Men and Superman

About the same time that I was having my positive epiphany last week, I had the fortune to have another -perhaps slightly apocryphal but no less valid one.

I caught a rumour on the wind that implied that JMS (Joe Straczynski of Babylon 5 fame... bust most of you knew that already and if you didn't where have you been?), was signing on with DC Comics to write for Superman and wonder Woman.

I've been deeply impressed with JMS' storytelling abilities... initially (or so I thought) through Babylon 5, but also from an early age as it seems he had a big hand in an old cartoon I loved as a kid (Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors).

Lately he's been turning his attention to comic book writing. As you will know through my blogging on the topic... I greatly appreciated the direction he was taking Spider-Man through story lines like "The Other", and I connected with them on a spiritual level. I was greatly upset when Joe Quesada decided to essentially remould Spider-Man in his own image.... and especially in the manner in which it was done. Notably Straczynski had his name left off the issue that rang in those changes.

He then moved onto Thor (I've only just got the first two graphic novels... yes I don't buy comics, I have to at least pretend I'm mature and get them in graphic novel format), it seems apparent to me that he is using Thor's mythos to explore similar themes - rebirth and claiming your real heritage... and it has me hooked.

Anyway back to that rumour; upon checking it out, I stumbled across an article entitled No Limits, written by JMS himself. I've provided a link to the main article but for the purposes of this article, I'll repost some of it here:

One of my very earliest memories as a child is of watching one of the Superman cartoons created by Max Fleischer. In particular, a scene where Superman puts his cape around Lois Lane to protect her from an incoming tide of molten metal. I imprinted on that image like a baby duck, and a lot of what I laughingly call my personality was formed in that moment (which is why a cel-recreation of that image is one of the first things you see upon entering my home, before you get to the row of wall after wall covered with artwork by Alex Ross, Curt Swan and others, as well as just about every bit of Superman memorabilia ever produced).

As a kid growing up in the mean streets of New Jersey, Superman was an icon for me. It was a tough life: we moved about 21 times in my first 17 years, we didn’t have much money, and every day was a struggle. When I told grown-ups that I was going to be a writer someday, nobody listened, nobody thought I had a chance, because as far as teachers were concerned, kids like me who came from nowhere and nothing were dead-enders, destined to end up working at the gas station at best or in jail at worst. Writers were supposed to be Ivory Tower guys with leather patches on the elbows of their smoking jackets, who went to the right schools and came from the right families. I lived in the world of No, a place populated by bullies and street fights and tenements, with no possibility of escape.

But Superman…see, Superman could do anything. If there was some place he didn’t want to be, he could just fly away. And he couldn’t be hurt, which to a kid who got beat up pretty regularly in fights and elsewhere was a pretty attractive idea. Superman taught me the morals and ethics I draw up on to this day: to play fair, not to lie, and to be willing to put yourself between harm and those you care about.

If Superman could do anything, then maybe I had a chance. Maybe I could become a writer. Maybe I could even learn to fly. That symbol, the S, became a badge for me, and growing up I always made sure I had it somewhere on me, like a shaman’s charm. That may sound silly, and from a grown-up perspective it probably is silly, but as Henry Kissinger once said, it has the added benefit of being true. And it helped me get through the hard times, which is why I continue that practice to this day…right now it’s on a key-chain in my pocket.

For me, and I suspect for a lot of people, that symbol stands for the belief in our own potentiality, in what we think we can do, and try, and aspire to. I was watching the news recently, and they were showing Palestinian protests, followed by a story on the night life scene in LA, and later on, a live report from London about something or other…and in the background of each of those stories there was somebody wearing a Superman t-shirt or cap. It’s universal.

And there’s a reason for that, a secret no one knows, but I’ll tell you, because of how long I’ve known you, and our longstanding friendship.

And the secret is this:

The Superman symbol is Kryptonian for No Limits.

And whether or not you speak Kryptonian (or Kryptonese), you know that…you know that deep inside, where even the cynicism of the world cannot reach.

I’ve told this story before in other places, so at risk of being redundant…back a few years ago, I was at the Chicago Comic Con when a guy in his 20s grabbed a bunch of expensive stuff off a table in the dealer’s room and made a run for it. The owner ran after him down the aisle, yelling “stop him!” As he came in my direction, everybody parted like the Red Sea.

