Superman!

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41 ESV).

 

I am a big fan of both DC and Marvel superheroes. One of my favorites has always been Superman. And, while Kirk Alyn was the first American actor to play the DC Comics character in live-action for the 1948 movie serial Superman and its 1950 sequel Atom Man vs. Superman, the actor I remember best was George Reeves who played the role in the television series during the 1950’s. Christopher Reeve was also a favorite. The movies he starred in as Superman began with the familiar monologue: “More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!” Superman was marketed that way for decades, and that we know these words today is testament to their brilliance.

 

Sometimes we are tempted to think of Jesus as a superhero. He does seem to have superpowers: multiplying loaves, stilling storms, even raising the dead. He also seems to have special knowledge: about Nathanael sitting under a fig tree (John 1:50), about a Samaritan woman’s relationships (John 4), about Peter’s upcoming denials (Mark 14:30). All of this is far beyond our abilities. So, we figure that Jesus’ divine nature must exert itself beyond his human nature from time to time. However, that it not the correct way to view Jesus. Jesus is not a superhero. He is a person, God and human, who has a full measure of the Holy Spirit empowering his mission. As he tells the people from his hometown: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me . . .” (Luke 4:18). That’s super enough.

 

We don’t need superheroes. We have Jesus. He saves us from evil powers and even from our own sin. That’s who we celebrate at Christmas!