Sermon Tone Analysis

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.”[1]

September 11, 2001 shocked a complacent world from its lethargy into enforced wakefulness.

Before that day, police and fire fighters were often thought of as necessary nuisances.

If nothing else, the events of that day snapped us from what could easily be described as a near universal somnambulation.

We were forcibly compelled to acknowledge that we had taken for granted quiet heroes within our society.

As the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell into one massive heap of rubble, all free men and women grieved the loss of life.

We North Americans grieved our loss of innocence.

Most of all, we each grieved at the needless deaths of brave individuals—firemen and police officers—who died risking their lives so that others might live.

The bravery of those who entered those burning buildings is no longer taken for granted, but rather review of the events has only enhanced their valour.

Similarly, Canada’s military men and women who serve today in Afghanistan remind us that we dare not assume they are any less than courageously serving for our benefit.

There is in this statement from the Saviour instruction revealing God’s grace toward our fallen race.

Courage and love may be confused in the sacrifice of one individual in the place of another, for love compels courage.

Without question, we who are Christians will benefit from examination of these precious commodities.

May God make us willing to express our gratitude for the courage of quiet heroes among us, and may He make us a people that love others deeply from the heart.

Join me in exploration of the twin issues of love and courage.

*Evidence of Love* — Whatever else may be evident from the statement of the Saviour, an individual’s willingness to sacrifice himself for another is evidence of love.

However, death is not of itself an indication of love.

There may be many reasons an individual would die—even willingly.

I speak cautiously and with deepest humility in saying that motives are seldom pure.

Rather, multiple motives may be thrown together leading an individual to the supreme sacrifice.

Peer pressure may cause an individual to sacrifice his life.

I don’t necessarily mean this in a negative sense.

I refer to the sacrifice of brave individuals who have willingly given their lives for members of their own unit during times of war or trauma.

On May 6, 1970, Lance Corporal James Howe, together with two other marines, was occupying a defensive position in a sandy beach area in Vietnam.

Enemy sappers suddenly launched a grenade attack against the position, utilising the cover of darkness to carry out their assault.

Lance Corporal Howe and his comrades moved to a more advantageous position in order to return suppressive fire.

When an enemy grenade landed in their midst, Lance Corporal Howe immediately shouted a warning and then threw himself on the deadly missile, absorbing the blast with his own body.[2]

Andrew Mynarski of Winnipeg and Pat Brophy were tail gunners in the RCAF.

At 12:00 am June 13, the two men and the rest of the crew were aboard their Lancaster, */A for Able/*, crossing the coastline of France, and keeping a look out for anti-aircraft artillery.

Shortly after the Lancaster crossed into enemy lines, it was “coned” in searchlights and the pilot began evasive manoeuvres.

Within minutes, Brophy spotted a German Junkers firing rapidly.

As he and Mynarski pivoted their guns to take aim, the Lancaster was hit.

Brophy remembers noting that it was 13 minutes past midnight.

A burst tore through the fuselage, igniting the wing fuel tank, and knocking out both engines.

Fire ripped through the plane, separating the two gunners and destroying the intercom.

The pilot gave the signal for all crew to bail out.

Mynarski was half way out of the rear hatch and about to jump when he looked back and saw Brophy struggling to get out of his turret.

The hydraulic pivot system had been shot up, and Brophy was trapped.

All the rest of the crew had already bailed, and the burning plane was bucking wildly.

But Mynarski threw himself to the floor, and made his way through the flames to try to help Brophy escape.

With his hair and clothing burning, Mynarski struggled in vain to turn Brophy's turret manually, but both men knew that it simply would not go.

Brophy ordered Mynarski to get out while he could, and Mynarski made his way back through the growing wall of fire to the hatch, turned to salute his friend, and then made the leap.

Mynarski's descent was clearly seen from below.

His clothing and parachute were burning, and as he fell, the flames went higher.

Although he survived the jump, he died within hours from his burns.

Incredibly, Brophy did not die.