I brought him down like a gazelle, and we held him untnil the police showed up.
Afterward, one of the con organizers said to me, “Why’d you do that? He’s a big guy, you could’ve gotten hurt.”

And I pointed to where I’d been standing when it happened: right in front of a ten-foot-tall cut-out of Superman. “How could I stand in front of that, in front of him,” I said, “and do nothing?”

On a personal level, JMS pretty much sums up verbatim who I think Superman is and what he as an archetype represents. I also resonated with the words. You see... I haven't had a rough background... but for my own reasons, I too have lived in the world of No. And the description of others as coming from Ivory Towers? Again, that's been where I've been dwelling for the past couple of months in terms of the attitudes I have held towards my peers. They are in their Ivory Towers, and I have been just trying to keep it together in the hope that I can build something myself someday (but God forbid  it should ever take the form of an Ivory Tower).

Do you know something? I once received a dog tag with a Superman symbol on it... and I used to wear it round my neck until a couple of months ago.... but upon reading that article, and upon having that profound experience last week... that tag now adorns my neck once more.

Faith manages... and hope survives... against all odds.

I want to finish by turning my attention to something JMS said about Superman that I think is very relevant for Christians. Many of us wear badges or articles that identify us with our faith... but how many of us live up to those ideals while holding those badges up?

JMS recounts how he took down a petty thief and when asked why he took such a risk, his answer was simple:

“How could I stand in front of that, in front of him,” I said, “and do nothing?”

Shouldn't that be OUR action and OUR response when we are acting as Christ's ambassadors? No I'm not saying we should all go out and physically confront shoplifters  (although... that said...). I'm saying that if we are going to go around with our WWJD bracelets on our wrists, our ICTHUS fish in our cars and crucifixes around our necks... we had better start living up to the ideals that those articles identify us with!

How can WE stand in front of HIM,  in front of JESUS and do nothing?

Scripture is pretty clear that we need to live fruitful lives that demonstrate love to our neighbours and even our enemies. Scripture tells us that the measure we use will be used on us... and that whatever we do to the least of our brethren... we do it to Jesus himself.

Isn't this a wake up call? And if it isn't... shouldn't it be?

Let's live up to what we have already attained... in order that others may have a shot at grasping it for themselves.

Peace and blessings to you all

N

A Burden of Kryptonite

Sometimes in life, you find that the weight of your decisions becomes very tangible.

This is never more true than when you make a decision that goes against the grain of everything within you. In light of recent events I've certainly been feeling this in quite a profound and very personal way.

I keep thinking of this scene from Superman Returns:

That's what it feels like to me, anyway.

Actually that sums it up pretty well... Kryptonite if you recall, is made up of the remains of Superman's homeworld, Krypton... and exposure to it is harmful to him. When Superman came to Earth, he gained powerful abilities, a destiny and a life beyond the imaginations of mortal men.

Thinking about that, isn't it exactly the same in the Christian journey?

We begin our lives, like everyone else... born into a doomed world. However we are saved... not by a rocket ship, but by the grace of God granted to us through the willing sacrifice of his Son, Jesus:

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."

Romans 8:1-4

He took the punishment of a dying world onto his shoulders and gave us the opportunity to change our destiny. We could choose to remain on our dying world... or find new abundant life in the kind of life the Father had originally planned for us:

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

Romans 8:5-8

Jesus said that he came that we might have life and have it in abundance... live it to the full... to remain in disobedience, is to remain on Krypton... and we know what that leads to...

Nevertheless, as the apostle Paul observed, even if we claim the salvation on offer to us and cross over from life to death, we are still broken people. Just as in the DC universe, fragments of Krypton made it to Earth and harm Superman when he comes near to it... when we come close to the remnants of our sinful nature, it also has a nasty effect:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin."

Romans 7:14-25

Basically if we go near the sinful nature, we come under it's influence... but it's not always as straightforward as you might think it seems. As all Superman aficionados are aware, Kryptonite does not come in a single flavour. Sure, green makes Superman sick and can kill him, but there are other forms that prove harmful in other ways. In the same way as Christians, the sinful nature tries to harm us in different ways. Sometimes a wrong choice in life might not necessarily be an "evil" one, it's just that it's not a beneficial one. In other words we can make choices that... whilst not overtly harmful, are disobedient to God's perfect will for our lives.

