| July 12, 2009
You are welcome to reflect on this message
Now that we’re into the second week of America’s attempt at coming to terms with the spectacle of Michael Jackson’s death, I dare not intrude on his family’s grief. But I confess to being mystified by the intensity of feelings it kicked up, both pro and con. One can only wish his funeral would’ve been private. His death has given his name new life -- selling record albums, making TV history. From what I’ve seen, this country seems to be divided into three camps: the “Thriller, moon walking” Michael, and those who think he’s a gentle genius billionaire; the “Never-never-land” Jacko and others who think he’s a weirdo; and the rest who think he’s both.
But whatever you think, it’s impossible to avoid it. From Al Sharpton to Peter King, America’s so starved for heroes these days, we assign greatness to somebody famous for being famous. Thanks to the mighty media, Jackson’s fame and quirkiness is a lot more gripping but less important story than cap and trade! Let alone the millions to be made on it.
But I must’ve missed something along the way; because I know I’m not in his target audience. Whether he’s a legitimate hero or just another wealthy celebrity icon, I’ll leave for others to say. But that’s a title that ought to be reserved for those who fit the bill. It’s an individual decision, and I won’t dispute others who consider him heroic. They’re entitled to that opinion, as I am to mine. But a lot of people have expressed concern to me over it; that’s the only reason I bring it up. But neither race nor gender has anything to do with it! I can trot out several black heroes: King, Mandela, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington. Heroism is much deeper than skin color. It’s about character and behavior.
That’s why I’ve always held Churchill in highest regard. But his death resulted in only a half day of mourning. Then British citizens spent the rest of the day going about their normal business. But compare the overwhelming outpouring when Lady Di died, whew! It prompted day after day of mourning. Starlet Anna Nicole Smith, died of an overdose. Does that make her a heroine? Pro football star Steve McNair is shot to death, at his funeral, he’s a hero. I think it’s sad that so many people can no longer distinguish between celebrity and true heroism.
What makes us saint somebody just because they’re dead? Obsession with a troubled young man who surgically disfigured himself, but held his fans spell bound is amazing to me, since it was mostly a mixture of innate talent, stage production, hype and fantasy. It’s not how we die that makes us heroic, but how we live. Check the behavior. Appearances are deceiving, but you can’t fake conduct. One thing’s for sure: there’s a sizeable portion of the world’s populace that take their cues from the MSM. Maybe life has grown so complex these days, it’s easier to let others think for us. You know there’s more money in sizzle than substance.
The death of loved ones leads to introspection. The death of celebrities leads to retrospection. Maybe we’re enthralled with Jackson because he was a transitional figure from another era that’s long passed. From the dynamic little kid with the big afro, singing mature love songs, to the celebrated King of Pop. That’s how it is with today’s heroes.
In contrast to that, I want to tell ya’ll about another hero this morning. Nobody famous. No notoriety, status or wealth. No worshipers going ga-ga at the glitz. Somebody nobody here’s ever heard of: Dr. Lofton Hudson. His name’s not important, but his is “the greatest story never told.” We had a lot in common. Besides being a transplanted Tennessean, he taught me so much about life and people. What an affirmer! I prized what he thought. He came to mind when my publisher needed a foreword for my fifth book. It’s embarrassingly humbling to say it out loud: “To Dan Ivins, someone who’s not afraid to be great.” I’m not saying I achieved greatness. It’s another weasel-word like “hero,” it depends on how you define it. But it sure made me wanta try! Most people I know just don’t want to be THAT important. Jesus thought we could do it! “Launch out into the deep!” he said. But so few are willing to go where nobody’s ever been before.
My hero was one of those plain, ol’ everyday guys. He was a Southern Baptist preacher ahead of his time, who inspired with his wisdom and wit. His later days were spent as a noted counselor who didn’t mess around. He told me once, “I never see people in therapy over six sessions.” “Why’s that?” “‘Cause if they don’t get well in six sessions, then they need to go someplace else!” None of this years-of-long, drawn-out dependency stuff with Lofton! He wasn’t just somebody you could lean on. He made leaning unnecessary.
He could hypnotize too! I kid you not. He invited me to observe once and the lady got better in less than six sessions too! He had so much personal strength he could have dental surgery with no pain reliever. My hero was an extremely gifted gentleman, with a magnetic personality, that you loved to be with him. I’m the only person, according to him, who has every one of his books. He wanted me to have them all. There was something about the man -- his common sense insight, his humor. He just lifted you up! You didn’t have to be perfect around him. He made me think and he helped me to laugh. Two things I still try to do.
My hero died awhile back, as they all do. And Michael Jackson’s death reminded me of our text in Acts. It’s a peculiar text, and doesn’t say much of anything. Luke just tells about some ordinary guys doing extraordinary things, who saw what happened to Barnabas, Stephen and Phillip, and tried to spread the good news of gospel anyway they could. Sooner or later, whether worthy of the name or not, all our heroes leave us behind. The time eventually comes to everybody when we’re just ordinary human beings. Death, the great leveler, sees to that -- for all star athletes and beauty queens and performers.
