When Lucy returns from her adventure in Narnia, she finds that, strangely, no time has passed in her world, even though she was away for "hours and hours." She also finds that when her siblings investigate the wardrobe for themselves, there is no sign that it leads to another world. Her siblings think that Narnia is a story that Lucy made up, but Lucy knows that she has been telling the truth. She holds onto that truth even though her brother Edmund is "spiteful" towards her. She holds onto the truth even though it makes her miserable that no one believes her. This chapter is teaching us about holding on to the truth of our faith, even when we find ourselves facing the opposition of others, whether well-meaning people like Peter and Susan or mean-spirited ones like Edmund. This conflict is noted by Paul in the start of Philippians, who encourages us to be "in no way intimidated by your opponents." We do so in the hope of the "joy", as Paul puts it, that we receive from being present with Christ Jesus through our faith, and we continue on this path even when it is hard, as it is for Lucy. This doesn't mean there won't be times of doubt in our faith. Lucy experiences doubt as well in the face of all evidence to the contrary that Narnia exists. She even starts to think she might have dreamed the whole thing.
Lucy does the right thing by returning to the source, namely the wardrobe. We have to do this with our own faith at times too. We shouldn't see doubt as a weakness, but instead a chance to reaffirm and nurture our faith. In order to have healthy spiritual lives, we must continue to nurture our faith always. We can nurture our faith in many ways. For some that may be returning to the source of Scripture, just as Lucy returns to the wardrobe. For others, it may mean taking on spiritual practices, whether these occur daily, weekly, or monthly. Find what works for you to tend to the garden of your faith and continue to keep doing whatever best feeds your faith. At the same time, Lucy's openness to accepting she might be wrong is vital for all of us have. Some of the greatest moments of growth in faith have come from people accepting they were wrong and that a change was needed. We see examples of this change in Paul's conversion experience in Acts, as well in Peter's vision in Acts. We even see the importance of looking for renewal in our faith from the man who tells Jesus, "Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief." Being open to being wrong, just like doubt, doesn't make us weak. It makes us open to hear what the Holy Spirit is trying to say to us. The main message from God over the millennia has been to turn back to the Lord. We can't do that if we are unable to admit we are wrong just as we can't truly return to the Lord if we can't admit just how much we need God over all other things.
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Please note, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is rated TV-14 Spoilers Ahead for the Series Finale! Kora, as we've spoken of previously, becomes the key to our Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and their success. This is important because their victory comes about by showing love to their enemy. Showing compassion to Kara helps spread that love, which is the key to victory. Kara's powers are needed to send out a beam that can stop the Chronicoms, the advance synthetic and sentient beings that the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. have been fighting this entire season. But the beam isn't meant to be a destructive one. Instead, it is meant to send a code to all the Chronicoms. The beam isn't there to destroy; it's there to give them empathy. After the beam hits the Chronicoms, Agent Rodriguez asks: "You friends or enemies." The Chronicoms respond: Friends. As we have always been. And then they toss their guns to the ground. The final victory of S.H.I.E.L.D. is like the finally victory of Jesus on the Cross. It is not a victory that comes from violence. It is a victory that comes from love. Forgiveness is a difficult thing for many of us to do. When we read through this chapter and look at what Mr. Tumnus does, mainly luring a young girl into his home in hopes of lulling her to sleep before contacting his boss to come kidnap and likely kill her, it may seem unpardonable to us. Lucy, however, manages to forgive him with no hesitation.
What Lucy does is truly the definition of forgiveness. She recognizes, when Mr. Tumnus says what he's done (but not saying that he's done it to her), that his action was wrong. She also sees the opportunity for repentance. She immediately says "well, that was pretty bad. But you're so sorry that I'm sure you will never do it again." Even after Mr. Tumnus lets her go, Lucy still shows concern for his well-being and genuinely hopes he will not get into trouble. She shows this concern as she tells him that she does, in fact, forgive him. Lucy's forgiveness doesn't make Mr. Tumnus' actions right. It simply gives Mr. Tumnus the opportunity to fix his mistake and walk a new path. It also allows her to continue to care about him. Lucy's forgiveness may be the result of her youth and innocence. If so, it is a reminder to us to approach life with a little more innocence, albeit with a healthy sense of "stranger danger" too. It could be that Lucy is just a good person who sees the same potential for good in others. If so, we should strive to follow her example and work to be good people as well. If we can do that, then when the opportunity presents itself, we too can forgive and possibly open up the path for others to repent, become better people, and, perhaps, even become our friends. Please note, Detective Comics # 27 75th Anniversary Special Edition is rated 12+ Back in 2014, Batman turned 75, and as part of that celebration, Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy created the story "Twenty-Seven". It tells the tale of Bruce Wayne, just after making his oath to become Batman, waking up to find himself in the future. Except this isn't the Bruce Wayne we have all comes to know and love but a clone of Bruce ten generations later. It turns out the original Batman created a machine to make sure Gotham always had a protector. After each Batman becomes old, they restart the machine to create the next Batman and stay on to be a mentor to the next Batman clone. Jesus also ensures that there will always be those who will spread the Good News. That's why He sends out the Disciples in Matthew. He's training them for after He has ascended into Heaven. He's training them so that they can in turn train others and the followers of Jesus can continue from now until the end of ages. Just like Batman with his oath, we are called as Christians to all make the same oath to turn away from evil and walk back to God by following our Lord Jesus Christ. This oath is made in Baptism, and it is what marks us all as one and the same. At the same time, we are all unique, and, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, we all possess different gifts. Each Batman, while being the same, also has unique experiences and struggles, reflected by the changing of the Batcave with every generation. As each Batman has that piece of the original Batman in them, we too have the presence of Jesus always in us. Jesus, in John, tells the Disciples that He is with them and in them always. Finally, the new Bruce Wayne clone asks if there’s a choice. The older Bruce tells him yes, but he has to go quickly. The reason older Bruce says that becomes apparent very quickly. The minute there is a distress call, the new Bruce clone feels compelled to answer that cry for help. In the beginning of Philippians, Paul speaks of the same call in us. We as Christians have a compulsion to help bear the word of God in this world, no matter the age. We too will always answer that call to bring others closer to Christ Jesus in this world. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is set in the backdrop of World War II. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are sent to the country to stay with a person they don't know and have never met. As the children explore their new surroundings, Lucy even finds herself transported to another world inside a wardrobe.
