There aren’t very many heroes nowadays, are there? Even in sports. Steroids. Drugs. Violence. Many of today’s best-known athletes reflect some of the worst values in our culture. There was a time, however, when sports stars were a steady source of positive inspiration.
Take Lou Gehrig, for example. Even today, the name stirs positive emotions among baseball fans in spite of the fact that it has been 68 years since Gehrig last played the game, long before many of us were born. For those who don’t know his story, Gehrig was an outstanding first baseman for the New York Yankees who brought not only glory, but honor to the game. For twelve seasons in the 20s and 30s, he batted over 300, before being stricken with the dread disease, ALS, which is known to this day as “Lou Gehrig disease.”
The story is told that in 1937 Gehrig was in Chicago for a game with the White Sox. Someone asked him to go to the Children’s Hospital there, and visit a ten-year-old boy named Tim who had polio. Tim was despondent over his condition and refused to try therapy. Lou Gehrig was his hero, and Tim’s parents hoped a visit from Lou would motivate Tim to at least try to help himself. Tim was amazed, of course, when his hero walked into his room.
Lou said, “Tim, I want you well. Go to therapy and learn to walk again.”
The story goes that Tim said, “Lou, if you will knock a home run for me today, I will learn to walk again.”
And Lou promised. Quite a promise for a man who was better known for being steady at the plate than he was for knocking them out of the park. But that day, Lou Gehrig did hit a home run. In fact, he hit two home runs.
July 4, 1939, the New York Yankees celebrated Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium. He was already stricken with the debilitating disease that would claim his life. A huge crowd gathered at Yankee Stadium to pay their respects. The governor was there, the mayor, and many other celebrities.
Just before Gehrig was asked to address the crowd, Tim--by this time 12 years--old, walked out of the dugout, dropped his crutches, and with leg braces walked to home plate to hug Lou Gehrig around the waist.
Following this, Gehrig spoke these immortal words, “They say I’ve had a bad break. But when the office force and the ground keepers and even the Giants from across the river remember you, well, that’s something!”
He said thank you to all of his family for being there for him. And then he concluded by saying, “I may have been given a bad break, but I have an awful lot to live for. With all this, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” (1) The luckiest man on earth. They don’t make heroes like that any more.
I probably shouldn’t even include Jesus in any list of heroes. The category is too limited for him. Jesus is simply too big to fit any such mold. The Broadway musical called him “Jesus Christ: Superstar,” but that’s still not big enough either. Certainly he was heroic. Certainly he towers over every figure who has ever lived. But still human categories are insufficient to describe who he is.
Take today’s lesson from scripture. It is one of the most stunning events in the New Testament. Jesus took his three closest disciples--Peter, James and John--with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. The Bible says he was transfigured before them. That is, his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
If the disciples needed any confirmation that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, this was it. “. . . a cloud appeared . . . and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’”
My guess is that they listened to him more intensely than they had ever listened before. They were afraid. Even Peter did not know what to say. They were in the presence not only of greatness, but of divinity. Maybe you and I would listen more intently to Christ if we understood who he really is. You and I sometimes take our faith so casually. Studies show that the actions of the average church member differ very little from the non-church member. We reflect our community more than we do any self-conscious commitment to Christ. That’s troubling.
I was reading recently about golfing great Tiger Woods. He had his own hero when he was a child. Tiger Woods’ hero was the legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus. Tiger hung a record of Jack Nicklaus’ tournament wins over his bed so that he would see it morning and night. As he pondered Nicklaus’ triumphs, Woods visualized himself playing in and winning each of his hero’s tournaments, breaking Nicklaus’ records. By the time Tiger actually competed in his first tournament, this mental rehearsing gave him the confidence he needed to compete on a level no other golfer, even his hero, has attained. (2)
Some of us may have paintings of Christ in our homes. They probably look nothing like the historical Jesus. I sincerely doubt that he had blonde hair and blue eyes. But still I wonder how many of us think on the life of Christ in the same way that Tiger Woods mentally pictured Jack Nicklaus, so that he actually sought to become all that Nicklaus embodied? A few saints perhaps, but that’s about all. And that’s sad. Christ really is the life, the truth, the way. When we live with the integrity, the compassion, the dedication with which he lived, our lives really are improved. We are delivered from guilt, from anger, from hatred and from all the baser emotions that tear down our spirit and cause us to live, as Thoreau described it, “lives of quiet desperation.” The voice from Heaven said to the three disciples, “Listen to him.” That’s God’s prescription for a successful life. Listen to Jesus. Learn from him. Open yourself to him. He is more than a hero. More than a superstar. He is Son of Man and Son of God. He knows the heart of God. He is the heart of God. Listen to him because of who he is.
And listen to him because of what he has done. Not everyone who gives his or her life for a cause is to be emulated. People give their lives with all kinds of motives. Suicide bombers give their lives in the most evil way possible--they take many innocent people with them. But when someone gives his or her life to rescue guilty folks, undeserving folks, sin-ridden folks--then we should listen to what they have to say.
