A Hero Worth Having

The irony didn't slip by me unnoticed. In the same week that the NBA All-Star game was being held, I met one of my heroes -- a hero worth having. Here in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, without fanfare or fuss, onto the stage walked Archbishop (Emeritus) Desmond Tutu.

Not a millionaire who can do a reverse slam dunks. Just a giant who stands 5 foot nothing, who helped lead the world to find its heart and say no to Apartheid.

Tutu referred in his address to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and paid tribute to the support given by the WCC, particularly through its Programme to Combat Racism. "This was controversial but was quite critical in saying our cause was just and noble and that those who, as a last resort, had opted for the armed struggle were not terrorists but freedom fighters," he said. "Nelson Mandela was no terrorist."

The WCC was his "mentor", and he owed it a very great deal, he said. "You, the WCC, demonstrated God's concern for unity, for harmony, for togetherness, for friendship, for peace, and you must celebrate that, you must celebrate the success you notched up in defeating apartheid, for you were inspired not by a political ideology but by biblical and theological imperatives."

However, he said, apartheid had continued so long because the church was divided, and God called it to unity, adding, "Jesus was quite serious when he said that God was our father, that we belonged all to one family, because in this family all, not some, are insiders.

"Bush, bin Laden, all belong, gay, lesbian, so-called straight - all belong and are loved, are precious."

Being so far away, I have no idea who won the NBA All-Star Game -- the acrobatics of the likes of Allen Iverson, or the scoring of Kobe Bryant. Those who know won't remember in a decade. The Rolling Stones and U2 were in Brazil this week, but in my book they pale by comparison (though Bono is definitely on the right track, there may be a Nobel Peace Prize on his shelf one day). Being in the presence of Desmond Tutu, hearing him speak, seeing the fire in his eyes as he spoke about justice and inclusion. There is a hero worth having.