A few weeks ago I blogged about some thoughts I had about Superman (The Paradox of Superman)... The blog turned into fodder for my sermon that preached based on 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 yesterday.
Here is the audio as well as the manuscript I was preaching from.
(They are different because I didn't bring my manuscript up to the pulpit because I'm a terrible reader)
Audio:
Manuscript:
In case you don’t know me too well, I’m a bit of a comic
book nerd. I have several comic book
toys in my office and my most beloved toy is my Superman toy from the Kingdom
Come series. It was a gift from my dear
friend and mentor Dixon Kinser.
More than
reading comic books, I love the debate of comic books, the dialogue, the
arguments that come out of them: DC vs. Marvel, who is the best X-men character,
who is your favorite Avenger... and the most classic of all comic book arguments,
Superman vs. Batman. Now to be fair, I totally understand why people love Batman, he’s dark, conflicted, damaged
and sexy. And I think we like connecting
with a hero we can identify with. I
mean, Superman is an alien from the planet Krypton. He’s faster than a speeding bullet, more
powerful than a locomotive, he can fly, his morals seem impenetrable.
However, the reason I feel compelled to love Superman is
in the difference between the alter egos:
Batman is Bruce Wayne, Superman is Clark Kent. Now when Bruce Wayne wants to become a
superhero he puts on a costume and becomes the Batman. On the other hand, Clark Kent is actually
Superman. The cape he wears is the
blanket he was wrapped in when he was sent to earth. His costume is Clark Kent. What’s even more interesting is the kind of
human that Superman is: he’s frail, shy, and unsure of himself. Clark Kent is weak. Many have argued that Clark Kent is this way
because that is how Superman sees humans.
Superman sees us as weak. But
here’s the thing that ultimately gets me, even though we are weak Superman
still feels compelled to save us.
In Matthew chapter 5, we read Jesus’ Sermon on the
Mount. He begins the sermon with what we
call the beatitudes:
Blessed are the meek
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Blessed are the peacemakers
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Blessed are those who grieve
It is these people, Jesus says, will inherit the earth and
will reign in the Kingdom of God. Jesus
looks upon the weak and desperate and says this is what my Kingdom is founded
upon. Why? Why if you were going to build a kingdom
would you build your foundation on the weakest members of society?
It’s because the kingdom of God is different kind of
kingdom. For thousands of years the
Egyptian, Roman, Babylonian, Chinese, English, and even our own American
empires, rose and fell on war, wealth and power. But the Kingdom that Jesus is
building is a entirely different kind of empire. Instead of accumulating and destroying it is
about setting to right the brokenness of creation. The kingdom of God is an empire of our
togetherness. All the ways, in which we
work to separate ourselves and hurt one another, Jesus is working to heal. It is the thesis of our daily prayer: your kingdom come, your will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven.
And I have always looked at the beatitudes as if Jesus is
talking about ‘those people,’ those that are meek, poor, and hungry. But I think it is better read the way Eugene
Peterson translates it: blessed are you
when you are meek, poor, and
hungry. The beatitudes are an invitation
to embrace our weakness. If you have
ever grieved you know this is the only way to heal. When we choose to be meek we no longer
continue the escalation of violence.
When we hunger and thirst for righteousness we clearly identity what is
unjust. When we are poor we begin to
trust God’s provision and see that there is plenty to go around. Embracing our weakness is the only way for
heaven to become one with earth.
Fast forward a couple of decades and we see an exasperated
Paul desperately trying to keep his church together. You see Corinth was a deeply Greek culture, a
place where philosophy and knowledge reigns supreme. Teachers were held to the highest of
pedestals. People in Corinth aspired to
be great teachers, however, if they couldn’t cut it as a teacher, they at least
wanted to follow a great teacher or for lack of better term, be a disciple of a
great teacher. Following a great teacher
was your identity, it gave you status and authority. But it wasn’t enough that you followed a good
teacher; you had to follow the best teacher.
Therefore it was your job to stifle other groups, to discredit them and
to destroy their credibility. So when
Paul established the church in Corinth, it didn’t take long for this value to
make it’s way into the church. In 1
Corinthians we read about people already beginning to follow other leaders like
Apollos, who are claiming to have secret knowledge about Jesus, special divine
experiences and are splintering the church. So what we find in Paul’s second
letter to the church in Corinth is responses to people asking Paul to give them
something to tell others about how great it is to follow Paul.
And Paul, who I believe is the guy he is talking about going
to the third realm of heaven (whatever that means), says, ‘I have indeed
experienced God in a very profound way but I don’t come back with this
experience with anything to boast about.
Instead I am more than ever profoundly aware of my thorn in my
flesh.’ You see the closer to God Paul found
himself, the more aware of his weakness he became.
I find myself often times uttering phrases like, ‘I wish
people would just respect me,’ or ‘I want to be a great leader.’ But when it comes time to do the work of
dealing with my foolishness or my shortcomings, I would rather keep showing off
my strengths. And I don’t think I’m at
all alone in this. We live in a culture
that hides our weaknesses and celebrates our strengths. Get on Facebook for just a couple of
minutes. What you have is a constant
stream of boasting. Look how awesome this meal I made was.
Look how awesome my new job is.
Look how awesome my vacation was.
Look how awesome I am. But if
you have ever got on Facebook with any amount of loneliness or insecurity, you
know all of this boasting only drives you deeper into a place of isolation and
insignificance.
Where is the space in our world for weakness?
What if Superman came to earth and instead of disguising
himself as weak, exploited himself in front of humanity, constantly boasting of
his strength? Would anyone even feel
significant enough to be saved?
A few years ago I was on a men’s retreat with my last
parish. And in case you don’t know
anything about men’s retreats in the Episcopal Church, there’s quite a bit of
drinking to go along with the fellowship.
At about ten o’clock that evening, a man who I have come to respect very
deeply, stood up and announced that at seven o’clock there was going to be a
meeting, an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and anyone who wanted to come was
welcome to come. Since many of my
closest family members are alcoholics and I’ve seen how AA has been so
beneficial, I decided it would be good for me to go. That morning I experienced the most profound
glimpse of the Kingdom of God. I wept as
I watched man after man, our society’s symbol of strength and power
(masculinity), stand up and confess that they were powerless over alcohol. And
I wept because I longed for the space that I could shamelessly admit that I too
am powerless and weak.
Paul says, “in my weakness I am made strong.”
Do you actually believe that?
What kind of space are you creating? Is there space in your life for yourself and
others to boast of weakness? Do you have
space and time to grieve, to rest, to be silent, to want something bigger than
this world? Are you building the Kingdom
of God or are you too busy building an empire or your own strength?
May you know your weaknesses. May you desire healing in the name of Jesus. And may it give you peace.
Shalom.
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