In 1868 the British empire sent a military expedition to Ethiopia. What is fascinating is that this expedition was not sent to conquer new lands. It was sent for the purpose of rescuing a few hostages. For nearly four years Emperor Theodore III of Ethiopia had held a group of 53 Europeans captive (30 adults and 23 children), including some missionaries and a British consul, in a remote 9,000-foot-high citadel deep in the interior of that country. By letter, Queen Victoria pleaded in vain with King Theodore to release the captives but to no avail. Finally the British government ordered a full-scale military expedition from India to march into Ethiopia--not to conquer the country and make it a British colony, but simply to rescue a tiny band of civilians. The invasion force included 32,000 men, heavy artillery, and 44 elephants to carry the guns. Provisions included 50,000 tons of beef and pork and 30,000 gallons of rum. Engineers built landing piers, water treatment plants, a railroad, and telegraph line to the interior, plus many bridges. All of this was done to fight one decisive battle, after which the prisoners were released, and everyone packed up and went home. The British expended millions of pounds to rescue a handful of captives. (3)
Does that sound familiar? When the early church struggled to understand the significance of the cross, they came to see that it represented not a failure, but an astounding rescue operation. The God of all the universe, in order to deliver us from the ravages of sin, intervened through the life of one man, Jesus of Nazareth, who lay down his life in our behalf. If we could open ourselves to the wonder and majesty of the message of the cross, it would change our lives.
Garrison Keillor tells a story of a family get-together at Thanksgiving and how every year it was the same uncle who gave the blessing at the family dinner. It was always a long prayer, and inevitably it got stalled at the point where he began giving thanks for Jesus’ death on the Cross. While the rest of the family began to worry about the turkey growing cold, the uncle would begin to weep! Says Keillor: “I don’t know, I guess he just never got over Jesus’ death the way other Christians have.” (4) Ooh, that hurts. “I guess he just never got over Jesus’ death the way other Christians have.”
Listen to him because of who he is, Son of man and Son of God. Listen to him because of what he has done--gave his life for the weak and helpless. Gave his life for you and me. And listen to him for what he has promised.
The scene is another mountain. It’s after Jesus’ resurrection. Judas, the betrayer is dead. Only eleven disciples are left. The women who were at the empty tomb tell the disciples that Jesus wants them to return to Galilee. That’s a long way from Jerusalem. Close to 100 miles. But they return to Galilee and on a certain mountain, they encounter the risen Christ. When they see him, they worship him; though some still doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
How many followers of Christ have found comfort in those words over the centuries? He is with us as the deepest hurts possible flood our soul. He is with us when we stand beside the grave of a loved one. With us when we hear the awful words from the physician. With us when friends and family let us down in the most painful of ways. This is how we cope with life. This is how we withstand temptation. This is how we come through victoriously in every endeavor in life. He is with us.
Let me tell you about a woman named Evelyn Stokes. Evelyn lives in Richmond, VA. Evelyn’s children were her world. She worked hard to make sure they stayed in school and stayed out of trouble. This was no easy job, considering that Evelyn was a single mom trying to raise her family in a poor, violent, inner-city neighborhood.
Evelyn was especially strict with her only son, Jonté, because she knew that many young men in her neighborhood fell prey to gangs and drugs. Jonté did get involved with the wrong crowd at one time, but he was starting to turn his life around. He and Evelyn were spending more time together, communicating better than they ever had. Then one day in 1999, seventeen-year-old Jonté was shot and killed by a friend who was playing around with a handgun.
When Evelyn first heard the news of her son’s death, she was completely, overcome with grief. The only word that would come to her lips was, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” It was the only prayer she could manage. And suddenly, Evelyn Stokes discovered that the promise of Christ was true. He was with her. When she needed him the most, he was with her. Her grief gave way to peace and joy. Jesus’ presence was so near that her crying turned to cries of praise.
Today, Evelyn Stokes heads up the Comfort Ministry in her church. As she says, “The day my son died, I learned that God is truly alive! I believed it before Jonté’s death but never knew the extent of God’s power, that He can fill us inside and change our hearts and lives.” (5)
Do you see the wonder of it all? We’re not here to praise a dead hero, or even a cultural superstar. We are here to worship a living Savior. Listen to him--because of who he is. Listen to him--because of what he’s done. Listen to him--because of what he has promised: “I am with you always . . .”
1. Mack R. Douglas, Making a Habit of Success (New York: Galahad Books, 1999).
2. Dr. Henry Cloud, 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life (Nashville: Integrity, 2004), p. 93.
3. Pastor Mark Adams of the RedlandBaptistChurch in Rockville, Maryland, http://sermons.redlandbaptist.org/ what_does_christmas_teach_us_about_god/.
4. Don Friesen, http://www.ottawamennonite.ca/sermons/merrymakers.htm.
5. Linda Watkins, God Just Showed Up (Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 2001), pp. 83-94.