How to Be a Hero

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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.

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