"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive.

1 Corinthians 10:23

Or perhaps we get ourselves into situations where the power and authority God grants in ministry to us... are neutralised by our behaviour or need to conform to the peer pressure around us.

As I said, it's not just a simple matter of being outright "naughty".

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:1-2

We need to take a good long hard look at our lives and start yanking the Kryptonite out of it... and that's what my current struggle surrounds. I may not be outright rebellious, but I'm certainly prone to my fair share of disobedience... and my struggle concerns me putting God first in an area of my life in which I too often have got carried away.

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Luke 9:23-25

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:7-11

So I find myself lofting a huge chunk of my own Kryptonite out of my life and deep into space, it is a heavy burden... but it must be done. Someone might say that, if it's so heavy... why isn't God helping?

Ahhh but there it is, God is helping... without his strength it would be impossible to even lift that burden.

Remember that Jesus Christ himself suffered when he was tempted... we see a glimpse of this in the Gospels... but the most crucial temptation he went through, was that of being in the Garden of Gethsemane... and wanting the cup (the burden of having to suffer for our sins), to pass.

There are times when we all want the cup to pass but the book of Hebrews again offers us this advice:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:2-3

Why should we do this? Well earlier in the book, we are told just why the temptations that Jesus suffered, matter so much to us today:

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 2:18

The difference between the weight we carry as Christians and the weight we bore before coming to salvation is as fundamentally different as the difference a diver would notice between a life giving aqualung on his back as opposed to the millstone tied around his ankle.

That is what Jesus meant when he told us:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

The weight that Christ gives us to bear brings life... if we choose to struggle on alone with the weight the world gives us, we sink to the ocean floor and die.

Finally we can be sure that our struggle is not futile. The battle is long and fierce... but in the end if we trust in God, we will triumph. This goes for everything... whether we are talking the major conflicts that shape our final destiny, or the daily battles that shape who we are and discipline us in order that we can claim what God has promised us in our temporal lives for:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:28-31

May God grant you victory in whatever struggles you face today.

Blessings

N

Draw Near

I've been to watch Superman Returns today and had a great time. I've mentioned before in previous blog entries how various elements of the Superman story have been useful allegories in understanding various things god has said to me.

As I have testified recently, the Christian walk can often seem to be a lonely one... but feeling lonely is very different from being alone. We will always have Jesus Christ to mediate for us:

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

....and we will always have the Holy Spirit to administer to us:

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." John 14:15-20

"All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:25-27

There's a line at the end of Superman Returns that sums this up for me a great deal:

"You will be different, sometimes you'll feel like an outcast, but you'll never be alone. You will make my strength your own. You will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son."

This is how we draw strength from our God. We have to be completely absorbed in his presence. One of my favourite analogies of how Christians should be is that of a sponge. When a sponge is fully immersed in water, you cannot tell where the sponge begins and the water stops. Is the sponge in the water... or is the water in the sponge? The answer of course is both. This is at heart what Jesus means when he says that we are in Him and He is in us.

The things we read about him doing, the attitudes that shaped his actions... we need to take these on. We need to perceive the World through Christ's eyes, because as his ambassadors he certainly see's the World through ours. By seeking to become more Christlike in nature... we challenge ourselves to become vessels of His blessing. If we draw strength from God there can be healing for the sick, the blind can receive back their sight, the prisoners shall be set free and the dead can be raised. Take those statements as literally or symbolically as you wish but both are true in the power and name of Jesus Christ.

The simple truth is that God... because He is our Father, desires for us to become like his one and only begotten Son. The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son. The only way for that to happen is if we invite him into our hearts... to the very centre of our domain.

I'm going to ask you one question, leave you with one challenge:

Imagine your heart is like a big house, it has public areas, private areas, it has functional areas, recreational areas. The question is this... in this house, where is Jesus?

Is he on your doorstep, still waiting to be let in? I urge and encourage you to invite him into your heart and welcome him as Lord.

Is he in the hallway... a cautiously welcomed guest who is still wearing his coat? I encourage you to begin to trust Him through prayer and bring him to the centre of your world.

