Category Archives: Godly Living

Palm Sunday — Holding On To a Hero

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Every era looks for heroes.

When I was in college, music was bad. I don’t mean it was evil. I just mean that the music was bad. Among the many bad songs of the 80’s was one sung by Bonnie Tyler called Holding Out for a Hero. Bonnie asks the question, “Where are all the heroes?” and sang out, I need a hero! That was the eighties. We needed a hero.

In the 1990s, we looked for heroes. Remember Mark McGuire? I remember my friend, Ottis, watching that home-run race and saying to me, “Man — that Mark McGuire is great stuff!” Then McGuire did something outside of the sport, I don’t know what he did or said, but with a sad and disappointed look on his face, Ottis said to me, “There’s a man who could be a real hero to kids, but he isn’t.” We need a hero.

After the turn of the century we still had a fascination with heroes. Save the cheerleader; save the world. If you don’t know what that means, then you probably didn’t watch one of the most popular shows of the last decade — Heroes. Every era looks for heroes.

The people of Israel were looking for a hero when Jesus came into town on what we remember as Palm Sunday. The problem was that, while they got a hero, he wasn’t the one they wanted.

This podcast speaks of our need for heroes and helps us avoid being people who worship Christ as hero on Sundays and then fade away by the end of the week

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Why Did Judas Betray Christ?

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I know you have heard the expression: Bandwagon fan. They jump on the bandwagon with a bunch of fans of a winning team. Generally, bandwagon fans are looked upon with contempt, but as I think about it, I am a bandwagon fan. When I was a little boy, I didn’t care at all about football. But when I was eight years old, the new Steeler head-coach, Chuck Noll drafted a defensive lineman named Joe Greene. Within two seasons the local team — the Steelers — were winning and I’ve been on the bandwagon ever since. It’s the same with the Penguins. I only watch hockey closely when they are winning. The Lemieux years were great years. I stayed up late and watched games alone in the parsonage in Bradford. And the Crosby era has been a great time. I didn’t watch much in the years in between. It’s the same with baseball. When I was in college there was this team called The Pirates. They won The World Series that year. My roommates and I watched in my apartment at the university. However, as a bandwagon fan, I’ve not watched baseball much since then.

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How do I find meaning in life?

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In St. Marys, GA, there is an old cemetery that Laurel and I have walked through to pass the time while on vacation. Many of the tombstones communicate how the deceased wanted to be remembered. Some have boats. Some have fish. One has an airplane.

In our thinking, the most interesting of these tombstones is pictured here, shaped like a smiley. It turns out that it is on the grave of someone who is remembered for working at Walmart. That may seem silly to you, wanting to be remembered for working at Walmart, but I want to suggest that in the face of eternity a Walmart smiley on a tombstone is no less significant and meaningful than a carving of a sailboat.

For what will you be remembered?

This podcast speaks of a woman who made her life memorable. From her example we can learn more about what’s important and ways we can make our own lives meaningful.

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