[Sorry, no audio today]
Sermon – Preaching in Holes: The Unlikely Heroes
Romans 16:1-11; Numbers 22:21–31
7/5/26
When I was in high school up in Chesterfield, my high school Government teacher decided that he wanted to run for the Virginia General Assembly. He had done some campaign work in the past and enjoyed telling us the stories, but he had never tried himself. In addition to his limited experience, he needed something to set him ahead. His greatest resource, and what his opponent could never have matched, was several classes of willing and eager high school students on a mission to help go door-to-door, stand along the road with signs, or show up at debates to support their teacher in his endeavor to get elected. Somehow, in addition to those other activities which I also did, I got roped into doing a radio commercial with a few other students, and for a Fourth of July event down in the Colonial Heights area (where he was running), I got to show up at as a lanky, young Uncle Sam in a head-to-toe American regalia. I have little memory of the actual event. I must have just been impressed with the political patriotism as such an important character. In case are wondering, my teacher did win back in 1989 and served in the General Assembly for more than 30 years, including time as the Speaker of the House.
These days are a time of bringing to mind those important characters and personalities in American history. Of course, Uncle Sam is an imaginary embodiment of the American Spirit, maybe like a mascot, but there are plenty of true, historic names that come to mind when we begin to think about those heroes of American history. Virginia is graced with a number pf presidents, significant historical places, and has a hand in some of the most significant moments of our nation’s story. We have founders, generals, statesmen, and advocates. You cannot recall the big names of America without thinking of Virginia, but what about the names that we never knew?
There are lots of national heroes who have shaped our nation’s story. You could easily name some of these people who are on our buildings, our money, and our monuments, for instance, but I want to drill down on the people who might be even more important to who we are and how we have made it to today. Yes, there are some who are even more important than the big names, the famous names…. You do not know these people. Imagine that. The ones who contributed most to our story are people who are rarely, if ever, mentioned.
The Bible is very similar in its story, too. There are people who are very known and celebrated, and we speak of them from the earliest years in Sunday school or Vacation Bible School. They are the kings and prophets and leaders and apostles, but the ones who are most important to the story of God’s heart among us are also rarely, if ever, mentioned.
One of those rare mentions is at the end of Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome. It is common for Paul to write about others in his conclusion to his letters, but this one to the churches in Rome is extensive. He has lots of people to thank, lots of people to commend, lots of people to express to the Romans. Most notable, however, is just how many women he appreciates and commends to the Romans. Do not brush this aside. This is the same Apostle Paul who made a number of tough claims about the role of women in churches and worship. At least in some places, they were NOT the leaders nor allowed to speak up. Many traditions took that as a blanket restriction and continue to silence their women. At least in some places, they could not be over men or to teach them. At least in some places, they were to have restrictions on their dress and a heavier burden to be a part of a worshipping community. I say in “at least some places” because we do not know if Paul was talking to specific women who were a problem in certain localities where he makes these instructions or whether he really meant for all women to behave as he described. This is the same Paul who seemed to believe that in Christ distinctions disappear, like the gender one, meaning we are no longer divided as men and women. Understanding what Paul meant is also obvious right here in Romans 16. He celebrates what looks like ten women who have been integral to the spread of the gospel and the work of Christ all around him. He seems very happy to have the collaboration of so many people as leaders and servants in his desire to build up the Body of Christ. In this case, we have names of people who largely were never otherwise named.
And this is not just about the women, but women are a great example because they especially were not mentioned, and that is the point. Here the curtain is pulled back, and we see how vital these people were in Paul’s larger work who would ordinarily go unnamed. When women are named in the Bible, it is a big deal as the larger culture would not bother. The same goes for children or slaves or others who were seen as less important. I would love to name for you someone who was more important at the feeding of the 5000 than all the known disciples put together, but I do not know his name. We will never know the name of that little boy, but we do know about the few fish and loaves that he had in his lunch and his willingness to share. He was crucial to that miracle as we receive it.
We also do not know the name of a certain donkey. I feel certain he had a name, but again, we will never know. If you want to find an unlikely hero, someone who would never be named or celebrated, it is this donkey of Balaam. Honestly, this is unlike any other story in the Bible, and I am not saying we should consider our animals our true source of guidance, but those animals who are important to us are also part of God’s story in this world and in our lives. If God can use a donkey to be God’s agent, God can certainly use you and me. That might even be the point for me today. This unknown beast of burden is the hero of faithfulness and wisdom in Numbers 22. He is one in a long line of characters who were pivotal in God’s work and yet unknown. Here is the good news: we are all the essential characters in this story of life, both in our nation and in God’s story, even if our names are never recorded in the great history books of our time or our faith.
You and I and the person down the street and the homeless man in the ER and the child hiding from bombs and the family grieving after an earthquake and the wife waiting to see if her husband returns from war and the father whose sons were disappeared after a protest and the farmer waiting to see if her crops will get rain this year and the teacher who sees his students’ hunger stifle their learning and the soldier who struggles with the guilt of war and the doctor who cannot understand why lifesaving drugs are not more readily available – we are the people in this story. God did not make this world for a few here and a few there. Jesus did not die and rise again for a number of names that we have heard. This is for us all.
The American Revolution could not have happened without the Washingtons and Adams and Jeffersons and the like, of course, but it could also not have happened without the countless unnamed who were willing to entrust all that they had to the same idea. It took so many to support and carry out the effort. They suffered and died, so that we might all be a free people 250 years later.
The story of God’s people and those who are in Christ Jesus is even more expansive, and the beauty of this story is that it continues today across the world. I love so much that we have a wide and expansive collection of sisters and brothers that truly rivals the stars in the heavens as God promised to Abraham. The names of our family in faith that we have heard stand out to us as interesting and meaningful lives, but the heroes that I celebrate working and serving and pushing to do the best with what they have to carry out the kind of love that in God’s grace will make a difference in this world. Today is about remembering our part in this story. We are the heroes that will never be named, but we are also the heroes who are precious to God in Christ. Our service is valued and will be valued. Thank you for what you do that no one will ever know. Thank you for your willingness to follow without fanfare. So many in this world love attention and the spotlight. They love fame and seem to live for their own glory. Our glory has already been purchased on the cross. Our lives are in Christ, and our place in the story is secure, but our place is also vital. We are some of the most important people in God’s work, each and every one of us, because we are willing to hear and to do. The love of God makes us precious; our service in Christ makes us heroes.
To God be the glory. Amen.