And yet we sorely need positive role models. The media’s hunger for cash, has pushed upon us the rise of the anti-hero, who thrives on idol worship and suffers from having too much money and too little morality. But a society starved for positive role models will find itself lacking in all the things that matter. Its purposes are less elevated, its aspirations less challenging, its endeavors less stringent, its entertainment far-out. There are dangers in the heroic too. Letting our fervor turn into fatuous hero worship, that comes from idolizing a person, and the cultivation of the naked ego, cheap fame and meaningless success.
The first preachers to the Gentiles were a bunch of no-name, run-of-the-mill folks. That may be why the Bible has no word for “hero.” Although the scriptures are full of heroic deeds. Even though their stories are compelling, the Bible points to the heroes’ God not the heroes themselves. The closest word for it is “example.” Christ is our example, our hero; whom we follow and imitate. A more modern term would be our “paradigm,” for making life what it’s supposed to be. Jesus is called the “founder, author, pioneer, trailblazer.” All are terms from Early American experience when this country was an infant.
The third verse of “America the Beautiful” gets it: “O beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life!” Now THAT’S a hero! How can we compare that to the ones the TV wagging heads trot out for us to admire and dissect? A real hero is somebody who’ll die on his feet before he’ll live on his knees! Or surrender the justice of his own cause for mercy; or the priority of his own safety for love. That’s how we nuzzle up next to the breast of God! And that’s what the Bible says about the best of the breed: Pioneer, pathfinder, trailblazer. However you define it, that’s what Jesus did. Check the Behavior. He came, not better than us but as one of us; not as a hero, not even a success by anybody’s definition of the term. God knows we need One like that to inspire us to be our best selves. What does it mean to know there are people who “aren’t afraid to be great,” to lend us the consolation of knowing that somebody lived like that, offering us the promise of Easter in a future he called “paradise?”
In these days of “paradigm lost,” we turn to military veterans for heroes. Battle offers so many opportunities for the real thing. The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest award this country can give. “In risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.” How foreign that sounds to those we immortalize in today’s shallow society! I got to thinking about it. If bravery is awarded “above and beyond the call of duty,” then what kind of “call” motivates such noble behavior in a man? It takes something more than mere duty to do it. It’s not duty’s call that makes a man fling his body over a ticking hand grenade to save his buddies in a foxhole. It's not duty’s call that made my granddaddy stay in an exploded car on fire and open the door for me to escape sure death at the tender age of four.
It's not duty’s call that motivated my Daddy to sacrifice himself to save a damsel in distress, caught in the rapids over Bullet Creek Falls, landing on the jagged rocks below. He walked with a limp the rest of his days. But he was awarded the Carnegie Medal of honor for heroism. Just an ordinary Dad. I didn’t even know he had it till later in life, because he never talked about it. The call of duty didn’t make him risk his life for hers. Stuff like that calls for more than duty -- a higher call, the call of God, even if we sometimes can’t name the name. Anybody who answers that call is a hero in my book. Because it’ll be somebody who leaves life better than they found it. The behavior stands behind every form of greatness and goodness in this world.
I’m not sure what your answer is to the question of what constitutes heroism in a world like this. Michael Jackson’s one for a lot of folks. But I’ve tried to tell you mine as best I can. I think we have to see more than individual adventures, or the privateering of notable achievements. The Bible sees heroism not in the few but in the many. Always telling us about no-name heroes, like Joseph, Stephen, Barnabas and Phillip ... who went out and brought the love of God to ordinary folks, lifting life to a higher plane. It’s not a bad example of a hero. I’ve not lowered the standards for heroism, but raised the bar. That means even ya’ll can be somebody’s hero – IF you’re not afraid to be great. So be it.
Providence Prayers: July 12, 2009
In Thy sight, the fine print of all our private histories is lit-up like a billboard. Free us from the pride that makes admitting we were wrong difficult. Keep us at peace in the core of our being, however turbulent the causes we support. Eradicate all that makes us look on our abundance as our right, rather than Thy grace. We thank Thee for this opportunity to gather in worship and be encouraged when our flame burns low; for serious minds that grapple with tall questions, while the rest go on playing their games; for jovial souls, who lubricate the mechanisms of society with a saving sense of humor; for a Book that reads us, in a church where the strong bear the infirmities of the weak; where we place a value upon person-centeredness, lest ancient stones and modern statistics -- size and structure overtake us.
It is our Christian duty to pray for one another. But beyond duty, bathed in Thy love -- our prayer is for enfoldment of every grieving heart in this Meeting House. Embolden all who are afraid. And shake the lethargy of those who are “at ease in Zion.” Where others drift, infuse us with intent. Where others are skeptical, fill us with faith. Where others despair, help us to hope. For this and so much more we don’t even know about -- we thank Thee and bless Thy name, Through Christ our Lord. AMAN Back |
