Waiting on a Hero - Sarah Fung

Waiting on a Hero

We live in a world where Marvel and DC comics are coming to life. There is so much about them to be loved – good conquering evil, the nobody becoming a somebody, the belief that good and light will always prevail over darkness…yet we live in a world that won’t easily admit that what we love most about these heroes, is that they speak to our need and desire for there to be a special someone in our life, who shows up in just the moment when we need them most. The person that just knows our very essence. The person that you can count on to always be there. Why do I believe this is true? Because my heart also yearns for this. Yet it appears that a big message from Stan Lee that we missed - we can be those persons for each other. Daredevil, Spiderman, Batman…they were really your average people, and Stan Lee showed us that no matter where you are socially, you can still be there for the people in your community and show up for people. Batman is a man who comes from a rich family, yet he seeks to fight for good and protect his city. Spiderman is the mastermind from the science lab that sees a need in his city and steps up. Even with the inherited special powers of shooting webs, Peter Parker made the conscious choice to show up. These characters’ decisions to show up and step up ended up changing their cities forever.

So, what is stopping us? I met a young man recently, who has made being there for others the purpose of his life. To show up for the people in his life regardless of the time of day; regardless of what else is on his schedule – he makes time for anyone who needs him. He also chooses to show up for strangers on a daily basis – like pulling over if he sees a stranger having car troubles. I remember often catching me breathe as I got to witness it first-hand – both out of awe at that expression of showing up and at his beautiful daily expression of kenosis – “the emptying of self for the sake of another”. (Biblestudytools.com)

Imagine if we all decided to live a bit more like he does? Imagine if we all chose to show up for each other? We wouldn’t need superheroes to give us hope in the world. We wouldn’t need superheroes at all, because we would be filling that social need for each other.

Now to be clear, I am not suggesting we all mimic the Hulk – rolling vehicles to quickly reach those in trouble – or for us to come flying through skyscraper windows to save our friend or the damsels in distress. What I am suggesting is that we take five minutes to genuinely check in with our colleagues or neighbors. There is always time in a week to call your grandparent(s) even if it’s just a fifteen-minute phone call. There’s always time to add that extra granola bar to your bag or lunch, to hand to the homeless person near your work. We live in a world that is hungry and waiting for heroes to show up. We live in a world full of hearts wishing the heroes didn’t only exist in the comics. So, what are we waiting for? Why don’t we become them?

Resource:

Bible Study Tools (2019). Kenosis. Bible Study Tools. Retrieved from: https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/kenosis/

Comments

[Donald]

Good advice. I will take it.

[Jessica]

Yes/1

[Monica]

Well said Sarah