We seem to talk a lot about courage nowadays.
Whenever we watch great sporting events there seems to be this constant discussion about an athlete’s back story and the “courage” they have shown to get to this event. Or perhaps when watching a popular singing competition on TV (I cannot even bring myself to type X-Fact…..eewwww) we marvel at the “courage” of the contestant as they have overcome various hurdles. Cue music. Cue montage. Cue tears.
And yet sometimes we cannot see true bravery when it is staring us in the face. A young family who get into a dinghy in the hope it will get them across the Mediterranean and into a better life. Abuse victims who step forward first so that others can finally speak out.
Courage needs to be reclaimed from the trivial.
Real genuine courage involves loss. To be courageous means sacrifice so that other people can succeed.
Jesus is our example for courage. He faced death so that we can know freedom.
For me, the most startling part of Jesus courage was that he seemed to have a very clear idea of what was going to happen. As his ministry slowly weaved its way towards Jerusalem he knew exactly what he was walking towards.
Mark records Jesus predicting his own suffering and death.
Mark 10:32-34:
“32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Manwill be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
Jesus is courageous.
When you stand up for something good even though it will cost you, or when you put someone else’s needs above your own, or perhaps you decide to sacrifice something so that others can prosper then you are copying Jesus. That’s real courage.
christchurchmanchester.com
Richard Lee Quintero, 46, was arrested on Wednesday morning after he broke into a Pizza Hut and called the police on himself claiming to be Jesus Christ
A North Carolina man claiming to be Jesus Christ broke into Pizza Hut and called the police on himself saying ‘Jesus is here now, he’s back to earth’.
Police arrived on the scene to arrest Richard Lee Quintero, 46, for breaking into the pizza joint at 4:30am on Wednesday.
In the bizarre phone call audio obtained by WFMY, Quintero says he has schizophrenia and goes on to describe how he broke the window at the High Point restaurant saying ‘I’m Jesus, I can do whatever I want’.
The call starts with Quintero giving himself a divine introduction.
‘Yes, this is Jesus Christ and I just broke into the Pizza Hut. I broke the window. Jesus is here now, he’s back to earth,’ he said.
The restaurant’s alarm can be heard going off in the background.
‘I just broke in, had a pizza…had a Mountain Dew,’ he said on the phone.
The dispatcher then asks where Quintero came from.
‘I’m from heaven,’ he answered.
He broke into this Pizza Hut at 4:40am, ate a pizza and drank a Mountain Dew before calling the cops on himself
‘I’m Jesus, I can do whatever I want. We’re tired of Judases on this earth. We’re going to clean this earth up,’ he added.
The police asked what he looked like to which he said: ‘I look like Jesus — what else am I supposed to look like?’
When asked if he was armed, Quintero said he’s nonviolent then began to tell the truth about his background.
‘No I’m not violent sir. Just hungry. Yeah I was starving to death. Everybody’s been treating me mean in this town. I’m from Indiana,’ he said.
He later told the dispatcher that he has schizophrenia.
Police arrived to the Pizza Hut at 4:45am, Quintero was taken into custody without incident, according to the Miami Herald.
He was charged with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny.
www.dailymail.co.uk
