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When
Heroes Fail
Fr.
George Smiga
October
29/30, 2005
Matthew
23:1-12
Do
you remember the first time a hero failed you? Do you remember
the first time that someone you looked up to, someone you
tried to imitate, someone who inspired you, let you down?
It probably happened when you were young, because the young
make heroes easily. Perhaps it was a baseball player or a
Hollywood actress or a teacher. Perhaps it was even someone
in your own family. Someone you looked up to did something
or promoted some value that you knew you would never want
to imitate.
Our
world changes when heroes fall. It becomes more negative,
less hopeful. This is why as we grow older, as we learn more
things, heroes are harder to find. With every new corporate
scandal, with every new investigation in Washington , with
every new revelation of abuse and mismanagement in the church,
there are less people for us to imitate. We resign ourselves
to live in a world without heroes, to live in a world where
people no longer inspire us.
Jesus
recognizes this problem in today's gospel. He criticizes the
religious leaders who should have been role models for the
people and warns his disciples not to follow their example.
What underlies Jesus' warning is the human truth that we are
all contagious to one another. We influence others either
for good or for ill. None of us lives an isolated life. We
require good influence from those around us.
So
how do you live in a world where heroes fail? By reminding
yourself that there are some heroes that do not fail. For
all the people who prove themselves unworthy of our imitation,
there are still some people who inspire us. It is important
for us to identify who those people are and follow their example.
How do we identify them? Jesus tells us what to look for.
He says, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” Real
heroes are servants. Real heroes serve others with integrity,
generosity, wisdom, and love. We all have some of these heroes
in our lives. A hero could be a grandmother or a neighbor,
a friend or a cousin. A hero could be somebody at work or
somebody we have met in this community. We could admire someone
in government, someone in the church.
The
truth is you do not need many heroes in your life. One or
two will do. One or two real heroes have the ability to offset
the disillusionment that comes when so many others let us
down. But we should identify the people who are our heroes,
be grateful for them, and follow their example. We should
never forget that we too are contagious, contagious for either
good or ill. Therefore we are called to follow the example
of our heroes and love and serve with as much integrity and
wisdom and generosity as we can.
As
we try to live in this way, we should place the results of
our efforts in God's hands. We cannot predetermine which people
will be positively influenced by our actions. We are not equally
contagious to everyone. Some of the people that we would most
like to serve, will remain curiously unaffected by our action.
Other people will surprise us with how receptive they are
and how quickly they follow our example.
How
do you live in a world where heroes fail? You remember those
who succeed. Let us then today, remember those people in our
life, who by their service and example have made us better
people. Let us always be thankful for them. Let us also follow
their example so that, as we ourselves serve others, there
will be at least some people who will find something worth
imitating in us.
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