Saved by a Superman -- FPC sermon excerpt
An Almighty Father sends his son to Earth.
He puts him here for a purpose.
“They can be a great people,” says the father. “They only lack the light to show them the way. For this reason, above all — their capacity for good — I have sent them you, my only son.”
On Earth, the son fights hard for truth and justice. He displays amazing abilities and incredible insights, but sometimes he feels that his power is being drained out of him.
After a dramatic battle with the forces of evil, he is killed. But then he is resurrected and ascends into heaven. He returns in a second coming.
This is the story of Jesus, right? Well, yes, it is.
But it is also the story of Superman.
Visit the movies this week, and you will be dazzled by the sights and sounds of Superman Returns, the latest in a long line of television shows and feature films about the Man of Steel. You might see me at a showing this Wednesday, the day it opens. In this version, you’ll see his arms outstretched, as though he is being crucified. You’ll watch as he receives a wound in the side — like the spear-stabbing endured by Jesus. At one point in the movie, a bitter Lois Lane says, “The world doesn’t need a savior, and neither do I.”
But we do, Lois — we do!
“The Man of Steel is Back,” according to a headline in The Daily Planet. That news alone is going to move mobs into multiplexes, because as a nation we are crazy about our superheroes. Women want to be with them, and men want to be them. As comedian Jerry Seinfeld says, “Spider-Man, Superman, Batman … men don’t see these as fantasies, they see them as career opportunities.”
But the movie Superman Returns should also lure people into church, because this story can draw us deeper into the life of a true superhero named Jesus. He may not have super-strength and x-ray vision, but he’s got the power to save us.
He puts him here for a purpose.
“They can be a great people,” says the father. “They only lack the light to show them the way. For this reason, above all — their capacity for good — I have sent them you, my only son.”
On Earth, the son fights hard for truth and justice. He displays amazing abilities and incredible insights, but sometimes he feels that his power is being drained out of him.
After a dramatic battle with the forces of evil, he is killed. But then he is resurrected and ascends into heaven. He returns in a second coming.
This is the story of Jesus, right? Well, yes, it is.
But it is also the story of Superman.
Visit the movies this week, and you will be dazzled by the sights and sounds of Superman Returns, the latest in a long line of television shows and feature films about the Man of Steel. You might see me at a showing this Wednesday, the day it opens. In this version, you’ll see his arms outstretched, as though he is being crucified. You’ll watch as he receives a wound in the side — like the spear-stabbing endured by Jesus. At one point in the movie, a bitter Lois Lane says, “The world doesn’t need a savior, and neither do I.”
But we do, Lois — we do!
“The Man of Steel is Back,” according to a headline in The Daily Planet. That news alone is going to move mobs into multiplexes, because as a nation we are crazy about our superheroes. Women want to be with them, and men want to be them. As comedian Jerry Seinfeld says, “Spider-Man, Superman, Batman … men don’t see these as fantasies, they see them as career opportunities.”
But the movie Superman Returns should also lure people into church, because this story can draw us deeper into the life of a true superhero named Jesus. He may not have super-strength and x-ray vision, but he’s got the power to save us.
posted by Henry Brinton | 12:13 PM
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