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By Will Johnson We live in a dark world. Criminals run rampant, the evil seem to always have the upper hand, and most of time it seems completely hopeless. Many are frustrated, angry and just want to scream out for help. Beg for someone to save us. On the night of 9/11, David Letterman, angry and unusually emotional said, "We're told that they were zealots fueled by religious fervor... religious fervor... and if you live to be a thousand years old will that make any sense to you? Will that make any goddamn sense?" In Baghdad, soldiers and civilians alike are being, and have been, massacred. Bodies of Americans were burned, beaten and dragged through the streets of Fallujah. Nick Berg was decapitated by a team of angry, vengeful Iraqis after the molestation and disgusting torture of Abu Gharib prisoners. Not to mention the children and adult civilians of Iraq who were needlessly killed by American bombs. Even closer to home we have drug abuse, domestic strife and murder. Recently a man kidnapped, raped and killed a young girl after watching child pornography. In a later statement he said, "I have failed as a human being." People are scared to leave their homes while corporations steal their money, their jobs and their livelihood. Governments lie, officials steal and news corporations publish complete fiction. In the midst of this, who do we look for? Who do we need? Who will come to our aid? On the soundtrack of Spider-Man, Chad Kroeger says "They say that a hero can save us, I'm not going to stand here and wait." It's easy to be pessimistic and lose hope. Who can we look to? In 2002, a record number of people flocked to theaters to hear the story of Peter Parker. Parker, an average high school student, is bitten by a radioactive spider and is given extraordinary powers. His uncle counsels him, saying "With great power comes great responsibility." Driven to help the helpless, protect the powerless and fight for the common good, Parker becomes…Spider-Man! Enduring wounds, sacrificing his own interests, and forever battling to save those around him, Spider-Man is a bonafide hero. Or, as his aunt tells him in the second installment, "Someone kids can look up to." She also says that people need heroes, to inspire them, to drive them forward and to give them hope. Without heroes, this world would be lost. One by one Spider-Man takes down the bad guys. The Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus-whoever threatens the security of New York is swiftly brought to justice by this masked hero. People cheer, they look to the sky in hopes of seeing him swoop by. In times of need, they even come to his aid. He is their protector, their inspiration and their hope. There's one problem. Spiderman isn't real. Just over two thousand years ago another man came to his earth, but he didn't wear a costume and he didn't fight the bad guys. Yet, despite all of this, he changed the course of history and gave countless millions of people hope, joy and deep love. Philip Yancey, in his book The Jesus I Never Knew, writes this about the Jewish communities that Jesus was born into: "Audacious as it may be to dream that a tiny province wedged in among great powers would produce a worldwide ruler, nonetheless Jews believed just that. They staked their future on a king who would lead their nation back to glory." The Jews of their time were anxiously awaiting a leader who would save them from the injustice, persecution and evil of their lives. Like Spider-Man, this hero would swoop down and save everyone. He would defeat the bad guys, overcome great adversity and rule over them. They were eagerly awaiting their Messiah, and he didn't look much different than Spider-Man. Then Jesus came along. Born in a stable to a poor family, nestled away in the middle of nowhere. Yancey writes: "But let us be honest. When the one John pointed to arrived on the scene, neither the mountains trembled nor the nations quaked. Jesus did not come close to satisfying the lavish hopes of the Jews." What a disappointment. Jesus lived to be 33 years old, never enacted any lasting political changed and was tortured, humiliated and crucified. I can almost feel the confusion, the disillusionment and the disappointment of the Disciples as they watched their savior die. I'm sure they were wondering why their hero failed them. Jesus once said "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13) But people sacrifice themselves for one another every day. In war, in 9/11, even in everyday life we see people sacrificing themselves for the ones they love. Firemen, soldier, mothers--whoever. So what makes Jesus any different? And how does that solve the world's problems? What good does that do? Solomon writes, in Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, the following: "Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed-and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors-and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead who had already died are happier than the living who are still alive. But better than both is her who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun." I know how he feels. It has been two thousand years since Jesus died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Looking at our world today, sometimes I feel unsatisfied with our hero. Our savior. Our Messiah. As Philip Yancey writes about the disciples: "I sympathize with their bewilderment, because I too yearn for a power-Messiah to impose order on a world of evil and violence and poverty. Living two millennia after the disciples, I look back and marvel at how little difference the church has made in such a world. Why did Jesus leave us alone to fight the battles? How can it be good that he went away?" We no longer have our Jesus around changing water into wine, walking on water or feeding thousands of people. We can't be privy to his teachings, or his miracles. Our Spider-Man left us, and now this is the world we live in. So where does our hope come from? Why do we choose to follow such a seemingly pathetic, disappointing and most importantly, absent hero? The answer is simple. He's not gone, and his work is not yet finished. Jesus proclaims in John 14, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you will also live." That is a bold claim. Jesus came to his earth to reach out, to love and to sacrifice himself. When he rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven he left us with this promise. Now we no longer have a single man to look to, or a hero to scan the skyline for, but a spirit that permeates and dwells in all of creation. A spirit that teaches us, leads us and gives us the hope and joy to navigate a sludgy, disgusting and horrific world. The old cliché says that Jesus is in your heart, and it's true. He gives us each the chance to be his servant, to change the world around us and be our own hero. Spider-Man has a cooler suit and fancier powers, but I would choose Jesus anyday. Will Johnson is a lifeguard and swimming instructor from British Columbia, Canada. He is a frequent contributor to Thunderstruck. |