On Superheroes...

As a child my hero was Batman. I don’t mean the modern, sombre, mean and moody, leather-bound version, but the original dynamic one; the ‘Caped Crusader’, as personified by the one and only Adam West in the famous sixties television series. I loved it. It was one of the highlights of my week to see Batman and Robin bring those dastardly villains to justice, and with a flourish, punch a gloved fist into the other gloved hand and say, “Holy cow!” Among so-called 'Superheroes' Batman was unique in that he was a superhero without any obvious natural super powers. He didn’t have x-ray vision, possessed no superhuman strength, no stretch-ability, couldn’t turn invisible, and wasn’t given to moments of spontaneous combustion. He was an ordinary guy (albeit a millionaire) doing good in his local community. But he was also highly intelligent and clever, and used some very sophisticated gimmicks. And I loved gimmicks!

Who could ever forget the scene from the original ‘Batman’ film where our hero is hanging on a rope ladder from a helicopter above the sea, suspended from a helicopter with a huge shark, albeit a rather unrealistic looking rubber one, attached to his leg. Robin, who was flying the helicopter, had to climb down the ladder (which begs the question that adults always ask at this point, but NEVER kids: Who was flying the helicopter?!!) and deliver some much needed 'shark repellent' (which just happened to be in the helicopter). A quick spray and the beastly shark disappeared into the sea from whence it came, only to explode. It had been fitted with a bomb by Batman’s enemies, which was intended, of course, for Batman. But even then, Batman had time to express his compassion as he lamented the death of the “poor innocent beast” which had been primed to bring about his doom. (watch it here!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_B_n-Rbros)

My brother and I were hooked on Batman. One Christmas, I was given a Batman outfit and my brother got a Robin one. Robin was Batman’s faithful sidekick – also known as the ‘Boy Wonder’ (or the ‘Boy Blunder’ as the Joker, arch-enemy of Batman, would cruelly call him). I was also kitted out with some much needed accessories, such as the Bat-utility belt, and the Bat-hook, which was used for climbing up the sides of people’s homes. It was with some dismay that I learnt, many years later, that my superheroes didn’t really scale the sides of those big tower blocks… In all reality, they were walking on level ground and bending over, pulling on a rope, and only making it look like they were climbing upwards. So when people poked their heads out of the windows of the tower block, which they were inclined to do sometimes, they were actually standing straight up, with the window above their head. I also made my own Bat-torch which was used for displaying the Bat-sign as a warning to would-be villains, by pasting the figure of a bat over the lens of the torch. It was very effective. And as the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder, my brother and I would roam the streets near our home in Handsworth (Birmingham), meting out justice and doing good to the citizens of the land, in order that all would sleep easy at night, and with much punching of our gloved fists into gloved hands, cries of “Holy cow!” echoed into the night.

Now I'm much older...and hopefully a bit wiser...though there is still a part of me that yearns to 'right the wrongs' that I sometimes see around me. I don't like bullying, for example. As a young boy I was sometime bullied & didn't really stand up for myself. I wasn't Batman when I needed to be :-( But I'm also a believer in Jesus now. That has changed my life immensely...but what kind of a 'hero' is he?! Over the last twenty odd years, Jesus has gradually become my hero. It’s easy to watch great films like ‘Braveheart’ and ‘Gladiator’ and to be inspired by heroes such as William Wallace and Maximus. They are brave. They are heroic. They give their lives that others might taste freedom. They want their followers to really live. They are also very similar to the character of Jesus Christ. If you don’t believe me, try watching Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ without being moved. If it doesn’t move you, then I would seriously question whether you are alive or not! Mel Gibson has captured (and some might think a bit too graphically) very dramatically the pain and suffering that Jesus went through on his journey to death by crucifixion. It is gut-wrenching. Why did he choose to go through such a nightmare scenario? Because he loved each one of us so much. It was his sole motivation. What you see in this film, amongst the blood and the gore of Jesus’ suffering is love in action. Jesus doesn’t just come along with a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates to show his love for mankind; instead he goes to the cross for us.

But there is another special quality – or superpower – to Jesus, and I was reminded of it when we were in Prague a few years back visiting Petra’s sister, Marta, and her husband, Ondřej, and their two children, Noemi and Daniel. One evening, Noemi and Daniel had fallen out over something, as children do, and Ondřej was attempting to get them to make the peace before the sun went down on their day. Usually, Ondřej could handle it very well, but this evening – well, they were really going for it. He came and asked us to go in with him and to pray for them. I was a bit surprised by his request. I’m not a father, and what do I know about raising children? But we obediently went, and all of us adults were gathered around the two bunk beds where the two protagonists were still whinging and crying and slinging accusations at one another.

As Ondřej began to pray, I stayed with my eyes open, wondering what I was doing there – and then my eyes fell on the little Velcro dartboard, the type that the little Velcro balls stick to…suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration as I was reminded of something that I heard years ago. I asked the children to be quiet, and with Petra translating, I began to speak to them. “None of us like it when people say bad things to us or about us, do we?” They nodded in agreement. “We are like this Velcro board. Things stick to us. Bad words people say to us, or bad things they say about us, even lies; they all stick to us.” I picked up the balls, and with each thing I highlighted, I threw a ball at the board, and it (thankfully) stuck to the board. “But when Jesus came, he asked us to love one another. To try and be kind to one another. He was made of a different kind of Velcro. So different, that bad things couldn’t stick to him.” At this, I picked up some non-stick toys and threw them at the board. They bounced right off the board and fell to the floor. “Jesus tried to teach us that we are only to let good things stick to us, and to also try to throw only good things at one another. The bad things are just to bounce off us, just like those non-stick toys. You can be like Jesus; you don’t have to let these bad things stick to you, and you don’t need to throw them at each other.” I stopped, and I’ll never forget the looks on their faces. It was precious. I’d kept their attention. They’d followed the point all the way to its conclusion, and the penny (or in this case, the haléř) had dropped. They made their peace – at least for that day…

When Jesus came, he upset a lot of the religious leaders of his day. He was made of a very different kind of Velcro to them. He could love unconditionally. He could forgive sins. He could heal the sick and raise the dead too. He had compassion on the poor and those in need. He was even willing to die for his friends. And now, he invites us to be like him and to do the same. But in order to do this we need to put on a new type of clothing, the kind of clothing that only he can provide. I’m almost certain that this clothing is made of some kind of heavenly Velcro. Of course, it only works when we ask Jesus for it and put it on. It will help us to love those who hate us. To be kind to those who swear at us, say bad things to us or about us, or who cheat on us. To give to those who ask of us. To forgive those who do the dirty against us. To do good to those who hassle us. This Velcro only lets the good things of God stick to us. It won’t allow the bad stuff to stick at all. It will all just fall away, or bounce harmlessly off us. However, this clothing is only for would-be superheroes, for in my opinion, it is given by the greatest superhero of all - Jesus.

It sure beats my old Batman outfit... :-)