. We’ve come to save you."
He says, "I’m not going. I have to stay here because there’s a big battle coming up, and if I leave my men they’re all going to die."
What do the Rangers say? "We’ll stay here and fight with you." They all stay and fight, and it’s gory and hard, and almost everyone dies except Private Ryan. At the end, one of the main characters—Tom Hanks—is sitting on the ground. He’s been shot and he’s dying. The battle has been won.
Private Ryan leans over to him, and Tom Hanks whispers something to him. Everyone in the theater is crying because Tom Hanks was shot; I was crying because of what he said—it was so terrible. Private Ryan bent down and Tom Hanks said, "Earn this." The reason that made me angry is no Ranger would ever say, "Earn this." Why? Because the Ranger motto for the past 200 years has not been "Earn this." The Ranger motto for the past 200 years has been Sua sponte, "I chose this."
So, when Private Ryan bent down, if Tom Hanks was really a Ranger he would have said, Sua sponte, I chose this. This is free. You don’t pay anything for this. I give up my life for you. That’s what I do.
And so when you look at the cross and see Jesus hanging there, what you do not hear is "Earn this." You never hear Jesus say, "Earn this." He doesn’t say, "I’ve given everything for you. Now you need to gut it out for me." What he says is "Sua sponte." I chose this. You don’t have to pay anything for it.
You know, two years ago this week, men and women rushed into a burning collapsing building in order to save thousands of innocent people from a fiery death. Many who went in never came out. They became heroes. Sitting here today are some who have made a decision to, if need be, give their life to save another.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ rushed into a fiery hell. He did it not to save innocent people, but to save the guilty – the sinners – you and me.
Those we are recognizing today are heroes because they chose this, just as Jesus chose to give his life for others. We honor them because they are following the example of the true hero, Jesus Christ. And Jesus is our true hero, as well. “While we still were sinners Christ died for us.” “We have been justified through his blood.” Let’s give him the honor he is due.
