HEROES

INTRODUCTION

The title and topic of my comments for this 2^nd Tuesday  in  Ordinary Time is, “Heroes.”

Last night, when I read the readings for today, that’s the theme and the question that hit me. Ideas and wonderings about heroes popped up. I might have, but I don’t remember speaking on this topic before.

I noticed that David is mentioned in both readings as well as today’s Psalm. [Cf. 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 89: 20, 21-22, 27-28; Mark 2: 23-28.]  And David was certainly a hero in Israel and down through the centuries in various cultures.  If you’ve been to Florence, Italy, you’ve seen for sure, the famous statue of David - which brings out cameras and tourist dollars to this day.

HEROES

Heroes are the men and women we put on pedestals and carve into statues. They appear on posters on our walls. We look up to them for inspiration and motivation - courage and stick-to-it-tiveness.

Heroes: they name sandwiches after them - as in Chick and Ruth’s here in Annapolis.

In the Jewish scriptures we have Abraham, Moses and David.

In time - like so many heroes - they become larger than life.

I remember attending a great talk in New York City by a little known rabbi about the power of the pen - how David’s story keeps on getting better and better with the centuries. It made me want to always read at least 2 biographies of someone I wanted to know more about.

QUESTIONS

Last night, as I was working on this 2 page sermon on “Heroes”, I asked myself, “What are the questions that ought to be asked about heroes?”

I jotted down: “Who are my heroes?” and then the correlative question: “What does the ones I pick  say about me?”

“Have I ever been betrayed by a hero?”  In other words, “Do I have any fallen heroes?”

Like the Wizard of Oz, who’s behind the curtain?  We’ve all heard the quote, “To a valet no man is a hero.” Goethe and a half dozen others have made that remark. How about to one’s spouse and kids? What’s the president or the pope really like? Talk to his brother or sister - or wait for the biographies. Whom can we trust?

At every funeral I ask: who is this person who has just died - and that’s what I try to figure out in the funeral parlor. Of course I don’t want to throw mud - just to find out the good stuff about someone.

A question: is having a hero or heroine - starting with one’s mom and dad -  part of every person’s growing up?

A question: in our life time we’ve seen mobs or crowds - tear down statues - do we tend to do the same silently as we grow older?

In Bertolt Brecht,’s 1938 play, Life of Galileo, Scene 12, page 115, Andrea says: “Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero.” Galileo responds: “No, Andrea: Unhappy is the land that needs a hero.”

I assume we need heroes - because it seems so much a part of everyone’s life.

CONCLUSION

My goal is two pages - so I suggest we all continue to do our homework on the question of heroes.

When it comes to oneself, we better have a sense of humor, honesty and humility - humor first.

When it comes to others as heroes, we also better be able to laugh.

A closing story….  Remember Willie Nelson’s song, “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.”  Well, one night I was watching TV with a priest named John Barry. He was a very proper guy. Willie Nelson comes on the TV screen, scruffy beard, ear rings, pony tail and bandana. John says, “Who’s that?” as in “What’s that?” And I said, “That’s Willie Nelson.” And he says, “Oh no, he’s my favorite singer.”