This morning I want to talk about superheroes. Most of us are familiar with Superman. Daily Planet news reporter, mild-mannered Clark Kent would step into a phone booth, remove his glasses, change into a pair of blue leotards and shirt with a big red “S” on the front, red swim trunks, and don a red cape. When he emerged from the phone booth, amazingly no one recognized him as mild-mannered Clark Kent. Superman was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive – steam powered – and could leap tall buildings with a single bound. When a bad guy would shoot at him he would stand there and let the bullets bounce off his chest; but when the bad guy ran out of bullets and threw the gun; Superman would duck. The only thing that could slow down Superman was Kryptonite; which was his downfall. Seigel and Shuster, the creators of Superman were descendents of Jewish émigrés who had escaped early Nazi Germany. Interestingly, Superman’s Kryptonian name, Kal-El contains the Jewish suffix “El” which is Hebrew for “of GOD,” much as in the names of the angels Gabriel and Ariel.
“A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger! ... With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early western United States! Nowhere in the pages of History can one find a greater champion of justice! Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear! From out of the past come the thundering hoof beats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again!” Just reading those memorable words brings chills to me and reminds me of sitting in front of the 24 inch black and white television on Saturday mornings, intently watching the exploits of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. The masked man, a former Texas Ranger, and his trusty sidekick Tonto would ride throughout the old west fighting for truth and justice. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels were very serious in their position as role models for the kids, and the 45% of adults, who tuned into their show. They lived by a creed to uphold those role models. Here are but a few of the points of that creed:
I believe to have a friend, a person must be one,
I believe everyone is created equal and has within themselves the power to make this a better world,
I believe GOD put the firewood there, but every person must gather and light it themselves,
I believe sooner or later...somewhere...somehow...we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken,
I believe all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever,
I believe in my Creator, my country, my fellow human being.
There were others points to the creed and there were many other superheroes, but these are sufficient to emphasize the direction we will be taking the scripture today.
Who are the superheroes in today’s culture? What are the mores they advocate and how do they influence the development of our culture? Today’s superheroes are most often depictions of some evil force with equally evil destructive powers.
From what I can see, the morality and acceptable role models of the superheroes of the by-gone era have also become things of the past. What became of that respect for decency and clean-living which permeated those stories of truth and justice for all humankind?
One of the oldest of the modern era superheroes is “Wolverine”, a mutant wolverine-human mix with three retracting claws on each hand. His catchphrase is, “I am the best at what I do, but what I do is not very nice;” a really great moral code for a role model. Wolverine is typical of the many tough anti-authority antiheroes which emerged from the American pop-culture of the late 60’s. The Lone Ranger never shot to kill; rather he would shoot to disarm the villain. The Wolverine on the other hand is more than willing to use deadly force; employing those treacherous claws to rip apart his foes.
Another superhero, recently reintroduced in the movies and soon to open a sequel, is the Ghost Rider. Johnny Blaze grew up in a daredevil circus family. His mother took the two younger children and left Johnny alone with his father. When his father died, Johnny was adopted by another circus family who erased his memory to ease the pain of losing his real parents. Johnny’s stepfather developed terminal lung-cancer and Johnny turned to the occult, where he “inadvertently” – a drop of blood from a paper cut falls on the contract sealing it – and it sells his soul, to the tempter Mephisto, in order to save his step-father’s life. Johnny’s step-father is immediately cured of lung cancer, but is killed later that day in a motorcycle stunt accident. Incidentally, Mephistopheles is the devil in the Faust legend to which Faust sold his soul. As the Ghost Rider, Johnny transforms into a flaming-headed motorcyclist who exacts vengeance upon sinners of mankind. His motorcycle is made of Hellfire, a supernatural flame which typically burns the soul and not the body. The source of this supernatural power comes from Zarathos, a demonic entity who tortures and destroys souls.
