It's an unforgettable photo.

The raising of the flag at Iwo Jima.

In fact, if you had to pick 10 photographs to tell the story of our country, this one featuring U.S. soldiers lifting up the American flag would be one of them.

Iwo Jima is a dot in the Pacific where the U.S. needed a landing strip for bombers striking Japan during World War II. Some 70,000 marines were sent to take it from a dug-in enemy. "The thing I'll remember forever," recounts retired Major General Fred Haynes, "was the courage and the guts of the kids ... and these were young kids." ("Remembering Six Heroes At Iwo Jima," www.cbsnews.com, December 7, 2000)

They were kids. But also heroes.

There are six flag raisers in the photo. Four in the front line and two in back. The front four are Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. The back two are Michael Strank and Rene Gagnon.

Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterwards. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks.

What's most amazing is how ordinary each of these heroes was.

Mike Strank played the French Horn and once slugged a baseball out of Points Stadium in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Harlon Block was an outgoing daredevil with many friends at Weslaco High School in Texas. Franklin Sousley was a red-haired, freckle-faced kid raised on a tobacco farm in Kentucky. Ira Hayes was a Pima Indian from Arizona who was told by his chief to be an "Honorable Warrior" and bring honor upon his family. Rene Gagnon was just a kid from Manchester, New Hampshire, who ended up being the youngest of the survivors. And John Bradley was a Navy Corpsman from Wisconsin who "just jumped in to lend a hand."

So ordinary. But so heroic.

Flag raiser John Bradley returned to his hometown in the Midwest after the war, prospered as the owner of a family business, and gave generously of his time and money to local causes. He was married for 47 years and had eight children. While Bradley had a public image as a war hero, he was a very private person. He avoided discussion of his war record, saying only that the real heroes were the men who gave their lives for their country. ("Iwo Jima: The Flag Raisers," www.iwojima.com/raising/raisingc.htm, February 13, 2001)

This is so typical. "You won't find a hero who will admit to being one," says Senator John McCain. Heroes consider their uncommon valor to be a common virtue; they see it as a simple duty -- nothing that someone else wouldn't have done under the same circumstances.

But if heroism is so common, why don't we see more of it?

A few years ago, Tina Turner conquered the charts with a song called "We Don't Need Another Hero." In it, she croons:

Looking for something We can rely on There's gotta be something better out there Love and compassion Their day is coming All else are castles built in the air And I wonder when we are ever gonna change Living under the fear till nothing else remains All the children say We don't need another hero We don't need to know the way home

Tina Turner is right to cry out that we ARE searching for something we can rely on. Yes, we ache to find "something better out there." But when she claims "We don't need another hero / We don't need to know the way home," then her argument falls apart.

Tina's got it wrong. We DO need another hero. Now, more than ever.

In today's lesson from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He appoints seventy average people -- people as typical as any one of us, people as ordinary as the 70,000 marines who were sent to Iwo Jima. Their mission is to go in pairs to every town and place where Jesus intends to go, and to do the work of curing the sick, preaching the kingdom, and driving out demons.

"I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves," warns Jesus (Luke 10:3). The seventy are facing a "dug-in enemy," like the marines on the beaches of Iwo Jima. Jesus orders them to carry no purse, bag, or sandals, and to live off the hospitality of those who will receive them. Their only weapon is the powerful message: "The kingdom of God has come near to you" (v. 9).

Is this a fair fight? It doesn't seem so at first. Jesus is calling for common people to show uncommon valor, and to embark on a mission that seems unlikely to succeed.

But when these seventy ordinary souls return, they make a surprising report: "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" (v. 17). Speaking and acting in the name of Jesus, the seventy have a power that they never imagined possible. The ordinary virtue of following Jesus suddenly turns into extraordinary heroism, and common disciples discover that they have uncommon abilities.

Do we need another hero? Absolutely. Do we need to look for one beyond this congregation? Not at all.

Uncommon valor is a common virtue whenever people respond to the call of Christ. Heroism is seen whenever disciples walk in faith and proclaim the kingdom of God. Victory over illness and evil occurs whenever people carry the peace and the power of Christ with them into the world -- and this comes not from any inborn human qualities, but from the authority that Jesus gives us "over all the power of the enemy" (v. 19). Amazing things will happen when we step out in faith on a mission from God.

Our Lord God is always looking for heroes, for people willing to accept the challenge of following Christ. This is never easy, but our church -- and our nation -- can use a few more heroes. Now, more than ever, we need ordinary people to do the extraordinary work of love and compassion in a world being torn apart by hatred and self-interest.

"Love and compassion," cries Tina Turner in her hit song, "Their day is coming. All else are castles built in the air."

Which of us will be willing to take a stand for God's coming kingdom -- a kingdom of love and compassion, healing and hope?

Any other kingdom is just a castle "built in the air."

Today, I want to challenge you to do the work of heroic stewardship, and to give with heroic generosity. If you've been watching our financial reports each week in the bulletin, you know that our church is running about $35,000 behind budget after six months of the year.

This is serious money. And it means that serious cuts may have to be made. Cuts in church programs. Cuts in community mission projects. Cuts in the works of ministry that make a difference in this world.

Now you all know that I'm not one to talk about money from the pulpit. I'd much rather preach on other topics.

But in this week's Scripture lesson, Jesus is calling you to be heroic in the work of discipleship. And so am I.

I want to challenge you all to increase your giving to the church by 10 percent for the rest of this year. I'm not asking for 10 percent of your income - that would be a shock to many budgets, including my own. But instead, I am asking for you to take a look at your current giving, and increase it by 10 percent.

If you give $10 a week, increase it to $11. If your pledge is $200 a month, boost it to $220 a month. If you are committed to $150 a week, increase your pledge to $165 a week.

This will be a sign of the heroism that Christ is calling you to demonstrate. It will be a sign that you are committed to the kind of risky discipleship that was practiced by the first followers of Jesus. It will be a sign that you trust God to bless the mission of this church - curing the sick and spreading the gospel and trampling down evil.

With the help of our Lord and your generosity, we may finish the year with a balanced budget, and be able to restore some of the programs and projects that are now facing the knife.

The challenge lies before you: The challenge of heroic discipleship. The challenge of a ten percent increase in giving.

"We leave only a mark," sings Tina Turner in her classic song. "Will our story shine like a light? Or end in the dark?"

We NEED another hero.

God's heroes are going to be found right here, if they are going to be found anywhere at all. Found among men and women who respond to the call of Christ. Found among ordinary people willing to take risks and do extraordinary work. Found among folks able to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and extend God's love and compassion to others. Found among people who give with thankful hearts, who know that generosity blesses both the giver and the receiver, who depend more on divine power than on human ability, and who rejoice more in God's acceptance than in worldly recognition.

It's up to US to be these kinds of heroes, and to make our mark. Amazing things will happen if we step out in faith on a mission from God.

So, will our story shine like a light?

Or end in the dark?

Let us now take a moment to allow God's Word to take root in our hearts...

Amen.