Who are your heroes? Do you have any? Difficult, isn’t it? It has not been a good time. We know too much about the lives of those who struggle for fame. And our world seems full of broken idols: those who appeared so strong before they became tyrants or sank into obscurity, corrupted by their desire for power.
But our church calendar can cheer us up. There is Alban, about whom we know so little, but whose courage causes us to remember him so vividly here in his city. There is Paul, who set out for Damascus to attack Christians and arrived to seek out baptism. A wonderful energy pervaded his subsequent life and his letters, which we read so often for encouragement. And of course there is ‘our’ Peter, who loved and learnt and inspired. For whom we give especial thanks.
All these, and so many more, acted dramatically and decisively. But they all sought strength, least of all in themselves, but in Jesus the Anointed One. They were entirely human, with faults we might easily trace. But in knowing Jesus they drew upon the life and energy that sustains us all. They help us to know God.
And although I have given up on finding heroes, I have found so many who act and live heroically: those all around us who look after the sick, inspire the young, care deeply for our world and its problems. Surely it is this company which throws up the truly remarkable individuals, who bring about change and so often suffer for their beliefs. We find such strength as we possess in God and one another. It is enough.
Dear Lord,
You sought nothing for yourself.
Teach us to follow you faithfully
And to find in God
Our reward, our hope, our delight,
For the sake of our world
And all we call our neighbour.
Amen
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