Please note, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is rated PG-13. Shuri, in showing mercy to Namor as we saw previously, follows her mother's words from beyond this world. She also comes back to her identity as a peacemaker. Yet Shuri goes a little further. She tells Namor that if he yields not only will their war end, but Wakanda also will help protect the oceans and keep the secret of his people's existence safe. After everything Namor has done to Wakanda and her family, Shuri owes him nothing. She chooses instead to reach out with kindness though. In this way, Shuri lives into the same lessons our Lord teaches us. We are called to forgive and love our enemies. Shuri has done that here. In doing so, Shuri is also showing strength. This gets at the full message Jesus teaches in telling us to "turn the other cheek." Jesus' words aren't meant to be a sign of submission. In Jesus' day, when one hit someone who was a slave or deemed in anyway inferior, they would be struck with the backside of the dominant hand. By turning one's cheek, you are forcing the other to recognize you as a person with full humanity, even if they choose to strike you again. Shuri does force Namor to yield, which might impact his pride. He now knows Shuri can beat him handily in a fight and knows his weakness. Yet in doing so, she extends what he has really been looking for: safety for his people. Shuri's actions have huge implications for how we act out our Faith and how the world looks at diplomacy. How would it be if the nations of the world were willing to show mercy and lay down their arms instead of seeking the outright destruction their enemies every time? After all, this is what the Prophet Isaiah calls on us to do. Shuri's actions are powerful and give us a great deal to think about, on a personal and global level.
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Please note, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is rated PG-13. Though Shuri has been a peacemaker in the past, the death of her mother, Queen Ramonda, led her to be consumed by vengeance. We see this in her final battle with Namor as she takes advantage of his weakness by dehydrating him. As she gets ready to deliver the final blow, images of the past, both hers and Namor's, flash before us. The final image is Ramonda in the Ancestral Plane saying to Shuri, Show him who you are. This is a powerful image, and is really what Shuri had been seeking, whether she knew it or not, in her journey to the Ancestral Plane when she took the Heart-shaped Herb before. From beyond, Ramonda gives Shuri the truth she needs at the moment it can do the most good. A similar, though better, version of these words for us as followers of the Way might be, Show them whose you are. The word "Christian" was originally used as a slur against those who follow our Faith, yet we took it on as our name. It designates us as those who belong to Christ Jesus and follow Him. Through our Lord's Resurrection, we are transformed and called to a better life in Jesus' Name. When we remember this, we can move beyond our need for vengeance and live into the Forgiveness Jesus offers us. When we remember we belong to Jesus, we can move from hate to Love. The same is true for Shuri. Listening to her mother's words, the words of someone who died so that she and Riri Williams might live, brings Shuri back to her peacemaking ways. It is in this moment she is ready to show mercy where before she was seeking vengeance. Hopefully like Shuri we can listen to those who have walked the Way before us and show others whose we are. In this way we can others know what it means to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. Please note, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is rated PG-13. When Okoye fails to keep Shuri safe from Namor and the Talokans, Queen Ramonda removes her as general of the Dora Milaje. Ramonda's decision comes despite Okoye's many years of service to Wakanda and her time working with the Avengers as a representative of Wakanda. In many ways, this is revenge for Okoye initially siding with Killmonger, even though she backed T'Challa, Ramonda's son, in the end. For a bit, Okoye feels lost and purposeless. She helps where she can as Namor attacks Wakanda herself. Then Shuri gives her a new task. Shuri asks Okoye to help lead a new unit with new armor: the Midnight Angels (interestingly enough, the Midnight Angels were a subset of the Dora Milaje in the comics). All of a sudden Okoye has purpose again. She can still serve Wakanda, even if it isn't as a Dora Milaje. Okoye isn't alone in trying to find new ways to serve as old ways are closed. We see this in Faith as well. Elijah even encounters a change in his own ministry as a prophet, following the threats he faced from Queen Jezebel and his encounter on Mount Horeb with God in 1 Kings 19. Elijah doesn't know if he can continue going on after his set back, and God gives him an out while still allowing him to serve. From then on, Elijah's focus was on raising up Elisha to follow him as a prophet to Israel. We all have times where how we are serving God changes. We all have times when we need to find new purpose. Fortunately God provides us the ways to continue to serve, even if that service looks different. That is what God did with Elijah, and what Shuri does with Okoye. Please note, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are rated PG-13. Major Spoilers Ahead! When Avengers: Infinity War came out, I remember talking with a friend afterward who we'll call Sarah. Sarah told me she immediately freaked out when Bucky got dusted in the end of the film, especially as he was her favorite character. I have to admit, when Bucky got dusted, I was still very confused. Almost immediately afterwards, though, my favorite character, T'Challa, got dusted. I think all I did was quietly say "No", and then I was basically done. For those who lost their favorite character in Infinity War, it was pretty devastating. Obviously not "my best friend just died" devastating, but it was "am I ever going to see this character in an MCU movie again?" devastating. Then Avengers: Endgame came out, and we got that amazing scene where all the dusted Avengers and other superheroes all gather together after the Avengers brought them back. This included Bucky, T'Challa, and many other fan favorites. There was an expectation that this was the direction the film would take, but it was still a comfort to see them back. That word "comfort" relates to one of the translations of paraklete in the Gospel according to John. This Paraclete, also translated as Advocate, Helper, Counselor, and Comforter, is what Jesus tells His Disciples He will send them, just shortly after He gives them the command to "Love one another" during His last Discourse with them before His death on the Cross. This Paraclete is highly implied to be the Holy Spirit that dwells with us all through our Baptism. Jesus also calls this "another" Paraclete, implying that He is the first such Advocate/Helper/Counselor/Comforter. That means Jesus directly comforts us too. We see this comfort from our Lord through His Resurrection. Like our favorite heroes in Infinity War, we thought Jesus was lost after He died. This was not so. Jesus came back into life, like our favorite heroes in Endgame. The only difference is Jesus did this on His own. The only difference is that Jesus' actions led not just to the world being saved, but to the salvation of each and every one of us in it. Jesus' return is a great comfort to us. Not only does it mean He has returned, it also means all of us have hope too. We have hope that when we get dusted in this world, we will return whole and remade in the world beyond this world where we will live with our Lord Jesus Christ forever in Love, Grace, and Hope. That is the great gift of comfort that Jesus brings to each and every one of us. This was the original plan for my Easter Vigil sermon. To read where that ended up, click here.
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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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May 2024
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