Are you a hero?

Sometimes things just jump up and hit you right between the eyes. It did today when I was taking a break from writing newsletter articles and sermons and I ended up at Firefighter Nation and saw this video:

At first I watched the video and felt pride as a firefighter. And given that I saw that it was performed in New York I figured it was a 9/11 tribute. Then I read this story linked from the YouTube description that I believe is the basis for the painting. And if it is not, it sure hit me right away.The hardest part was listening to the woman’s voice telling the story. I suddenly felt fear, grief, and shame hitting me all at once.

Fear that this could happen to me. One day I could be called as a volunteer firefighter and it would be one of my kids trapped and it would be up to me to save them. Fear that I would not be able to reach them in time.

Grief over the babysitter’s guilt over only grabbing her own daughter. The fear and anguish that must have been going through the mother’s mind as her husband and child were trapped in the flames.

And finally shame. Shame that too often calls both as a firefighter and a pastor become all too routine. That it is just another call, just another hospital visit to go take care of, forgetting the real people affected everyday by what I do.

It’s easy to get jaded about the latest emergency. Not all of them are exciting made for the 6 o’clock news stuff. Sometimes there just simply a hug in the middle of the road for a man who has just lost his father. Sometimes it is simply once again sharing Communion with a shut-in and listening to his or her stories one more time.

But one doesn’t have to be a firefighter or a pastor to feel this way. Everyday, we are presented with opportunities to be present, even a life saver, to people we meet. Life can become routine: get up, get the kids off, go to work, make the meals, cash the paycheck, and not even notice those around us or the blessing we are to them.

It’s something like this painting and story that reminds me that each one of us is a hero to somebody. The Apostle Paul wrote it like this:

1 Corinthians 12:4-12 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

And Jesus said:

Matthew 25:37-40 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Each of us has the opportunity to be a hero to somebody who just happens to be a brother or sister in Christ. In large and small ways, everyday we use our gifts to serve others, even, I dare say, on those days when we just don’t feel like we’ve done anything good at all. It may have been just a smile at the clerk who took your order at the coffee shop. It may be just the fact that you said “Good Morning” to your coworker with a cheerful face. Or maybe you just listened with an open heart to the story of somebody else. You are somebody’s hero in Christ. Nothing, and no one, is unimportant in the Body of Christ.

This entry was posted on December 18, 2007 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.