This all goes to show that we can never expect or plan for anything. We never know what life will throw at us. Jesus tells us the same in Luke 12:22-31 when he says to "consider the lilies." We don't know what will be, but we shouldn't worry because God is there with us always. Please note, The Boys is rated 18+ Spoilers ahead for Season 1! The entire plot of The Boys revolves around Huey, the main character, and his first interaction with A-Train, speedster and member of The Seven, the premiere superhero squad in The Boys. Huey is out for an enjoyable day with his girlfriend, Robin, when, out of nowhere, A-Train comes and literally runs into Robin, killing her. As Huey deals with his loss, he learns that the superheroes of his world are anything but heroes. He becomes part of a group whose job it is to try and keep the "Supes" on a leash. At the end of the season, Huey and A-Train have a confrontation with Starlight, arguably the only good member of The Seven, trying to help and protect Huey. A-Train incapacitates Starlight for a moment before attempting to take out Huey. A-Train, however, has become addicted to Compound-V, a drug that grants people superpowers. Because A-Train has taken way too much Compound-V, he starts to have a heart attack.
This is the moment that most of us would walk away. This is the person that has caused Huey more harm than anyone else in his life. As we’ve seen throughout the season, A-Train is not someone who deserves to be saved. Yet Huey, against all odds, gets on the floor and starts administering C.P.R. ”He’ll never stop coming for you”, Starlight tells Huey. ”I know” Huey replies. In a world that is violent and dark, Huey has become a shining beacon. He could have left. It was even in his best interest to walk away. When the time came though, Huey chose the better path. Huey chose forgiveness. Would that we would do the same. Back in Chapter 11, Aslan brings the Cabby's wife to Narnia so that the two of them can be the first king and queen of the land together. At the end of the book, we see Aslan take Digory, Polly, and Andrew out of Narnia and back to their own world without the use of magic rings or anything else. These events might lead us to ask why Aslan doesn't just get rid of Jadis in the first place by banishing her to a world where she can't do any harm. The quick answer is the same as the problem of evil: we don't know. No explanation for why Aslan allows Jadis to remain is ever given, just as the question is never raised within the book itself.
We do know that Aslan makes sure Narnia has the power to protect itself from Jadis with the tree sprouted from the silver apple. As long as the tree is guarded, all will be well in Narnia. Presumably Jadis comes back as the White Witch only when the Narnians stop caring for this tree. What we see is that Aslan doesn't just take care of evil alone. Aslan allows others to take part in the fight against evil as well. Doing so allows Digory to redeem himself of his own evil in bringing Jadis to Narnia in the first place. It will also allow for others in the future to redeem themselves, and for four children in the future to become heroes. In other words, while Aslan doesn't completely eradicate Jadis, Aslan does use her presence to bring about some good. Joseph in Genesis tells his brothers that God did the same thing after they sold him into slavery in Egypt. Yes, Joseph struggled because of their sin, but because he was sent to Egypt, Joseph also helped save the Egyptians, his family, and others from famine. Just like Aslan, God often finds ways to bring some good out of evil in ways we could have never thought of or imagined. There have been so many beautiful tributes to Chadwick Boseman this week focusing on his kindness, his gifts as an artist, and his work telling the stories of historical figures like Jackie Robinson and Justice Thurgood Marshall as well as his role as T'Challa, the Black Panther. I encourage you to read those stories or see Chadwick Boseman's films. I hope you will see the importance of having a black ensemble cast star in a superhero film. But right now, I want to talk about what Chadwick Boseman's work meant to me, specifically in his role as T'Challa. T'Challa isn't just the first black superhero. He's one of the greatest superheroes of all time, which is why he was the first hero discussed here on Gospel according to Superheroes, and Chadwick Boseman brought that to the big screen. The star of Captain America: Civil War isn't Captain America. It isn't even Iron Man. It's Black Panther. It's T'Challa. It's Chadwick Boseman. T'Challa is a character that really speaks to the human condition. Yes, he has super powers and a high tech kingdom behind him, but when we first see him, his father has been killed. T'Challa does something we can all relate to, he gets angry and he tries to get revenge. But unlike Cap and unlike Stark, T'Challa doesn't rush into things. He takes time and is methodical. That leads him to discover the real person who killed his father. It's in that moment he realizes how wrong his path for revenge was, and he learns to forgive. This is the path that continues in the film Black Panther. T'Challa continues to be thoughtful, to accept when he and his nation have been wrong, and to forgive. I read recently that Chadwick Boseman prayed to get the role of T'Challa. I'm glad he did. There's so much of the power of God in his performance. T'Challa helped teach me how to be a better Christian and a better human being. I hope Chadwick Boseman's performance as T'Challa has done the same for you. I am so thankful for the hope of the Resurrection so that I can one day tell Chadwick Boseman and others I have never meant how much they have meant to me, especially when it comes to our faith. My prayers are with you Chadwick, and with your family as well. |
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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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