"Ok" those of you who are mature in faith may be thinking... "Jesus is in my living room... that's cool, I'm fine". So Jesus is welcome in your household... but what about your bedroom... is it a tip (like my real one) that you are ashamed to let others look upon. Are you still serving up microwave ready meals from your kitchen where the appliances are unused, but the bins overflow with microwave dinners? Lets not go to the toilet for pities sake!

What I am urging you to do is look at those areas of your life that bring you shame... that you don't use, or are uncomfortable with... and let Jesus loose. He will clean up your mess and he will serve the finest of spiritual food. Just let him do what he wants to. Call on him and see if he will not rise to action?

Do it today!

blessings

N

Nuff Said!

Here are two trailers for Superman Returns which is due out at the end of next month. I saw the latter trailer on Saturday (while watching X-Men III: The Last Stand which sadly didn't impress me, given the standards of it's predecessors), and it completely blew my socks off.

I am now salivating with anticipation, my heart raced while I watched this. Tingles went down my spine when I heard one line of dialogue from the film:

"You wrote that the world doesn't need a saviour, but every day I hear people crying for one."

All I can say to that is "Amen!"

That is my battle cry!

Just to leave you with one small kernel of insight:

In many ways, Superman can best be understood as an allegory for the pinnacle of goodness in society, he is a kind of paragon of what is best about humanity.

Now... there is a real person who fulfills that role.

Who else do we know who is an only begotten Son who came from the heavens by the will of his Father to shine as a light to show humanity the Way?

Think on it...

The Hero's Eternal Struggle

Continuing on yesterday's theme (namely sin), I wanted to share with you an image that has stayed with me all through childhood.

As a kid I was really into the Superman movies (though as an adult I can appreciate that really, only 1 and 2 were of critical worth). An image has stayed with me from the 3rd movie (it's about the only decent bit of the film). It involves a fight in a Metropolis scrapyard. To set the scene, Superman had earlier been exposed to contaminated kryptonite... which instead of making him double up in pain, changed his nature into that of a corrupt selfish individual.

However, after committing various evil deeds, something happens... he gets a nauseating headache and is forced to land in a scrapyard. As he clutches his head, his alter ego Clark Kent emerges from within him. This is the scene that I always remember.

Evil Supes and Clark duke it out and throw junk and stuff at each other (pictured below). Supes is seemingly quicker and more agile (but in reality they are the same person... it's just his TRUE persona is mild mannered). It ends with the evil Supes dumping Clark into a compactor... and you think that's that, as he walks away. Suddenly there is a jolt and Clark pulls himself free. Another fight begins but Clark gets the drop on Supes and strangles him from behind. Supes disappears. The familiar Superman tune fires up and Clark pulls open his shirt He's the TRUE Superman again.

Or again, it is like in The Iron Giant. The robot in the film carries some seriously impressive hardware and weaponry; when he sees his friend hurt... he goes on a rampage and starts disintegrating and melting tanks. When he sees the boy Hogarth is still alive, he snaps out of it. He makes a conscious decision and declares "I am not a gun!" It's a good job he did because there is a nuclear warhead descending on the townsfolk and only The Iron Giant can stop it by sacrificing himself. He flies into it in space and his last words are what he truly wanted in his heart to be - "Superman!" (Don't worry, it does have a happy ending).

That's what we have to do... stop being the gun and start being the Superman that we truly are.

So what does this all have to do with sin?

It reminds me of the struggle we all face within. Some days, if we let our guard slip... our sinful nature breaks free and tries to reassert itself. It basically tries to go on a Superman rampage. However, at some point we get a headache... or should I say soulache. It's at this time that God is calling us to account... and the person he shapes us to be, springs forth in the power of Christ (for that is the only way it can), then comes the titanic struggle. It is a struggle we all face. Paul wrote this in Romans:

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

That can be quite confusing because of all the do's and do not's. What Paul is basically saying is that he's human... like you and me. He struggled with sin just like you and I, and he fought his own personal Superman. Yet he admits he does not have the strength to do it in himself. What is the answer? "What a Wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ his our Lord!"

Jesus is the answer.

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I do not write these words to you as a mighty preacher, or wise sage. I am merely a fellow traveller along the road who has had his fair share of struggles... and yes... sometimes struggles even today. I wanted to write this to tell those of you who don't know, how to combat sin in your own life (turn it and temptation over to Christ), and to remind anyone who has forgotten about also.

Be Clark Kent, be the true Superman... not a gun.