Superman

John 3:1-17

Time for Blockbuster month.  In the summer months, movies are billed as "blockbusters" before their release, heightening anticipation that they will actually BE blockbusters upon release. Sometimes that occurs and sometimes it doesn't.  So it is with life... sometimes the build up is such that it lessens the experience.  And yet, that flick of the supernatural, the larger-than-life, the amazingness that the Spirit holds within each of us gives us the opportunity to actually live blockbuster, Spirit-led lives.

This week's lectionary text is from the gospel of John.  John is explaining how Jesus has been sent into the world to save it.  He is explaining how we must all be born from above. He speaks of the Spirit as a force like the wind that comes from unknown places and goes where it will.

I am reminded of the various versions of the blockbuster "Superman."  He comes in from unknown places, and no one knows when he will appear. But the reason he was sent into Metropolis was to save it. He is sent to be a light for goodness and a counterpart to the evil that sometimes ensnares the city.

A comparison of the man Jesus who became the risen Christ to a fictional comic book hero is sure to lead to criticism of 'trivializing' the nature of Christ and his saving grace in our lives.  But that is missing the point.

In every 'salvation' story, there is a noticeable figure who brings unbridled, unassuming, pure goodness to the destructive forces that lurk around us.  It is a literary device, to be sure, but also, for us as Christian people, a very real experience that we have over and over again with Christ's saving grace that sees us through.

Clark Kent could not be more unassuming and less seeking of power or influence.  He is the perfect figure to become a saving force like Superman.  The weak shall be made strong, the meek shall inherit the earth....

What are your thoughts on Superman, from either the comic books or the movies?  How does Metropolis mirror the chaos of the world you see?  Who have been the 'saving graces' in your own life?

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