SPECIAL DAYS: Third Sunday in Advent

December 15, 2002 - Lesson: Isaiah 61.1-4, 8-11; John 1.6-8, 19-28

Sermon Title: Standing Up for Jesus

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INTRODUCTION:

Third Stanza, America the Beautiful, by Katherine Lee Bates

O beautiful for heroes prov'd
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.

  1. For hero's proved in liberating strife.
    1. Men and women who are caught in the midst of strife and who struggle for liberty.
    2. They work for freedom from tyranny - control - dominance of destructive or evil powers.

MAIN BODY:

  1. In the early 60's I met a genuine hero.
    1. His name is Desmond T. Doss, Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 307th Infantry, 77th Infantry Division.
      1. He was in the vicious fighting that took place near Urasoe Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, 29 April-21 May 1945.
      2. When President Harry S. Truman presented him with the Medal of Honor, the president said that he would rather have one of these then to be president.
      3. In part his citation reads:

He was a company aid man when the 1st Battalion assaulted a jagged escarpment 400 feet high As our troops gained the summit, a heavy concentration of artillery, mortar and machine gun fire crashed into them, inflicting approximately 75 casualties and driving the others back. Pfc. Doss refused to seek cover and remained in the fire-swept area with the many stricken, carrying them 1 by 1 to the edge of the escarpment and there lowering them on a rope-supported litter down the face of a cliff to friendly hands. On 2 May, he exposed himself to heavy rifle and mortar fire in rescuing a wounded man 200 yards forward of the lines on the same escarpment; and 2 days later he treated 4 men who had been cut down while assaulting a strongly defended cave, advancing through a shower of grenades to within 8 yards of enemy forces in a cave's mouth, where he dressed his comrades' wounds before making 4 separate trips under fire to evacuate them to safety. On 5 May, he unhesitatingly braved enemy shelling and small arms fire to assist an artillery officer. He applied bandages, moved his patient to a spot that offered protection from small arms fire and, while artillery and mortar shells fell close by, painstakingly administered plasma. Later that day, when an American was severely wounded by fire from a cave, Pfc. Doss crawled to him where he had fallen 25 feet from the enemy position, rendered aid, and carried him 100 yards to safety while continually exposed to enemy fire. On 21 May, in a night attack on high ground near Shuri, he remained in exposed territory while the rest of his company took cover, fearlessly risking the chance that he would be mistaken for an infiltrating Japanese and giving aid to the injured until he was himself seriously wounded in the legs by the explosion of a grenade. Rather than call another aid man from cover, he cared for his own injuries and waited 5 hours before litter bearers reached him and started carrying him to cover. The trio was caught in an enemy tank attack and Pfc. Doss, seeing a more critically wounded man nearby, crawled off the litter; and directed the bearers to give their first attention to the other man. Awaiting the litter bearers' return, he was again struck, this time suffering a compound fracture of the left arm. With magnificent fortitude he bound a rifle stock to his shattered arm as a splint and then crawled 300 yards over rough terrain to the aid station. Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of desperately dangerous conditions Pfc. Doss saved the lives of many soldiers. His name became a symbol throughout the 77th Infantry Division for outstanding gallantry far above and beyond the call of duty.

      1. He actually saved 100 men.
    1. We are in awe of the heros, both military and civilian.
      1. I once read about a huge semi-truck driver who stopped at the scene of a serious accident.
        1. He wrenched the door from the inflamed car.
        2. Crawled inside and released the foot of the driver who was pinned in the wreckage.
        3. He pulled him to safety, turned him over to the paramedics, got into his truck and drove off on his deliveries.
        4. No one would have known who he was but the driver of the car, after he had recovered, told the story on national television and asked the driver to come forward.
        5. He did and the two met in quite emotional circumstances.
      2. What an inspiring, yet intimidating story.

