Superheroes

John 10:22-30

I will give them life and they will never perish. We are the sheep that hear our shepherd’s voice.  We hear him and follow.  No one will snatch us out of his hand.

It’s been quite a week!  A couple of young men decided to cause panic and terror by detonating two bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  Tips, surveillance cameras, photographs, evidence at the scene lead the FBI to those two young men.  There was the gun battle, the pursuit and the death of one of the brothers.  Then the discovery this weekend of the other brother, weakened by his wounds, taken into custody and we wonder and ask: “Why?”

                Why did those three people have to die?  Why do all those people have to suffer the pain of their injuries and for many their loss of limbs.  Why?  What was so important to those two young men that they would attack the innocent?   

                Much has been made about their nationality and ethnicity, but those are the lesser factors in all of this.  What is true is that there is darkness in this world that those two young men gave in to, that they became a part of.  It might come out that they are fighting for this or protesting that but the fact remains that they destroyed innocent life, and that is evil.

                The other day my son Julian asked me, “Why aren't there any real superheroes?”

My little warrior.  Julian has a spirit
of action.  He is always fighting some
imagined enemy.  He makes Bows out of
sticks and rope. He is know to do
the occasional "combat roll" for
no particular or practical reason.

                We follow a Lord who has overcome evil and death! Our Jesus assures us of eternal life and no one can snatch us out of his hand.  That is why it is possible to face our earthly death unafraid.  When we are focused on our heavenly home and the promise of resurrection, when we remember the promises that every tear will be wiped away, when we remember that all the saints of God will be there, this life with its pain and threats to our to our earthly comfort, is easier to endure.  More than that! Not only can we endure, we can enjoy!  We can relish this life because of what Jesus did.  We can enjoy the love of God’s family and the abundance of his creation because we know who holds the future.  Superheros?  Look around you.  The pews are full of potential superheroes.

                Those two young men in Boston don’t get that.  They don’t get you can’t threaten and scare a people who are not afraid of death!  Sorry boys, my Lord has already taken care of that for me.  Now either go away…or step into the light. 

                In the scripture today it was Hanukkah. It was probably chilly that day, probably a lot like it is here today.   Jesus was in the east portico of the Temple in Jerusalem, this is just off the court of gentiles so there were probably all sorts of people around.  But some Jews came up to Jesus and started asking him if he was the messiah.  They said, “If you are the messiah, tell us plainly.” 

                Now we know, with 2000 years of hind-sight that Jesus is the Messiah.  And we know that the Jews were desperate for their messiah. They were desperate to be delivered, once again from their oppressors.  They were occupied by the Romans.  But they remember all too well especially at Hanukkah, when the temple had been taken over by pagan and profaned.  They remember the pain of loss.  They remember the humiliation of their sacred temple being misused and their very identity as Jews being under attack.

 So if they were asking Jesus to say it plainly that he was indeed the Messiah, he must not have verbalized it at that point.  But to ask meant that there was some evidence that he was.  Someone was saying that he was the messiah. But more importantly as Jesus says “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you don’t believe because you don’t belong to my sheep.”

He was saying that he was the Messiah all along.  The birth in Bethlehem, the ease with which he spoke about God when we was 12, the teaching and healing ministries as an adult all pointed to the Father; all pointing to Jesus being the Messiah.  But Jesus wasn't about having a title; Jesus was about doing his Fathers work. 

So no, there are no superheroes wearing tights and a cape.  Well there are people who wear tights and a cape and claim to be superhero’s but you probably have to watch out for those guys.  There is no bat car patrolling Gotham, there is no caped crusader flying over metropolis.  But there are many, many just like you who know the Lord and listen for his voice.  You don’t need super powers to be a super-hero. If you know Jesus we will do what he commands.  Jesus commands that we love one another.  He says to love God and to do that and to show that you have to love one another. 

Here I would be tempted to elaborate or to qualify that statement.  But let’s let that soak in.    Jesus once was asked ^“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In any given moment you may be needed to be the hero. It’s been quite a week being a hero this week meant various things it meant taking your spouse the Emergency Room in the middle of the night, it meant being available to one who is struggling far away, it meant carrying the victims of senseless violence out of danger, It meant caring enough about someone that you shared your greatest joy with them. 

So, how is it with you today?  You know that you will live forever, right?  You know that nothing can snatch you out of Jesus’ hand, right.  You know that your faithfulness will be rewarded in heaven, right?  All this is because of what Jesus has done for us.  Let us be about following his commands. Let us loosen our grip on the things of this world that are temporary.  Let us stop being defined by the things we have and be recognized by the love we have for each other. Let us be about bringing more sheep into his flock, and bringing more light into the darkness of this world. 

Would you pray with me?