August 4, 2021

Last week I was trying to think of an illustration for the truth that Christ abides with us forever. I remembered a story that Ronald Reagan told in a speech at my college when he was running for president. Our nation was in a funk. Morale and patriotism were pretty low and Reagan was saying how “we need some heroes.” Then he told the story of an American Air Force pilot in WWII whose plane was shot up pretty badly and was trying to get back across the English Channel, but was not going to make it, so the pilot told the crew to bail out. The problem was, one of the crewmen, who was in the gun turret on the underneath side of the plane, was injured so seriously, that he could not get out and the gunner would be left alone to die. Instead of bailing out with the rest of the crew, the pilot made his way to where the gunner was and said, “How bout we ride this down together.” Then with a crack in his voice, Reagan said this is what it means to be a hero and then told us that this pilot was awarded, posthumously, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

We went nuts! We cheered and clapped and I decided that he had my vote. In fact, I and many students waited in line to shake his hand that day and I did. Of course, I never stopped to consider the fact that if the entire crew bailed out, how did they know that the pilot actually said that? Perhaps a crew member overheard him before he jumped, but anyway I thought that this would be a really good illustration. After all, it’s been over 40 years and I still remember that story. I thought that I would tell you that while this pilot was heroic, his heroism was limited by the fact that all he could do was ride down the plane with the gunner. He couldn’t rescue the plane or the gunner and neither could he promise him eternal life. Our Hero is greater. We have a Savior who is not only with us in death, he guarantees our resurrection. It would have been a great illustration.

So, I researched it. I looked up the Air Force pilots who received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously from WWII. I wanted the pilot’s name, his mission, his squadron, his base, etc. So, I searched and searched but could not find anything at all. I really wanted to use the story, but I had to be certain that it was true. Finally, I came across an account of a reporter who was following Reagan at the time and heard that Air Force pilot story over and over in the speeches that he gave. It was a really good story. The problem was, this reporter said, it wasn’t true. The reason Reagan never gave the pilot’s name was because this never actually took place. Reagan was apparently in a movie where there was a similar scene depicted and perhaps, he thought that the movie was based on a real account, but it never happened. There were many heroes in WWII for sure. This just wasn’t one of them.

So much for my illustration.

Well, maybe not.

Actually, we do not have to rely upon stories that make us feel good to stir up some kind of spirit of community. Peter said “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16) He was there. He witnessed it. He knows the names, places, times and details. He staked his life on it.

So do we.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s text: 2 John 4-6