LESSONS FROM SUPERHEROES

This year I saw a few of the Superhero movies that were released.  In these movies from 2011 and from previous years, I see that there are different lessons that leap off the screen in a single bound and impact my mind faster than a speeding bullet.

Take SPIDER-MAN in 2002.  In Spidey's first big screen film Uncle Ben told Peter, "With great power comes great responsibility." This is a lesson that my generation needs to learn.  When I think about Christmas coming and the $35 billion dollars that my country alone will spend on Christmas I see that lesson from Spider-Man as striking.  We have great financial power, although for some reason we think we're hard done by, and we have a great responsibility.  I wish someone on CTV National News would tell Canada that all we need to do is cut Christmas spending to 22 billion this year and give 13 billion to people like the water project the world water Crisis would be done!

I think about the lesson IRON MAN proffers when Yinsen, the engineer who helps Tony Stark build the first Iron Man armor in the caves of Afghanistan, tells Tony Stark with his dying breath, "Don't waste your life."  This is also quite a lesson for us today.  As we see celebrities today, like the fictional character Tony Stark, who have all the money in the world and zero happiness because they are wasting their God-given talents and money on only themselves in riotous living and self-indulgence.  Interestingly enough Robert Downey Jr., a rich, drunk guy, played a rich drunk guy in Iron Man and is having to learn these lessons as well.

This year's movie THOR was all about how, if you want to be great, you need to learn to be humble and sacrifice yourself.  The movie showed, clearly, that power just inflates the ego and we have to be broken in order to be any kind of a good leader.   When Thor's daddy stripped the god of thunder of his power and exiled him to earth Thor had to learn what life was like as a mortal and that to be a leader you must lose yourself and sometimes even your life.

GREEN LANTERN was all about overcoming fear and taking your eyes off of fear and throwing yourself headlong into the fray sometimes even when your emotions and your past tell you otherwise.

CAPTAIN AMERICA, my favorite movie of the year and one of my favorites in years, is all about having a good heart.  The movie is a brilliant example of how "men look at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart"(1 Samuel 16:7).  Screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, who also penned the Narnia Films, did a startling job of showing that it is better to be a good man at heart than to be a man with all the outward successes of looks, muscles, money and girls on your arm.  I intend to use clips from Captain America in future teachings as it is a modern day parable on how God sees someone as a true hero.

And as Aunt May said in Spider-Man 2, "Lord knows, kids like Henry need a hero. Courageous, self-sacrificing people. Setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later, they'll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them how to hold on a second longer. I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most."

'NUFF SAID.

Telling the Truth and Then Feeling Bad About It

Yesterday in church I spoke on Galatians chapter 2:1-10.  In the middle of that passage Paul says, "While we were in conference we were infiltrated by spies pretending to be Christians, who slipped in to find out just how free true Christians are. Their ulterior motive was to reduce us to their brand of servitude. We didn't give them the time of day. We were determined to preserve the truth of the Message for you."  I then mentioned to the people at church that if any of them had come to the church with the ulterior motive of trying to make the church in their image and according to their religious preferences that I would kick them out.  I told them that it was my job as pastor and shepherd to guard the church from people like that who try to undermine the freedom that we have in Christ.

Later on in the evening when I had time to think PMS kicked in...that would be Post Message Syndrome.  Pastors get PMS all the time.  In the middle of sermon assessment I wondered if I had been harsh because I am a nice guy and don't want to hurt people and be a jerk.  But then I remember what Paul said in Galatians 1: "Am I trying to please God or men?"

It then occurred to me that my mom used ALL the time when I was a kid: "If you can't say something nice don't say anything."  Having a default mercy gift and then having that idiom programmed into me by my parents is a deadly combo sometimes.  Add to that I am a polite Canadian. 

So a lesson I am learning is this:  If I have to be blunt with my people as their pastor sometimes, as long as I am speaking the truth in love, even if it is tough love, then I am simply doing my job.  

After all; Jesus wasn't always nice either.  I'm thinking making a whip outta cords and clearing the temple.  Only thing is I can trust Jesus to do that...I better darn well make sure I think about it long and hard before I go to that extreme.

'Nuff said.

The New Superman Costume

First Off: Images of the new Superman Costume from The Man of Steel movie, starring Henry Cavill, have surfaced--no doubt taken from the movie set (my neighbour is a stunt woman on the movie). 

I have to say...is this a joke?  This costume is horrible.  The only good thing about it is that he at least Cavill looks like a Super Hero.  I'm thinking the stupid designs on it, that look like they are trying to copy the new Spider-Man suit, look like they were done by some artsy farsty chick who was high on green tea.  Where's the cool belt designs that no doubt have been left on some brilliant designer's drawing board.  I don't care about the red trunks being gone but they at least added a little more color. He's Superman not plastic-lizard man.

'Nuff said. 

Let me know waht you think.  Scroll down so you can see the JOKE new costume.