The True ‘Superman’
Right now I’m sitting on my back porch looking on my phone for movie times and locations. I enjoy going to the theater and watching a wholesome flick.
The new movie “Man of Steel” is coming out this month. It is a movie about that famous comic book hero Superman. You remember him; the one that is faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and so on. I loved those cartoons as a kid and enjoyed the series of movies done back in the 80’s. He stood for humility, courage, moral integrity. I was watching the trailer for this new movie and this is how the narrators described this updated “Man of Steel”:
“He will be a god to the people of earth. To some he was a guardian angel, to others a ghost who never quite fit in. He will give the people of earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you. They will stumble and they will fall. In time they will join you in the sun. In time you will help them accomplish wonders.” Then you hear Clark Kent say, “I believed if they knew who I was, they would reject me.” He was convinced the world wasn’t ready. The last line in this section of the trailer, “What do you think?”
If the ‘Man of Steel’ really showed up on earth, how would he be accepted and portrayed?
If you listen closely to the words of the narrators again it almost sounds like a description of another man who came from a place other than earth. It could almost be a description of the man who is also coming back again someday. This man is able to do so much more than what the man of steel can do. Not only can He accomplish greater physical feats, He commands nations to heed His will, He can fight off any enemy, He can share wisdom beyond your experience.
But it seems as though our true superman, like the one in this movie, is going through a bit of an identity crisis. He used to possess a much higher place of honor in our nation and world. For many centuries He has been the key figure in history. His words were more revered, His actions studied, His followers unlimited. But over this last half century other ‘super heroes’ of faith have arisen. People have turned away from her true ‘man of steel’ and have pursued other gods. Islam is on the rise, and Mohammad is its prophet. Wicca, agnosticism, atheism, etc. all seem to be gathering more followers than in the past.
But just as Lois Lane discovered, there is only one true ‘man of steel’, so we who are followers of Jesus Christ know there is only one true God, one true focus of our faith. We sing about Him and to Him every Sunday; we study His words and His actions. We emulate His heart and compassion. We help convert unbelievers to believers. We do this because we have become partakers of the secret, the mystery that has been hidden in ages past. Jesus Christ is Lord of the universe.
He did not come from Krypton, He came from His throne in Heaven. He has no kryptonite to weaken Him, He speaks and nations flee. He cannot be stopped, He cannot be mocked, He cannot be trapped or tricked, He cannot be outwitted or outmaneuvered. He is supreme in thought, skill, and power. He not only can leap a building in a single bound, He can create a building in a single word spoken. He is not only faster than a speeding bullet; He made the air through which it travels.
Jesus truly is our ‘Man of Steel’. Although misunderstood and often rejected, and although the world is not ready to accept Him, He is coming again to set things straight. And when He does every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that our hero is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
My phone is not letting me find out anything about movie times or locations. I need to wait another week before they are posted.
Enjoy the movie, if you like movies. But more importantly this summer, let’s enjoy our hero, Jesus.
I love being your Pastor, see you on Sunday. Pastor Phil
