Steve Rogers continues his quest to join the army, giving it another try.
This time, someone notices…
As he is preparing for his exam, the officer asks him to wait. Then a MP shows up to make sure he does not leave. Then someone walks into the room, looks at Steve’s folder and says, “So you want to go over seas and kill some Nazis?”
Steve is confused. He asks, “Excuse me?”
The person who entered the room introduces himself and explains that he works with the Strategic Scientific Reserve. They have conversation. The Dr is sizing Steve Rogers up, discerning whether or not he would be good for the experiment he is working on.
In the midst of the conversation the Dr says, “You didn’t answer my question. Do you want to kill Nazis?”
Steve is silent for a few seconds and asks, “Is this a test?”
Dr replies: “Yes.”
Steve answers from his heart, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they are from.”
Dr replies, “Well there are already so many big men fighting this war, maybe what we need now is the little guy….I can offer you a chance.”
This is before Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. This is the moment the Dr begins to think Steve is the one. It is his answer, “I don’t want to kill anyone.”
He stays true to this statement after he becomes Captain America. Unless he has to, he does not kill. He values life.
He recognizes that bullies don’t value life. Bullies values themselves, their desires, their power, their wealth over anyone else. Bullies don’t share. They don’t feel compassion and mercy. They work for their benefit, their greed, their corrupted view of their world.
We spent four years living in a time where a bully became the President of our country. He bullied everyone around him, all who worked for him, the leaders of other countries, his opponents. He upheld, and still upholds, the values of dictators and white supremacists.
The former president says he values life, but he does not. During his times as President, he gave orders to create refugee camps that had no dignity, that tore apart the lives of those seeking help and safety. Death after death in those refugee camps on our southern border brought no sympathy from him, no change in policy.
He said he values life, but he did not. He celebrated homophobia and sexism. He encouraged bad behavior at his rallies. He abdicated responsibility when someone at his rally acted on the hatred he was spewing. He sparked an insurrection after losing a fair election.
He does not value life. He is a bully.
Steve Rogers values life. He is a small guy, always overlooked. His life journey has taught him compassion for all around him. He has an inner strength that has developed as he has worked to overcome the challenges and obstacles in his life.
This scene asks us a question: Who do we uphold as our heroes?
The Dr., without saying it, is suggesting that it is not the big guys that are our heroes. No, it is the little ones, the ones that understand compassion and mercy, that value life.
Who do we uphold as a hero?
Who do I uphold as heroes?
Martin Luther King, Jr, a man who valued life, equality, justice. A Pastor who gave his life in a movement that called us as a country to be better, to be compassionate, to create the Economy of God in our midst.
Saint Mother Theresa: a Sister whose life work was to care for those untouched, those left to die, those ignored by society — to bring dignity, care and respect to a population that has never experienced dignity, respect and care. A Sister who valued all life, who believed that no life was unworthy.
Saint Monsignor Oscar Romero: an Archbishop who spoke truth to power; who put his life on the line to minister to the disappeared and disappearing in El Salvador — who reminded those without political power that they have tremendous spiritual power, that they are the “hands and the feel of Jesus,” bringing hope in the place of despair.
Rev David Lawrence: my youth pastor who lost his life helping an abused woman leave her abuser.
The women of Standing Rock Tribe: these powerful women stood in the face of injustice, prayed for the rights of their people, their Land, their health. Even as the governments ignored their plight, they stood their ground, praying for life: Water is Life.
These are just a few. Each of my heroes value life! They offer respect, dignity, compassion, mercy. They seek to create justice. They truly desire to be “the hands and the feet of Jesus” in this world.
Who are your heroes?
How are you being a hero in this world?
