Please note, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is rated PG-13. At the start of Wakanda Forever, Shuri prays Bast, the panther god: Please allow me to heal my brother of this illness and I will never question your existence again. Bargaining, particularly over the life of a loved one, is fairly common when it comes to prayer. Asking for something and promising something back is tempting to do. This is true even with some negative examples of doing so in Scripture. This is because when we love someone, it is hard to let them go. The difficulty with prayer, particularly bargaining prayer, is that God sometimes says no. Such is the case with Shuri here. I doubt there are many who have never experienced God’s reply of “no” to a request. Jesus gives us a great example of how to pray in these dire situations. When Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, He knows His death is coming. He even prays to the Father, more than once, that He “take this cup away.” Yet Jesus also adds “not as I will, but as You will.” Even at the point of His own death, Jesus is willing to put aside His own wants for the Father’s. Even as He faces one of the worst deaths possible, Jesus lets the Father know He is okay if the answer He receives is “no.” It’s okay for us to ask things of God. It’s even okay to ask for things we know we won’t receive. Jesus shows us that. Like Jesus, though, we have to be willing to accept God’s answer, even if it is not the one we want to hear. Being willing to hear God’s “no” helps us slow align our will with the Lord’s. It also accepts that there are things occurring that we might not be aware of. Shuri learns more about her brother T’Challa’s illness and T’Challa’s own response as the movie continues. She also learns more about what her path forward needs to be. Praying as Shuri does shows a great deal of love, which is a good thing. We may find ourselves praying the same way from time to time. When you do, don’t forget that Jesus once prayed in hope that His own suffering would be removed. Don’t forget too that even in this time of darkness, Jesus turned His will over to the Father’s, and we are called to follow in His footsteps.
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Please note, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is rated PG-13. From the very beginning of Wakanda Forever, I could tell the film was going to be about a spiritual journey. The first words of the movie are Shuri, T’Challa’s sister and a scientist (who based on her words clearly harbors some doubts), praying. Now Shuri does pray to Bast, not the Lord. However, as discussed previously on this website, we can learn about our own Faith from the similarities of the journey, even as we remain cognizant to important differences. I say this because the fact that Shuri is on a clear spiritual journey matches our own experience of life. Shuri’s journey is, of course, unique. She is, as well, her own person. T’Challa’s journey in general was deeply soaked in the spiritual, as can be seen through the many posts about his character on this site. In a way, T’Challa is more spiritual while Shuri is more reason-based, at least in the film version of the characters. That means their journeys will be different as well. Yet even as a scientist, who again shows some doubts, Shuri is on a journey, a pilgrimage we might say. We all are. Shuri has ups and downs on her journey. We do too, though we make the journey all the same. Don’t look at Shuri’s spiritual journey in Wakanda Forever as a “do” or “don’t”. Take it at face value and see what you can learn from it. We all go on pilgrimages, whether literal journeys or figurative ones. Like Shuri’s, they may begin in strong emotions such as grief. You can learn something about yourself and what path to take through Shuri’s story, whether they are through the things you like or dislike about it. Please note, Captain America and the Winter Soldier is rated TV-14. Previously on Gospel according to Superheroes, we saw Sam Wilson, the Falcon, gain a new role as Captain America. When Steve Rogers served in this role, he not only helped save the world, he also gave many speeches to call others to action. Sam is no different. Yeah, he has a different style, and yes, he might say a curse word, but Sam continues the tradition of Captain America as speaking truth-to-power in the best way possible. While he continues to help prevent violence and keep order in the world, Sam does not always agree with what the powers-that-be are doing. In the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he gives a speech where he not only condemns the violence of the Flagsmashers, he condemns the circumstances that led to this situation in the first place. What Sam does speaks to several pieces of Scripture. Jesus, in Mark, tells those listening that, when it comes to their taxes, they are to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” What Jesus means is that we are called to follow the authorities of the places we live while also recognizing that God is, in the end, the ultimate authority. Paul says something similar to the Romans. He calls on his readers to recognize the authorities, yet emphasizes that power ultimately only comes from God. We must remember that Paul was a Roman citizen, a rarity in the Roman Empire in his day and age, and so he had a vested interest in the authority of the Romans being listened to. At the same time, Paul practiced civil disobedience, similar to what we witness in the Civil Rights Movement. Being a Christian was illegal in Paul’s time, and he peacefully accepted the punishment that came with practicing the Faith, even at the sake of his life. The tradition of speaking truth-to-power predates Jesus and Paul even. The Old Testament Prophets spoke God’s word to the Kings of their land, even when their words were unpopular or got them into trouble. Sam Wilson uses this prophetic style in his own speech. While he still does the work to protect the United States and America’s allies, he does not shy away from telling them they’re wrong. He does his duty as Captain America, yet recognizes a higher authority and truth, and speaks for this truth when America most needs to hear it. Sam does something that the Flagsmashers couldn’t do; he leads the way to change. Unlike the Flagsmashers, he doesn’t do so with violence but with peace. He recognizes that the world is filled with violence, yet he finds a better way. While not with the same sacrifice, this is not unlike Jesus. The Salvation of Jesus is rooted in his death, which was a result of the world’s violence against Him. Yet Jesus never gave into that violence, even when it impacted His earthly life. Sam gives us a way to live into what Jesus taught in this world. He shows us the way to be good citizens while at the same time speaking the truth when those in power desperately need to hear it. |
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The Rev. Trey KennedyHere is my take on how Superheroes and other characters can help us know God better. Categories
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