Please note, Hawkeye is rated TV-14. We've been discussing Clint Barton's need and path to redemption a lot the past month. This past Sunday, I was reminded of another aspect of Clint's reluctance to immediately get a Hawkeye costume and build on his own public heroic legacy. It comes from Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 4:5, For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. There's a humility that is needed in order to put Jesus first before ourselves. That is something Clint has shown he is able to do. Part of this comes from starting out as a spy for S.H.I.E.L.D. He is used to working behind the scenes. Clint's humility also comes from his recognition of the Good. He's able to put the importance of being a good role model over any desire he might have to get his name out there. Kate Bishop shows a similar humility as well. She wants to be a hero, but her first focus, after helping Clint, is proclaiming him over herself. We are called to show a similar humility to both our Hawkeyes with Jesus. It isn't about proclaiming ourselves. Instead it is about proclaiming Jesus and doing our best to serve Him as we bring those around us closer to our Lord.
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Please note, Hawkeye is rated TV-14. Kate Bishop is the first person we see Hawkeye inspire before she became a super-person. She also is the first person to try to convince Clint Barton to build his brand, much to his resistance and chagrin. She does so with great enthusiasm, to the point of even drawing a costume idea Clint hates (ironically based on his original comics uniform). For Kate, Hawkeye was the first person to make her realize she didn't have to be afraid. She wants others to have that feeling too. She wants to improve Clint's brand so that feeling can be shared with all others. There's something similar going on with us and Christ Jesus. While Jesus is certainly beyond just being a hero, and is more perfect than any human person can be, like Clint He does help us feel better and safer. Jesus gives us assurance of life beyond this one in the Resurrection. Jesus provides us hope that this new life will be a better one than we can even imagine. Jesus is there to renew and restore us and to make us whole once again. That is why evangelism is so important in our Faith. We don't want to keep Jesus, His Message, His Love, and His Grace to ourselves. We want everyone to experience what Jesus has to offer. For this reason, we go out and spread the message, the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even if we just tell someone what our Faith means to us, we will have done something good and powerful. Our hope too is to live our lives in a way that shows the transformation that Christ Jesus has given us. Clint is hesitant to what Kate is doing, for reasons we will discuss in the following weeks. Yet in all she learns, Kate still sees the power of the good that comes from Barton's example. How much more good, then, will we see when we share what we have received from Jesus? Please note, Hawkeye is rated TV-14. In the MCU, Clint Barton serves as a mentor to a lot of heroes. He's the one who got Black Widow to join the good guys. He later does the same for Wanda with the Avengers. In this way, he is similar to Ananias for Paul during his conversion. Clint also serves as an inspiration to many in the public through his role as an Avenger. We see this at the start of the Hawkeye series with Kate Bishop. As a young girl, Kate was in New York during the attack in the first Avengers film. She lost her dad that day. She almost lost her life. When she looks out from the rubble, though, she sees Clint out there with a bow and arrow keeping her safe and making sure things don't get worse. The first thing Kate does after this is take up her own bow and arrow and learn archery. She gets so good to the point that even Hawkeye admits she actually is one of the best out there. At the end of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus calls on the Disciples to go out and make other disciples of "all nations". Those Disciples, in turn, appoint others, such as the Deacon Phillip, to continue to share the Good News. Phillip himself reaches out to an Ethiopian Eunuch to explain the Scriptures, continuing the cycle of bringing others to know our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus we are all called to be examples leading others to our Lord. Our example is meant to help others in turn bring further people back to God. Clint does the same for being a hero. He helps Kate realize she can be a hero too, which has a huge impact for the rest of her life. Hopefully we can be Clints to others too as we try to help others deepen their relationship with God. |
Please note, there maybe Spoilers in the Posts below!
The Rev. Trey KennedyHere is my take on how Superheroes and other characters can help us know God better. Categories
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