Leap of Faith

Spiderman: Into the Verse is a 2018 animated film.  There have been many movies about Spiderman and his origin and the villains that he battles, and I was expecting the same old story, but this movie was a little different in that it explored how Spiderman might appear in different alternate realities.  

In one reality, the one in which the movie is set, you have a young African-American boy named Miles, who gets bitten by a radioactive spider.  He begins to discover that he has certain powers that he can’t control and he begins to realize that he has the almost the same powers as the city’s hero, Spiderman.  When he finally encounters Spiderman, the hero is fighting a villain who is trying to open up different dimensions.  In the fight that ensues, several dimensions are opened to let in several versions of Spiderman.  You have the Peter B. Parker Spiderman, who is over 40, divorced, with a belly, a young woman, Spider-Gwen, Spiderman Noir in black and white from the thirties, Peni Parker, an anime from the future, and Spider Ham, from some kind of Looney Tunes universe.  They all have much in common, but each Spiderman/woman is unique and has their own special gifts.  

The two I want to highlight this morning are Miles and Peter B. Parker, the young boy and the 40 year old divorcee.  Miles is

brand new to being Spiderman, having just recently been bitten by a radioactive spider and Peter B. Parker is an old hand at it and seems cynical and tired.  What these two characters have in common is a lack of confidence in themselves.  Peter B Parker has made mistakes, especially in his marriage, and he’s lost the confidence he once had.  He’s afraid of making more mistakes.  Miles is brand new to his powers and is scared of them.  He doesn’t want to mess up.  Both find it difficult to be all they can be without fear of failing, without fear of messing up.  They are too afraid to let go and jump.

There are many heroes in our bible, and some people might call the Apostle Paul a hero.  Paul plays a very important role in the book called Acts of the Apostles in spreading the gospel to gentiles, or those outside the Jewish community.  He also wrote some of the letters in our bible.  Our church is named after him, as well as a host of other churches around the world.  Many believe it was Paul and his visits and his letters that helped spread the gospel as far as it has.  He was a brave man.  Not everyone wanted to hear what he had to say.  He was thrown in jail many times and, in the end, he was killed in Rome, all because he wouldn’t stop talking about Jesus, referring to him as Lord, and encouraging others to do the same.  In other words, he was advocating that Jesus was Lord, not Caesar.

In the letter, written to a community in Philippi, while he was in jail, he thanks the community for showing their concern for him.  In this letter, Paul uses the word “rejoice” eight times.  He is in jail, possibly beaten, and he tells the Philippians, “that Christ is proclaimed in every way, and in that I rejoice.  Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.”  “I am glad and rejoice with all of you.”  “You also must be glad and rejoice with me.”  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.”  Paul is in jail, fighting for his life, writing letters to communities struggling with their faith, yet he finds the joy and encourages others to find it too.

Near the end of this letter, Paul talks about learning to be content with what he has.  He says he has learned the secret to those times when he has had little and when he has had plenty, when he is well fed or going hungry.  The secret, he says, is knowing that he can do all things through the one who strengthens him.  Who do you think that is?  Who is it that gives him strength?

How does that give him strength?  How does Jesus, how does the Spirit, how does God give a person strength?  How would that help a superhero like Spiderman, who is already strong, with supernatural powers, have strength and believe in himself, give him the confidence he needs to save the day?  

Here are some ideas:

• Jesus could be a role model, an example of strength and courage.
• Knowing that Jesus is always by our side, helps us to know we are not alone.  
• Jesus rose from the grave after being crucified.  This shows that we can triumph over our enemies or through adversity.

If we know all this, if we can learn about Jesus and his strength and courage, if we have Jesus at our side always, if we know that we can rise up through difficult times, would this give us the strength we need to take a leap of faith?  What risk might you take if you had this kind of strength?  What risk might we take as a community of faith, if we had this kind of assurance?  What potential do we have to make a difference if we believed in ourselves and we were more willing to make that leap of faith?  Spiderman did it.  Most superheroes have to make some kind of leap of faith, at one time or another, as they test out their powers, and then use those powers to to help save the world.  

May you find your strength in a changing world that can be very scary at times.  May you follow the example of Jesus and may you always know that the Spirit is with you.  May you know that the resurrection happens again and again and that we can triumph during those times when we think we are losing.  May God be your strength and may you find joy in it.  Amen.

Are We Losing Hope?

Have you seen one of the four versions of “A Star is Born” (1937, 1954, 1976, or 2018)?  The most recent version starred Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga and this is the only version I have seen.  How about “First Reformed," starring Ethan Hawke?  This movie is more obscure but I’m glad someone brought it to my attention.  Both movies are designed to make you think and make you feel.  Both movies were suggested as good ones on which to preach.

Before we delve into those stories, I want to look at a story in the Hebrew Bible, a story about Saul.  Saul was the very first king of Israel, chosen by God.  In a way, I see him as the guinea pig.  The people of Israel wanted a king.  They thought a leader, a dictator, might help them to be a stronger nation.  Saul was chosen but, because of an act of disobedience against God, with the best of intentions, he lost favour with God.  From that point, Saul becomes a tortured man, not by others, but in his own head.  The story describes it as an evil spirit tormenting him.

