Luke 9:7-9

          Dudley Doright

          7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Eli'jah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. 9 Herod said, "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he sought to see him.

          I have such wonderful memories of childhood TV. Some of my favorite heroes come from TV.  One of them was Dudley Doright, a Canadian Mountie. He would save Nel ( I'll save you Nel! ), usually saved from a railroad track where she had been tied up by the villain ( Snydley Whiplash ) in the Bullwinkle and Rocky (squirrel) Show. Ahhh, those were the days. 

          I still have heroes too. People who I look up to for doing the right thing even when it isn't the most expedient or convenient thing to do. Recently it was Chris Klewe of the Minnesota Vikings. What a guy.  How about Bishop Gene Robinson? John Corvino? My husband? It's good to have heroes and role models.

           I'm not sure Herod was interested in Jesus as a hero, after all this is the same Herod that had John beheaded. The reading however does indicate Herod had an interest in finding out who this Jesus fellow was. Would we be making such an inquiry of Jesus? Do we want to know who this Jesus person is? Do we believe he is God? Does he have the answers not only for life, but our own personal life as well? Is Jesus our hero? Jesus certainly was a rebel, perhaps the original revolutionary.

          Jesus is my hero and so much more. The only way I can get to know him is through prayer and holy scripture. Short of being there (and I am not certain I would have had the brains or courage to know who he was) scripture is all I have to go on. This is one of the reasons I am so interested in the actual words Jesus used and not relying totally on what words someone else chose as the translation. 

          Still, the bottom line is that Jesus is my quintessential hero. Is he yours as well?