When the plane crashed moments later, his turret was thrown clear of the wreckage, and he was thrown from his turret with virtually no injury.

When he came to, he picked up his helmet and out of it fell a clover Mynarski had given him.

Years later Brophy reflected: “I'll always believe that a divine providence intervened to save me because of what I had seen, so that the world might know of a gallant man who laid down his life for his friend.”[3]

For his selfless courage, Andrew Mynarski was awarded the Victoria Cross, posthumously, and a chain of lakes in Manitoba is named in his honour.

Though the foregoing accounts inspire admiration, it is unlikely that love alone motivated either of these two men.

They were trained to respond as they did, and the knowledge that it was their friends who were threatened impelled them in a measure to respond as they did.

Nevertheless, such selfless action is admirable.

Commitment to ideas may lead an individual to sacrifice his life for another.

Fifty-six men—lawyers, jurists, merchants, farmers and plantation owners—signed the American Declaration of Independence, each pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honour.

Of the fifty-six signers, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army and another had two sons captured.

Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.[4]

Maternal or paternal love may lead an individual to sacrifice herself or himself for the child whom God has given them.

We cannot know the power of love, until confronted with a situation demanding that we give our own life for our child.

Roméo Leblanc, Governor General of Canada, awarded the Star of Courage to Cindy Corlett-Parolin, posthumously.

On August 19, 1996, Cindy Parolin died to save her six-year-old son from a vicious cougar attack near Princeton, British Columbia.

Mrs.

Parolin was horseback riding with three of her children when her youngest son was thrown by his frightened horse and attacked by the cougar.

Mrs.

Parolin jumped to the ground and provoked the cat with a stick, until it released her child.

The enraged beast then pounced on her.

As she wrestled with the animal, she ordered her children to take their injured brother and run for help.

When rescuers arrived, over one hour later, they found her still alive in the underbrush where she had been dragged by the cougar.

The animal was still crouched over her savagely mauled body.

A man fired a shot in the air and unleashed his dog to scare the cougar off.

The animal was then shot.

Patty McConnell, a tourist from Texas, died fighting the bear which attacked and killed her thirteen-year-old son.

Ray Kitchen, a business owner and outdoorsman from Fort Nelson, B.C. was also killed when he attacked the bear in an effort to save Ms. McConnell and her son.

The bear was killed by two Americans (Duane Eggebroten and Dave Webb) who, though fearful as result of past difficulty with Canadian authorities to transport a firearm through Canada, used a thirty-thirty rifle to kill the bear.

It is possible, that one may give life quite by accident.

Hazel White received the Star of Courage posthumously for giving her life to save her friend.

On April 29, 1996, in Cluculz Lake, British Columbia, this brave woman was murdered while protecting her friend from the attack of the woman's estranged common-law husband.

Aware of the man's frequent violent assaults on her friend, Ms. White was staying with her for moral support.

Shortly before midnight, the women were awakened by the sound of the man smashing a glass patio door with a sawed-off shotgun.

Ms.

White told her friend to escape through the bathroom window while she went to confront the aggressor.

Armed with a piece of driftwood, she succeeded in distracting the man long enough to allow her friend to flee to safety.

Regrettably, Ms. White was shot in the back by the aggressor who then went on to severely wound another resident, a 13-year old girl, before setting the house ablaze and committing suicide.

Regardless of the mix of motive, few of us would argue that courage and love was united in each of the aforementioned incidents.

Of course, there are the heroes whom we have taken for granted.

No one enjoys receiving a speeding ticket from the police who patrol our highways and enforce our laws.

We seldom think about the firemen who are constantly on call, waiting for the call which they pray never comes.

When that call comes, they rush to attack the flames, and if human life is threatened, they willingly rush into the fire seeking to save the dying.

We are driven to recall this attitude of quiet heroism as we see the reminders of brave men rushing into the twin towers.

Karla Dorman has written of that day:

 

WHAT DO HEROES DO?