My heroes...

Ok, I have strange heroes... perhaps...
 
Above all, my hero is my Savior and LORD OF MY LIFE -
Jesus of Nazareth,who simply transcended the greed, corruptions of power and 
    controlling factions of the Roman Empire, Sanhedrin and Israel's Throne with His 
    fulfillment of the Law and Prophets in the Gospel, centered on Agape Love in Grace.
Martin Luther, the 16th Century Reformer, stood up to the Holy Roman Emporer,
    the Pope and those in the church who had departed from the Gospel teachings
    and examples of Jesus.  There are glaring examples of things I CANNOT condone
    in Luther's beliefs and actions, but he stood for the common person and Grace.
Mahatma Gandhi was as pure an example of someone LIVING the Gospel of Jesus
    and therefore speaking justice and truth to power, as anyone in history.
Rev. Vernon Johns was a civil rights leader before there was a movement, in
    Montgomery, Alabama.  He was a spark of truth and justice in the darkness.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a representative of the Gospel of Jesus and
    fearless warrior for non-violent revolution in the face of injustice for God's people.
Rosa Parks, who allowed being tired to her core to become sitting in for justice
   and equality in the face of injustice and inequality.
Mother Theresa, who quietly, powerfully and consistently embodied the Agape 
   Love Jesus commanded for "the least of these".
Bishop Oscar Romero, who stood up to a corrupt government and the wealthy
   landowners who owned it, the church in its silence and the military in its ruthless
   torture and slaughter of innocents, along with Presidents Carter and Reagan, calling
   for peace and justice for ALL in El Salvador.
Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. DuBois, Nelson Mandela, 
Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, and others...
 
My prayer, as I wait for a new, CONTEMPORARY hero to arise, is that WE, THE
PEOPLE will stand up to, to speak out justice and truth to power and wealth, even when
that means standing up to those whom we love and support, because what they are
doing is wrong for God's people.  The closest one that I can identify today is
Cornell West, who goes out to speak, to demonstrate, to write, to teach, to get 
arrested and to consistently raise concern for ALL PEOPLE, especially "the least of 
these" in our land and abroad.
 
I aspire to be a faint reflection of the light that they have shone and still shine in the
world.
 
Pastor Jamie