After binge-watching Downton Abbey for 7 hours, Brene Brown started to look up the time period of the series and stumbled upon a quote from Teddy Roosevelt. She calls it her Jesus moment. In the middle of a shame meltdown, overwhelmed by the countless words of criticism, she read his words about daring greatly. Here’s the quote:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Awakened, Brene stood up to “dare greatly,” choosing courage for one of her life values. It is not the critic that counts. We would do well to remember those words.
Jesus knew critics berated him from the sidelines. He knew what it was to come against literally impossible odds. He knew what it was, along with all those who were “types of Christs” before him, to stand in the midst of battle, to fight wrong, and uplift the downtrodden. Jesus knew and practiced bravery.
Sunday we will visit one beautiful scene, in which, contrasted between immense compassion and powerful confrontation, Jesus dared greatly and shows us how to do so as well. We are a people who are called to great things, take stands against evil, uphold the right and make a difference in a society marred by critics, not by those who are actually “in the arena.”
As we are looking at the brief encounters Jesus had, we are looking for ways we too can choose bravery that looks like Jesus’ not like an angry mob, smashing windows and burning police cars. Courage like the Flint, MI white sheriff who without his weapons, vest, or armor, offered hugs and love, marched with a beautiful mosaic crowd of every race remembering George Floyd. Dare greatly to stand courageously with Jesus. 9 am Sunday.