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.