Just as society more than two-thousand years ago were bemoaning the loss of integrity and wholesomeness; today we see the same issues in our lives. The apostle Paul accurately tells us what is happening, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ.” In the time of our youth, we believed in Superman and the Lone Ranger, they were real to us; however as we grew older we realized they were in fact fictional. Unfortunately, too many in today’s world do not recognize the reality of the “god of this world” and try to place him in the same category as our childhood fantasies. John Wesley declares “god of this world” is a sublime and horrible description of Satan. Satan is indeed the god of all those who do not believe in the truth of the Creator GOD, and he works in them with inconceivable energy.
Paul said, “our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” Since the Gospel of Jesus Christ is “the power of GOD for salvation to everyone who has faith;” how can the devil possibly hide it? The focus of that particular verse of scripture must be “to everyone who has faith.” By our faith we accept the Gospel as GOD’s power for our salvation. It is the intent of the “god of this world” to blind unbelievers and to keep them blinded. These unbelievers are under the influence and the power of the devil. He darkens their understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by shackling their minds with ignorance and prejudice. Multitudes of people will pay homage even as they experience Satan’s desire to enslave them in their wickedness. Without the Gospel of Christ in their lives they will be lost to sin forever, because there is no other means of salvation than Jesus Christ.
“The Son of Man came to save the lost.” This is the design of the Gospel, to bring the discovery of GOD’s mercy to the minds of all people. If those who do not believe in the Gospel remain in that unbelief, they can never expect anything else to save them, because there is no other means of salvation. Jesus Christ came into this world to make all humankind aware of the glorious GOD who created us and everything around us. In GOD’s image, as we also are, Jesus demonstrated GOD’s wisdom, power, grace and mercy.
Jesus came as the light of the world, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’” By this light we are to follow Jesus and turn from the wickedness of the “god of this world.” Paul tells us we are also to “we proclaim Jesus Christ as LORD and ourselves as…slaves for Jesus’ sake.” Our business in this wicked age is to make Jesus Christ known to the world as the Messiah, the only Savior of humankind. Every discipline of Christianity is centered in Christ; when we proclaim the doctrines of Christ we are saying all that needs to be said. We need be ready to profess our faith for the uplifting of those souls which are under the influence of worldly pleasures, and not in the delight of being under the sanctuary of Jesus.
When we proclaim Jesus we will face many proud human spirits who will turn against us and revile us. Yet, we are not to allow ourselves be drawn down by these spirits, “Am I now seeking human approval, or GOD’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Why is it important for us to recognize this urgent need to proclaim Christ? Paul tells us by the light of the Gospel we have “the knowledge of the glory of GOD in the face of Jesus Christ.” This light in the face of Jesus Christ is more pleasing than the light of the first Creation. We may enjoy the light and warmth of the sun in the sky, but it is more pleasant and profitable, for us, when the light of Christ shines within our hearts.
There is a great deal of darkness in this world today. We no longer enjoy the moral standards we once had, nor do we witness the work of the Church in the world as we once did. However, I do not believe all is lost, nor are we doomed to an eternity of darkness. Yes, the light of Christ is being “veiled” by our government, in our schools, in our communities, and even in some of our churches. Yet, GOD Himself tells us through the apostle’s letter, “Let light shine out of darkness, Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of GOD in the face of Jesus Christ.” As proclaimers of the Gospel we may be weak and frail, or as Paul later states we are clay jars. In GOD our weakness is made stronger through GOD’s power, and the treasure we possess in “the knowledge of the glory of GOD in the face of Jesus Christ” is valued even more.
So let us all step into a telephone booth and change ourselves into the persona of Superman or climb into the saddle of that great horse Silver and once again proclaim truth and justice to all humankind. We may even be able to enlighten the mind or convince the conscience of a lost soul to step out of the darkness and rejoice in the light of Christ. It is our ministerial call, “For once [we] were darkness, but now in the LORD [we] are light. Live as children of light.” Superheroes do not have to be extraordinary, nor do they need to exude evil; they can be just like you and me walking in the light of Christ.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT…AMEN