It seems his only relief from this torture is music, music played by one of his subjects, a son of Jesse, David.  The irony here is that Saul has no idea this young boy, who he is bringing into his court, who chases away the demons in his head with music, has now become the chosen one of God and would one day become Saul’s nemesis.  David and Saul would one day fight for the right to be king of Israel, with David being the victor.

It has been wondered if, when the bible mentions people being plagued by demons, the bible is actually referring to people struggling with their mental health.  We come across a few of these stories in our Christian scriptures with people coming to Jesus, being known as people with demons, who Jesus heals.  But there are so many other stories of people in the bible, who are struggling, those who are grieving, who feel regret and guilt, who cry out against God, and who wonder if their life has any meaning or purpose.  Read the psalms; read lamentations; read the book of Job.  Humans have been struggling with their mental health for thousands of years, sometimes for completely different reasons and in completely different ways, but sometimes  it’s amazing how similar we are to our ancestors of faith.

The movies I mentioned earlier are movies about men struggling with their mental health.  A Star is Born is about a musician who is an alcoholic and drug addict.  He falls in love, but can’t seem to make it work, but these demons follow into their relationship.  The clip I’m going to share with you comes after an incident where he embarrasses himself and his wife at the Grammy’s and he is now in rehab.  

I couldn’t find a good clip from “First Reformed” and it’s not an easy movie to find.  I rented it on Cineplex.  It’s the story of a minister.  He has been placed in a little tiny church in New York that is celebrating its 250th anniversary.  He has about five or six people who attend on a Sunday morning.  The small church is supported by offering tours and selling merchandise and by being connected to a nearby megachurch.  I can’t say a lot about the movie as I will spoil it for you, but this minister, visits one of his members, who is tormented by thoughts of the world ending, climate change, the evil of those who are destroying the earth.  He speaks of people who have died for the cause, sometimes to make a point.  The minister is fascinated but the conversation and seems to be eager to help this man and eventually begins to take on some of beliefs of this man.  This minister begins

to question his purpose and how he can make a difference to the world.  He questions the megachurch about why the church isn’t more involved in this issue of protecting God’s creation.  He also becomes obsessed with a local corporation that is one of the area’s biggest polluters, and with the CEO of this corporation, who also happens to be one of biggest financial supporters of the megachurch, and is sponsoring the 250th special anniversary service of this small church he serves.  All of this comes to a head on the day of the anniversary service.  

 Someone shared with me recently that middle-aged white men are at the highest risk of suicide but there is also a huge increase in the number of young people who are having suicidal thoughts.  There are lots of statistics available, lots of articles and programs exploring the cause of this increasing problem and exploring solutions.  It’s a vast field and a complex one.  St. Paul’s recently hosted a round table on mental health, inviting many community agencies to our building, to talk about how St. Paul’s might encourage mental wellness in the community and support those struggling with mental illness.

In order to even scratch the surface of this topic, I would have to do a series of sermons, and invite many experts in to help, so for today I want to share with you a message that has stuck with me since last weekend.  The sermon at our Regional Annual Meeting was on hope and the biblical passage referred to was Paul's letter to the community of Corinth.  The preacher agreed with Paul that love is the greatest of the faith, hope, and love but, she thought, in our current context, that perhaps the most needed is hope.  

Hope isn’t something that is done to you or for you.  Hope is a choice one makes every day.  In our society, we hear about hope mostly in this way: I hope I pass that exam.  I hope it’s doesn’t rain this weekend.  I hope I get the job.  It’s used for wish fulfillment, for future gain or prosperity.  Is hope about getting what we want?  If we don’t get what we want, does it mean there’s no hope?

In an online dictionary, the first definition I found is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen,” which sounds similar to what I was just talking about.  The second definition, first of all, is described as “archaic.”  I guess that this is a definition that is not used often anymore.  This definition for hope is “a feeling of trust.”  I think we need to bring this definition back into the 21st century, hope as a feeling of trust.  People who make a choice to have hope are people who trust that they are loved.  People who have hope trust that the world is not out to get them.  People who have hope trust in a world of growth, of change, and of beauty.  People with hope know that they are awesomely and wonderfully made to quote psalm 139.  

As a church, I think this is part of our job, not just to offer hope in life after death or for relief from this world for the next, but to offer this “archaic” hope, this trust in a world that loves them, loves all that they are, and a church that models a loving god with a passion for justice and compassion in this world.  I think this is partly what it means to be an Affirming Church, it means  that we offer this special place that offers belonging, inclusiveness, affirmation for the gift each one of us is and the gifts we bring, and to be a place that offers hope, a hope that we can make heaven on this earth, trusting that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  When we gather for worship, when we gather around the table, when we serve our neighbours and when we are served by our neighbours, these are all signs of our hope in a world that can be filled with justice and compassion and filled with the spirit.  As Paul said in his letter 2000 years ago and that still rings true today, love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends. May it be so.  Amen.