Being Brave

“Well, we had a debate in our house last night.” As a minister, I am accustomed to being drawn into conversations in a variety of ways. Admittedly, the sentence had my attention. “Who is the bravest man in the Bible?” This was not what I was expecting. The setup prompted my mind to other debate topics: the climate emergency, the troubles in Afghanistan; and the continuing pandemic. Traits of biblical characters, although a topic I enjoy, was not at the top of my list.

Bravery is a deceitful theme because it is too readily associated with war and acts of violence. Television and film portray the brave as people charging into battle and these stories encompass all possible scenarios from the famous conflicts of ancient history to the fantastic and futuristic combats in deep space. If we were only to examine such scenes, then we could mistakenly equate bravery with fighting. Such an equation is the trap of the biblical witness as well. Reading about the conquering Israelites can askew a more poignant idea of bravery.

Eliminating fighting from the examination can produce another idea of bravery. We witness Hagar banished to the desert to die and willing to call the divine El Roi, the God who sees me. We read about Jacob at the Jabbok, lonely and confused about family and the sacred, as he crosses the river to be reunited with his brother. Jochebed, facing a genocide of children, places her son in a basket, sending him downstream in hopes of survival and a better life. Biztha, Hegai, Zethar, and the other named eunuchs in Esther use their power and place in the court to ferry messages from Esther to Mordecai, arrange audiences with the king, and encourage the young Hebrew woman to save her people.

From these countless examples, we understand bravery is not about fighting. Bravery is the courage to face the unknown and the unjust in our world and ourselves. Although this facing requires fortitude, it often comes with vast amounts of mercy and love. The bravest people I know are drawing people into the work needed to save our planet and its creatures from waste and pollution. They are welcoming others into envisioning and laboring for a better community for all. They are easy and forgiving with themselves, letting go of past behaviors and habits that prohibit them from being fully and wonderfully human. Such bravery is the real work of this world.

-Brian Crisp