The Anointed Hero

 In 2011 Director Joe Johnston and Marvel Studios brought to the big screen the  movie:  Captain America - The First Avenger, featuring the comic book super hero Captain America (aka Steve Rogers), played by Chris Evans.  The setting of the movie  is March 1942 and the world is at war.  The Germans have a “secret” agency called Hydra lead by a villainous leader, Red Skull (with a name like Red Skull how could you not be evil!).  His evil and diabolical plans can throw the balance of the war towards the Nazis.  Meanwhile, in the United States the government is working on a “secret” plan to create a battalion of super soldiers.  

Enter our would-be hero, Steve Rogers.  But he does not look the part.  He is a 98 pound weakling who suffers from:  Asthma, sinusitis, chronic colds, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, and fatigue; not to mention he has suffered from Scarlet fever, Rheumatic fever, has a nervous disorder, and a family history of diabetes!  Our hero is not off to a good start. We meet Steve Rogers trying to enlist in the United States Army where he is summarily dismissed by the medical board.  What a shock!And this was not his first attempt! But remember, he is our hero and heroes do not give up.

Steve Rogers finds himself at “The World Exposition of Tomorrow”  with his friend James “Bucky” Barnes who is shipping out for England the next day to serve as a sergeant in the Army.  While at the exposition Steve Rogers tries to enlist again.  This time he meets Dr. Abraham Erskine.  Dr. Erskine is the lead medical researcher for the Strategic Scientific Reserve.  It is this elite scientific group that is working on the Super Soldier project.  But before Dr. Erskine approves Steve Rogers he first must answer correctly a character question.  Dr. Erskine asks:  “So you want to kill Nazis?”  In fact, he asks the question a few times.  Only upon receiving the right answer  does he approve Steve Rogers to join the army and become a part of the Super Soldier project.

So what, exactly, is a  “character” question?  For Steve Rogers the question that is asked of him is critical in revealing his heart.   What motivates a sickly 98 pound man to try and join the army over and over again?  Is it to act like a big man?  Is to exact his own form of justice?  In his answer we begin to see the character of our hero.  Steve Rogers says:  “I don’t want to kill anyone...I don’t like bullies...I don’t care where they are from.”  The heart and character of Steve Rogers is about justice and fairness.  There is no room in his world for bullies and those who take advantage of others.

And so his training begins.  Steve Rogers is a small man in a large world.  He cannot keep up; he is overmatched by the physicality of military training.  But he has the character of a hero.  He has the heart of a man who puts other people first, values life, and seeks the very best of the word justice.  He demonstrates an emotional  intelligence which sets him apart from his physically superior soldiers.  Dr. Erskine has chosen wisely - he has anointed Steve Rogers to become “Captain America.”

Anointed...

A hero is not self-appointed.  A hero “is” because others “see” and “affirm” their “hero-ness.”  The hero is set apart from the rest; he or she is different in both their physicality and intellectual capacity.  They have a strong sense of justice and righteousness.  And other people see and uphold this person as a hero.  This is exactly what happens to Steve Rogers in the movie.  Dr. Erskine sees and affirms that this weakling of a man has the character and moral fiber to be “Captain America.”  

To be set apart and chosen is to be “anointed.”  The word “anoint” simply means to apply oil to a person or thing.  In the Bible the word “anoint” is connected to religious ceremonies.  For example, to set apart a place (Genesis 28:18), ceremonial furnishings (Exodus 40:9-10), priestly garments (Leviticus 8:30), religious leaders (Exodus 28:41), and kings (1 Kings 1:39).  “Anointing usually means two things:  It sets a person or thing apart as holy and consecrated, and it confers authority on a person who is anointed.  In the Bible the holiness and authority that reside in ritual anointing are considered to be conferred by God, though mediated through a person acting on God’s behalf.”

Maybe the most memorable anointing in the Old Testament was the one performed by the prophet Samuel.  King Saul had become disobedient to the Will of God and lost Divine favor.  The prophet Samuel was given the task by God to anoint the next King of Israel (even though Saul was still the king...and that will prove to be a problem later on in the story).  The Lord instructed Samuel to fill his horn with oil (for the anointing, of course) and go to Jesse of Bethlehem.  The Lord had determined that the next king of Israel would arise from the house of Jesse.

So Samuel goes.  And the parade of sons begin.  First to be considered was Eliab who was tall and strong - but he’s not the guy.  Then followed:  Abinadab, Shammah, and four more brothers to no avail!  

Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here." And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he."Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:11-13)

Okay, so David was a good looking young man (sparkling eyes, ruddy skin, and handsome), but he was the youngest of 8 brothers...and he’s a shepherd boy...not what we would consider a proving ground for would be heroes!  How in the world was he going to be the next king?  And that is the point!  It is not by the world’s standards that David was to be king.  It was by God’s choosing and anointing.  God would provide this shepherd boy all he needed to be the next king of Israel.  And what was that provision?  The Bible simply states:  “And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13b).  

David received the Spirit of the Lord.  Steve Rogers would receive micro-injections. that would turn him into Captain America.  Anointed by Samuel and anointed by Dr. Erskine...and there you have it!  Heroes are anointed.  And we love our heroes.  But where does that leave you and me?  Where does that leave the person traversing the ways of this life who will never reach the stature of hero by worldly standards?  What if I told you that you too have the opportunity to be like David?  What if I told you that many of the qualities that we admire in Captain America are offered to you out of the hand of the Lord?

In the darkness of night a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jewish people came to Jesus.  His name was Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was in search of more - spiritual insight, closeness with God, and abiding peace with His creator.  And when he confronts Jesus for spiritual direction what does he get?  “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).  Born again?  Nicodemus scoffs at the notion entering into his mother’s womb a second time and starting life over!  But Jesus elaborates:  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).  

Water and the Spirit.  Born again.  Baptism.  The anointing we need is found in Baptism.  According to Martin Luther the benefits of Baptism are clear:  “It works the forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the word and promises declare”. Okay, so Baptism doesn’t make us a super hero like Steve Rogers or a Biblical icon like David.  And for that matter, it is way more than our working definition of anointing!

Baptism is sacramental.  The Lutheran Church understands Baptism as a sacred act    that is:  “A.  Instituted by the command of Christ; B.  In which Christ joins His Word of promise to a visible element; C.  By which He offers and bestows the forgiveness of sins He earned for us by His suffering, death, and resurrection”. The old Adam is drowned and the new man arises.  No spiritual 98 pound weakling here!  Now, through the Waters of Baptism, you are a transformed Child of God.  So don’t be a superhero...be a washed and cleansed child of God!