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  1. We know, don't we, that heros possess certain qualities.
    1. Portrait of a Hero (1)

QUALITIES OF A HERO

Sacrifice: Sacrifice is the forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

      1. Determination: Determination is a fixed intention or resolution; a firmness of purpose or resolve.
      2. Loyalty: Loyalty is the feeling of allegiance or the act of binding oneself to a course of action.
      3. Courage: Courage is that firmness of spirit and swell of soul which meets danger without fear.
      4. Dedication: Dedication is a selfless devotion; complete and whole hearted fidelity or the act of binding oneself to a course of action.
      5. Intrepidity: Intrepidity is firm, unshaken courage.
      6. Valor: Valor is courage exhibited in war, and can not be applied to single combats.
      7. Selfless: Selfless is the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others and acting with less concern for yourself.
      8. Conviction: Convection is a fixed or strong belief; a necessity of the mind or an unshakable belief.
      9. Focused: Focused is the ability to direct one's energy toward a particular point or purpose; to concentrate one's energy.
      10. Gallantry: Gallantry is adventurous courage, which courts danger with a high and cheerful spirit.
      11. Perseverance: Perseverance is a persistent determination.
      12. Fortitude: Fortitude has often been styled "passive courage," and consists in the habit of encountering danger and enduring pain with a steadfast and unbroken spirit.
      13. Bravery: Bravery is daring and impetuous courage, like that of one who has the reward continually in view, and displays his courage in daring acts.
    1. This is a long list and probably inhibiting in itself.
    2. There is one element that is left out.
      1. This is most important.
      2. It provides the means of encouraging heroism.

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  1. To the long list of heros I would like to nominate John the Baptist.
    1. In John 1:6-8, 19-28 (NRSVA) he exhibits all the characteristics of a hero.
      1. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
      2. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
      3. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light...
      4. 19This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
      5. 20He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah."
      6. 21And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"
      7. He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?"
      8. He answered, "No."
      9. 22Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
      10. 23He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said.
      11. 24Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
      12. 25They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
      13. 26John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal."
      14. 28This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
    2. This is the one who said, I must decrease, he must increase.
      1. This is the one who lost his head to an intoxicated king who gave a foolish promise to a beautiful young woman.
      2. He is humble, determined, brave, kind, compassionate.
      3. 7John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him,...'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
      4. 10And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" 11In reply he said to them, "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." 12Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?" 13He said to them, "Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you." 14Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what should we do?" He said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages," (Luke :7-14, NRSVA)
    3. John is a hero
      1. He is not mentioned in Hebrews which details the heroic activities of Abel, Enoch, and Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets...Hebrews 11, (NRSVA)
      2. Hebrews was written for the Hebrew people and John would have been an embarrassment.
    4. But of course the ultimate hero is Jesus Christ.

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  1. Jesus calls each of us to be heroic
    1. We might like to shrink in size and hide in the corner of the room.
    2. Christianity helps to create heros.
    3. Why?
      1. It is not only how we are able to cope with the present.
      2. It is also how we are encouraged to include a future.
    4. This is the thought of the lesson this morning.

Isaiah chapter 61:1-3, 10-11.

{1} The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives, and

release to the prisoners;

{2} to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

{3} to provide for those who mourn in Zion--

to give them a garland instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.

    1. All that is provided is not to take us away from life, but to provide for us in the midst of life.
      1. We have a God who loves us.
      2. We have a God who cares for us.
      3. We have a God who stands beside us.
      4. We have a God how is courageous.
      5. We have a God who helps us to love heroically.
    2. Our faith finds it's creation in God's promise of a Messiah fulfilled in the birth of Jesus.
    3. Our faith finds its continuance in God's promises fulfilled in our present.
    4. This allows us to maintain our hope for the future that God will provide.

CONCLUSION:

  1. The famous actor Walter Hampden (2) once was asked which sentence in the English language he considered the most memorable.

He thought for a moment.

Then he replied that, in his opinion, the greatest sentence was in an old Negro spiritual:

"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen; glory, hallelujah!"

    1. "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!"
    2. That is the point that we want to reach (Or I assume that we want to reach it.)
      1. The alternative is to allow ourselves to live is the dark world of anger, fear, and depression.
      2. Only when we have developed the prospective of the spiritual can we experience the heroic in all of life.
  1. God calls us to be heros and heroines.
    1. There is no reason not to answer the call.
    2. We can then join the list of biblical figures who fulfilled their calling.

1. The research is from Dictionary.com. And found at: http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d46/psy/dev/Fall01/hero/qualities.html

2. Norman Vincent Peale, "Trouble Can Be Good for You!" Plus, May 1988, p. 11.

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