How to Be a Hero
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 53:10–11 / Psalm 33:22 / Hebrews 4:14–16 / Mark 10:35–45 [42–45]
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Reflecting on the Word
By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger
It is healthy to want to be a hero. A nine-year-old girl wants to be Wonder Woman, jumping from a cliff to land on a horse. Elsewhere, a twelve-year-old boy wants to soar into space to rescue planets. A twenty-year-old young woman wants to work with the homeless to gladden their lives.
All young people want to be heroes.
A seminarian and I were working on his homily in my office. As he talked, I heard an undercurrent of that desire for heroism in his unpacking of the scriptures. So I brought it up. He shrank back from the word “heroic” and said, “I don’t want to be proud.”
I winced. Heroism is not a bad thing, something to be quashed in the young. To want to be heroic is motivating. It drives you toward excellence. It keeps you going when life gets tough. Heroic virtue is one of the hallmarks of the saints. They glorified God as they were torn apart by lions.
Heroism is good. Young people want to be heroes.
Jesus understood this drive. He just shifted the focus. Jesus didn’t say to James and young John, “Don’t wish to be the greatest.” He said, “Whoever wishes to be great will be your servant.” He didn’t say, “Don’t wish to be first.” He said, “Whoever wants to be first, will be the slave of all.” He didn’t say, “Don’t wish to be great.” He said, “This is how to be great.”
Jesus wants heroes.
Jesus himself is the Hero of heroes. Jesus himself shows us how to be heroic. He suffered and died to show us what heroism looks like. For God’s sake, let us not settle for mediocrity. For God’s sake, let us be great! God’s great, God’s heroes, God’s saints: to God be the glory for our heroic lives!
Consider/Discuss
- What are the tugs and pulls around the issue of heroism? What is the difference between the temptation toward “being proud” and the drive toward “being heroic”?
- In your spiritual growth, where are you cultivating heroic virtue? Where do you find yourself sliding into “oh, well”?
Living and Praying with the Word
Jesus, you show us how to be heroic—how to serve and not stop serving, how to give and not stop giving, how to love and keep loving unto death. We want to be like you. On our own, when things go well, we cheer for ourselves and think that we are great. Show us what true greatness is. Help us to strive for nothing less. For we want to give you glory with our lives. Come, Holy Spirit, and empower us to be heroes for God.