Heroes Who Do It All

I have not yet seen the new Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice so I can’t give my thoughts on anything in the movie ( I will do so soon). But I can talk about a couple of the characters. This movie brings Wonder Woman to the screen for her first film. Certainly Wonder Woman is an amazing character in her own right. However, there are features about her that remind me of Superman. When I think about Superman and Wonder Woman, they seem to me to be personifications of the perfect man and the perfect woman. These two heroes definitely don’t need to rely on anyone but themselves. They have the power to do just about anything.

They are self-sufficient super-powered beings who can save others all by themselves. They rescue many innocent people from the various supervillains who threaten to destroy and kill. In many ways, Superman and Wonder Woman are god-like beings. People come to rely on them in order to be saved from whatever disaster is coming next. It certainly makes sense that Superman and Wonder Woman would rely on themselves and their own power. And it makes sense that people look to be saved by these heroes. But God makes it clear in his Word that there is a danger when we rely on anyone besides God.

Look at Jeremiah 17:5, 6, “This is what the Lord says:  ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.’” God’s Word is drawing our attention to the spiritual danger of trusting in ourselves or in someone else for our eternal salvation. We cannot trust in ourselves because we are weak, sinful human beings. We fail to be good on a regular basis. We are not perfect. We can’t trust in others because they too are sinful. There is a good chance that they will disappoint us.

If you watch or read any of the shows or books about Superman and Wonder Woman, you see them doing incredible feats and living their ideals. Superman moves mountains with his incredible strength. He flies fast enough to break the sound barrier. Wonder Woman defeats monsters with her fantastic strength. She easily gets away from a robber with a gun as she deflects bullets with her bracelets. Almost more important than their physical abilities, we see them living their ideals and morals. In the Superman Movie from 1978, Superman says that he stands for “Truth, Justice and the American Way.” Superman and Wonder Woman will always do the right thing. They will always use their powers for good. They will always help the innocent.

As we live in this world, there is pressure on us to be like Superman and Wonder Woman. Not that we have superpowers but we have pressure to live up to our greatest potential and to live properly. Whatever role we are filling in live, we have pressure to carry out all of our responsibilities to near perfection. At our job we have goals that we need to achieve if we are going to earn a raise or get a promotion. In our families, we have responsibilities that must be carried out if we want our lives to go well. Perhaps as children we feel pressure to get good grades at school or to win championships in whatever sport we are playing. These goals and responsibilities can become quite the burden. We wish we were Superman or Wonder Woman so that we could do it all.

A point that really hits home for me is the emphasis upon parents to be the best parents that we can be. People criticize us when they see our kids misbehaving. We want to do everything we can for our spouse and children so that they can have the best possible life. We want to work hard at our jobs to provide the necessities of life for our family. We want to be able to spend lots of quality time with our children so that they know how much we love them but we have many commitments which make it difficult. We would love to be SuperDad or Wonder Mom who can do everything for their kids. We would love to save them from all harm and show them the best possible values for them to imitate.

But how often don’t we fail? We are not Superman or Wonder Woman. When we fail, the devil tries to rack us with guilt and despair. He tries to point out all of our failures and sins. There are even times that we listen to his accusations. We get down on ourselves. We think that God must not love us if he is making life this difficult. Maybe he is punishing us for our past sins by not giving us the time, money, or skills that we need to do it all. These are the kinds of doubts that the devil tries to work in us when we don’t succeed. We need the perfection that only Jesus has to lift us out of our sinful despair. We need to see that only Jesus is the one who can do it all.
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Even the Superheroes fail at times. Even Superman and Wonder Woman are not perfect. For example, Superman has his weakness to Kryptonite which makes him vulnerable. When it comes down to it, there is only one person who is perfect. Naturally, I am talking about our Savior. That is why God emphasizes the fact that we need to trust in him. Jeremiah 17:7, 8 says, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

We trust in the Lord because he alone can save us. Jesus used his power in a way that is unexpected for a hero. He didn’t use his super strength to clobber the bad guys. He actually resisted using his divine power so that he could be put to death on the cross. After he had lived that perfectly sinless life in our place, he was tortured and crucified in our place. He suffered the torment of hell in our place. All the grief, shame, despair, and guilt that we feel because we have not been perfect, Jesus took that upon himself and paid the price that was necessary to save us from our sins. The forgiveness and eternal salvation that he won for us enables us to serve him.

Jesus does want us to become spiritual Supermen and Wonder Women. It just isn’t in the way that we might think. He isn’t going to give us the ability to live perfectly in this life. But he does give us what we need to live for him and proclaim his gospel message. We need to be ready because the devil is looking to attack us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He is trying to destroy us by leading us to despair over our sins. He doesn’t want us to focus on forgiveness.

God helps us to be ready by giving us the grace that we need. 1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” How do we set our hope fully on the grace of God? We need to be trained. Superman and Wonder Woman get their powers because they are born with them. We on the other hand need spiritual training. We receive our start when we are baptized but then we need our time in the Word for growth. We need our time in worship, devotion, and Bible Study so that we can develop our spiritual powers.

Then we will be ready. 1 Peter 3:15, 16 say, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” Our faith in Christ becomes our value, our ideal that we follow. We share his message with gentleness and respect. That way, if someone accuses us of being judgmental or intolerant, we know that they are speaking falsely. We are simply sharing the gracious Word of God.

There is one passage from Philippians which truly captures our status as Supermen and Wonder Women. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Sometimes I think this passage can be misused in a way that people think they actually can lift mountains like Superman. That is not what it is saying. What it means is that through our faith in Christ, we are strengthened spiritually so that we can serve God in all kinds of ways. God will bless our efforts. God will forgive us for our failures. God will continue to strengthen us through his Word and Sacraments. We are made bold so that we can be Superheroes for Christ.

Wonder Woman History

Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941. She is part of a group of Amazon women that have hidden themselves for many years. Eventually the Amazons decided to send a delegation to man’s world, and Diana (Wonder Woman) won the right to go. Wonder Woman thrives on truth. She protects the innocent, and is not afraid to kill to protect, though that is always the very last option. She loves everyone and longs for peace. She is very strong. She has a lasso which causes whoever is wrapped up in it to speak the truth. She has bracelets which deflect bullets. In some stories she can fly. Some stories make her nearly as powerful as Superman.