The Super Hero's Fight

As a young boy growing up in the 1960’s I loved reading comic books. Over ten years ago, some of my favorite comics came to incredible life on the big screen. These movies have been extremely popular and box office hits all over the world. Batman, Superman, Captain American, The Hulk, Thor, Iron-Man and of course the Avengers. But probably my most favorite comic – turned movie – is Spiderman. “Spiderman: Homecoming” just opened earlier this month in the U.S. to massive crowds and $117 million at the box office in it’s first weekend. For me it is a bit of nostalgia since it is like a part of my childhood. But for young people today? What is the attraction to these movies?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I believe that people are attracted to characters like Spiderman because he is a hybrid. He is a coming together of the ordinary and the extra-ordinary. First of all he is like one of us – a simple kid at school, maybe kind of a geek, who is bullied by other kids all the while trying to struggle and find a purpose in his or hers life’s journey. Then something extraordinary happens: he is bitten by a spider, which in turn gives him this incredible power. In a world filled with a mixture of good and evil, he is a much-needed force.

Jesus was also a kind of hybrid. Jesus was a combination of the human and the divine. God came into our world taking on the body of a man to show us what we need to know and need to do.  In the gift of the Incarnation, Jesus was one of us. He experienced life as we do. He experienced rejection and was made an outcast. At the same time, Jesus is the Son of God whose divinity shines through in his healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding thousands with only a little bread and fish. His ultimate divinity is found in his death and resurrection.

I can’t help but find a parallel in the story of Spiderman and the mission of Jesus. It is the question of vocation – of a calling.

In the story of Spiderman, the character’s name is Peter Parker. Once this bullied school kid finds that he has these extraordinary powers he goes straight to the kid at school who bullied him. And then his wise Uncle Ben challenges him to think about his direction in life. Use the incredible powers you have been given for the good of others or go on an ego trip through life and get mixed up in a world of evil?

You see my friends, the world is a mixture of good and evil. We all know people who have a wonderful attitude to life, people who are generous, patient and kind, who never seem to complain which are all graces from God. But good people also get tangled up in the sticky web of the evil in the world. There are people who destroy innocent lives, who continually lie, cheat and steal in order to promote themselves and their own agenda.

At the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus journeyed into the desert to be alone with God. For forty days and forty nights Jesus was faced with temptation. As he was alone with God and the forces of evil, he prepared himself to journey back to our world. Rather than use his power to hurt his enemies, Jesus chose forgiveness and remained focused on his mission: a mission of love.  

Sunday Readings

And that’s what Readings are all about this evening. Our First Reading from the Book of Wisdom (12:13, 16-19) was written about a hundred years before Christ. The Jewish community had been under the influence of Greek culture with its religious practices and traditions.  There must have been quite a bit of division as forces tried to pull people away from God. This Reading encourages us to persevere. We have to cling to the good even as our enemies and evil try to pull us away. God is with us and we know that good will triumph over evil! But nevertheless, it is a struggle as we make our way through the weeds of the world. We need to learn how to use our weaknesses to grow and change. But still we ask the question: why does God allow evil? What about all these weeds in the world? Didn’t he destroy evil when Jesus died on the cross? It is sometimes hard to believe in a God who has saved the world when we pick up the newspaper and read the horrible things that are going on in the world. This is where we can always find the right piece of advice in the Letters of St. Paul. He writes to the community in Rome, which was also a very divided group between the Jewish and the Gentile Church. It is the Spirit that does the work that we can’t. This my friends, is the key – we can’t. Our ego wants us to believe that we can do everything without the help of anything or anyone. God shows us, and these Readings tell us that we must turn to God and have faith.

Gospel According to Matthew

In our Gospel this evening (Matthew 13:24-43), Jesus tells another in a series of parables. He likens the kingdom of God to a man who sowed good seeds in his field. The enemy sneaked in during the night and sowed weeds. In his explanation of this parable a little further on in the chapter, the enemy is the evil one. Instead of pulling these weeds out once they begin to appear among the wheat, the householder says to leave them. The householder in this parable is Jesus and he is saying that we cannot possibly know the true difference between the weeds and the wheat. Wisdom tells us to persevere, Paul tells us to let the Spirit come to our aid and Jesus says to leave the final burning, the judgment to God.

Gospel Lesson

But what does this mean for us today? It would seem like the most logical thing for us to do is to run out and pull up all the weeds and rid the world of all evil. But if we do this, we run the danger of pulling out some of the good stuff. What do they call it in war, collateral damage? It is not up to us to go out on a “witch hunt” (or get tangled up in the web of all the news we hear, fake or not). But it is up to us to call evil by its name. See evil for what it is and not get trapped by it. We can challenge the evil forces that we are confronted with and challenge those who are caught up in it. But it is not for us to make the call to judgment or condemnation.

The struggle between good and evil has been a major theme through the ages. The stories can be found in the early pages of Genesis and throughout the Old and New Testament. The stories can be found on the pages of comic books, in the fantasies of young boys (and girls) and on the big screen. But we must always remember my friends: Spiderman is simply a cartoon figure that has been recreated on film. Spiderman is imaginary. Peter Parker is nothing more than a creation.

Jesus, on the other hand, is quite real. Jesus is human and truly divine. He is the Son of God who came to teach us to follow His example. We should learn to be for others what he himself has been for us. And it is Jesus who calls us today to sow good seeds and recognize the weeds. Brothers and sisters, live the message of God’s love and let him take care of the bullies. Amen.