An Almighty Father sends his son to Earth.

He puts him here for a purpose.

“They can be a great people,” says the father. “They only lack the light to show them the way. For this reason, above all — their capacity for good — I have sent them you, my only son.”

On Earth, the son fights hard for truth and justice. He displays amazing abilities and incredible insights, but sometimes he feels that his power is being drained out of him.

After a dramatic battle with the forces of evil, he is killed. But then he is resurrected and ascends into heaven. He returns in a second coming.

This is the story of Jesus, right? Well, yes, it is.

But it is also the story of Superman.

Visit the movies this week, and you will be dazzled by the sights and sounds of Superman Returns, the latest in a long line of television shows and feature films about the Man of Steel. You might see me at a showing this Wednesday, the day it opens. In this version, you’ll see his arms outstretched, as though he is being crucified. You’ll watch as he receives a wound in the side — like the spear-stabbing endured by Jesus. At one point in the movie, a bitter Lois Lane says, “The world doesn’t need a savior, and neither do I.”

But we do, Lois — we do!

“The Man of Steel is Back,” according to a headline in The Daily Planet. That news alone is going to move mobs into multiplexes, because as a nation we are crazy about our superheroes. Women want to be with them, and men want to be them. As comedian Jerry Seinfeld says, “Spider-Man, Superman, Batman … men don’t see these as fantasies, they see them as career opportunities.”

But the movie Superman Returns should also lure people into church, because this story can draw us deeper into the life of a true superhero named Jesus. He may not have super-strength and x-ray vision, but he’s got the power to save us.

One of the writers of the Superman comic strip says that his superhero adheres to “a Kryptonian-based belief system centered on monotheistic philosophy.” After arriving on Earth, Superman grows up in a Protestant family, probably Methodist, in the Midwest. Later, he visits a Catholic priest for confession, and returns for additional advice. He engages in frequent battles with his arch-enemy Martin Luther (uh, make that “Lex Luthor”). Novelist John Byrne says that he has “always imagined Superman to have a fairly matter-of-fact attitude toward faith — he believes in God, but he does not make a big deal about it.”

So Superman is a believer. But he is not going to force his faith on anyone.

But what about Jesus? It’s time for us to move from Superman to the Son of Man. Jesus comes on the scene in the Gospel of Mark as a man of action: curing the sick, casting out demons, cleansing a leper, and healing a paralytic — all before he finishes calling his twelve disciples (2:13-19). Then he stills a great windstorm on the water and heals a demoniac, sending the man’s numerous unclean spirits into a herd of 2000 swine, which immediately stampede down a steep bank into the sea, where they drown (4:35-5:13).

That would be an incredible sight on the big screen, enhanced by digital surround-sound.

This superhero Jesus is all about saving people from illness, evil, destruction and death. In fact, the Greek word for “save” pops up again and again in this gospel, although it is usually watered down into bland English words such as “heal” or “get well.”

Fortunately, the people around Jesus can see his power clearly, and they don’t mince any words. Desperate for help, they are looking to be saved by nothing less than a Superman.

First comes Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He falls at Jesus’ feet and begs him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well.” What he really says is, “Come … so that she may be saved” (5:21-23).

Being an authentic superhero, Jesus goes with him.

Then a woman, who has been suffering from terrible bleeding for twelve years, joins the crowd that is following Jesus. She and the others press in on him like a mob of adoring fans, and the woman says to herself, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” Again, what she really says is, “If I touch … I will be saved” (vv. 24-28).

She’s like a fan of the Man of Steel, dreaming of putting a single finger on the folds of his crimson cape.

So she does it. She touches him. And immediately her bleeding stops, and she feels in her body that she has been healed of her disease. The pain, suffering, social isolation, and ritual impurity that she has endured for twelve long years is suddenly over. She has been saved!

Then the plot thickens. Like Superman in the vicinity of a piece of Kryptonite, Jesus suddenly begins to feel that his power has left him. “Who touched my clothes?” he shouts to the mob pressed in around him.

Nobody answers.

“Who touched my clothes?” Jesus needs to know.

“Uh … like, everybody,” say the disciples to themselves, wondering if their master has lost his marbles.

But Jesus is looking for a particular person, an utterly unique individual who has come for one reason — to be saved by a Superman.

A few more moments pass. Then the woman steps forward. Full of fear and trembling, she tells her superhero the whole truth. But instead of punishing her for his momentary power-loss, he commends her by saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Literally, your faith has saved you. “Go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (vv. 29-34).

Jesus stuns the woman, and all those around her, by stating that her faith has saved her. Not his clothes. Not her touch. Not anything in or on his body at all. Instead, Jesus says that her faith is the source of her healing — she is saved by her willingness to believe that Jesus is a channel of the power and the presence of God.

Then the scene shifts, in a dramatic turn so common in summer blockbusters. While Jesus is still speaking, some people come to Jairus with the news that his daughter is dead.. But Jesus overhears this message, and says to Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe” (vv. 35-36). He has just commended a woman for believing; now he turns around and commands a man to believe.

They proceed to Jairus’s house, where there is a commotion being caused by people weeping and wailing. Jesus cuts through the chaos, throws the mourners out, and enters the house with only the father, the mother, and three of his disciples. Without lengthy prayers or dramatic gestures, Jesus reaches out to the child and says, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl gets up and begins to walk about (vv. 37-42).

She is saved by a superhero. Saved not by Superman, but by the Son of Man. Saved by the one who carries the power and presence of God into the very middle of human life. Saved by Jesus, the Christ.

Contrary to what Lois Lane says in Superman Returns, the world does need a savior!

Jesus has been put here for a purpose — to save us from iniquity and illness, sin and death. He comes to us because God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:16). The key is to believe in him. To rely on him. To trust him to be our savior.

We do this when we devote a week of vacation to a mission trip in Canandaigua, New York, as our youths and their advisors are doing today, and as our Midlife Men will be doing in November. We can be confident that we’ll see the face of our savior in the people we serve. We do this when we give a ten percent of our earnings to God’s work, trusting that our needs will be met if we are faithful in our commitments. We do this when we suffer a job loss or personal failure, but then find a way to face an uncertain future with confidence, believing that our Lord is always working for good in our lives. We do this when we make an effort to be loving and forgiving … not because such actions are easy or gratifying, but because Christ has always been loving and forgiving toward us. We are able to love others because Jesus loves us.

This is not necessarily a life of action and excitement. There isn’t always a lot of drama associated with believing in Jesus. There’s no “Look! Up in the air! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s ….”

No, faith is not a summer blockbuster with jaw-dropping special effects. There isn’t going to be eye-popping action and earsplitting sound effects. Faith is usually seen in the silent touch of a desperate housewife, or the quiet hope of a father walking into a room filled with the smell of death.

“Do not fear,” says Jesus. “Only believe.”

If we do, we will be saved. Amen.


Sources:
“The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Character Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman.” The Religion of Superman Website. http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Superman.html. Last modified: June 18, 2006.