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“Batman vs. Superman” Theme: The Making of a Superhero Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 14-20 Things I’d like to remember from today’s sermon: ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Meditation Moments for Monday, July 28 – Read Exodus 4:27-31, 17:8-13 – God called Moses to lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Moses and the Israelites must have felt great excitement and hope for a better future, but also fear and uncertainty about when and how they would get there. Moses challenge was to lead a nation into the unknown, and God used him in powerful ways. He was a towering figure in Israel’s history—but not a solitary one. All through their journey, Moses drew on the strengths of others to help him. • When God called Moses to lead Israel out of captivity, Moses was not sure he could do it: "Moses said to the Lord, “My Lord, I’ve never been able to speak well … I have a slow mouth and a thick tongue … Then the Lord said to him ... I’ll help you speak, and I’ll teach you what you should say” (Exodus 4:10-12). God sent Moses’ brother Aaron to team up with him in leading Israel. Has a perceived weakness ever made you feel that God can’t use you? In what ways has God helped you find "teammates" whose strengths complement yours to accomplish something? • Israel was on their way to the Promised Land when the Amalekite nation attacked them. Moses depended on two forces to lead the Israelites to victory: God (Exodus 17:9: shepherd's rod of God) and helpers (Exodus 17:12: Aaron and Hur held up his hands). Is there an area of your life where you are battling fear or uncertainty right now? In what ways could depending more fully on God’s help and the help of others enhance your ability to live fully as you face fear and uncertainty? Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the ways that you provide other people to help us along the way. Please help me to be one of those people who help others. Amen.

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Tuesday, July 29 – Read 1 Samuel 20:17-42, 1 Chronicles 11:15-19 – King David was a heroic, historic leader. (Even today, Israel’s flag bears the “star of David.”) Yet without the steadfast friendship of Jonathan (who was King Saul’s son, and could have seen David as a rival for power), David might not even have survived to reach the throne. As king, he counted on the help of many mighty men, and like other great leaders, was wise enough to honor them for their help. • From a purely human viewpoint, King Saul expected his son and heir, Jonathan, to view David as a rival, an enemy (1 Samuel 20:31). But Jonathan and David recognized the excellence in each other, and built that up rather than trying to tear it down. Write down the names of the loyal friends who have built you up and supported you. Thank them this week for enriching your life by their friendship and loyalty. • 1 Chronicles 11 told of an episode in which David, instead of taking his soldiers’ brave, loyal action for granted, gave up his own wishes and comfort to honor their courage. Have you ever had a leader who did not ignore the sacrifices of others, but honored and recognized them? How do you honor the support and help of any people you lead? Prayer: Lord God, thank you for calling us friends, and for pouring out your very life blood to save us. Amen. Wednesday, July 30 – Read Acts 9:23-30, 13:1-3 - Was the apostle Paul a heroic individual carrying the good news of Jesus to the Roman Empire all alone? No—the book of Acts said his ministry might not ever have started if Barnabas (the name meant “son of encouragement”—cf. Acts 4:36) hadn’t vouched for him to the wary believers in Jerusalem. Later the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas out as partners, and Paul always had similar partners as he spread the message of Jesus far and wide. • Scholar William Barclay noted that Barnabas’ support for Paul when others doubted his conversion showed two deeply Christian traits. Barnabas “insisted on believing the best of others,” and he “never held anyone’s past against him.” How good are you at being a “son of encouragement” to people who have made a change for the better in their lives? Have you ever needed for others to believe that you aren’t the same as you were at some point in the past? • Paul’s genius and ability with words not only made him a great speaker, but a writer (the New Testament preserves something like 12 of his letters). Barnabas’ role on their mission team was much quieter—yet just as much directed by the Holy Spirit. Do you work best in more of a “front line” fashion, or in quieter, supportive, behind-the scenes roles? Are you able to see both kinds of service as vital in God’s overall design?

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Prayer: Loving Lord, thank you for calling both brilliant Paul and steady, caring Barnabas to your service. Thank you for calling me, with whatever abilities I have, to be a part of the team that carries on their mission for you. Amen. Thursday, July 31 – Read Luke 6:12-16, 8:1-3 – The gospel writer Luke recorded that even Jesus, with a mission unique in history, needed support from others. Most everyone has heard about the 12 disciples. In a male-dominated society, Luke also noted the more surprising fact that a group of loyal women (even one from King Herod’s household) helped Jesus in his ministry, even financially. • Jesus, Luke wrote, prayed to God all night long before he chose, from among the larger group of people following him, the twelve he designated as “apostles” (from a Greek word meaning “messenger”). What practices help you most as far as spending time with God in prayer? How do you choose your friends? Do you ever make God part of that process? • Scholar Joachim Jeremias said, “Jesus knowingly overthrew custom when he allowed women to follow him … Jesus was not content with bringing women up onto a higher plane than was the custom; but as Savior of all, he brings them before God on an equal footing with men.” Mark, in his gospel, noted that most of the male disciples fled, yet several women were at the cross (cf. Mark 15:40-41). In what ways does Jesus’ example challenge us about using jokes based on gender stereotypes, “glass ceilings,” and other practices and attitudes that still treat women as inferior to men? Prayer: Lord Jesus, grow in me the same kind of comfort level you had with recognizing your need for friends and supporters, and the same seriousness in finding those who will truly be good for me. Amen. Friday, August 1 – Read Luke 19:29-36 – On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode on a donkey’s colt, a symbol of peaceful royalty (cf. Zechariah 9:9). Luke’s story made it clear that the donkey’s unnamed owners had the colt ready when the disciples came for it. It wasn’t a random encounter—the owners had agreed to let Jesus use their animal. Their generous help was one key element that made possible Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem five days before the crucifixion. • There was nothing fortuitous about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. As scholar N. T. Wright said, “For Jesus it’s a royal occasion, to be carefully planned and staged so as to make exactly the right point. The animal he chose—presumably by pre-arrangement with the owners; this wasn’t the first time Jesus had been to Bethany!—was a young foal, almost certainly a donkey’s colt.” When has your experience of worship and praise been deepened by the careful planning others have done? Are there ways you could put more thought and preparation into your service to God?

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• A donkey’s colt may not sound like a big deal to us—but in Jesus’ day, it was precious. It had roughly the same importance to peasant families in Palestine that a car has for us. Sometimes several families pooled their resources to buy one animal they could all share. Can you identify really valuable items that you’d make available to Jesus if he needed them? How can you determine today if Jesus needs something you own? Prayer: Loving Lord, when I picture that joyous scene in Jerusalem, I think how exciting it would have been if you’d been riding my donkey! Give me a willingness to share with you today whatever it is you need from me. Amen. Saturday, August 1 – Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 - Through this series, we’ve looked at the promise that God “is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us” (cf. Ephesians 3:20) In today’s reading, the apostle Paul explained to the Corinthian Christians that God indeed gives each of us power to join in the divine mission of changing the world for the better. But no one of us receives all the gifts and talents needed for the job. To live out the “superhero” potential God has planted in us, we need each other as well as God. • What particular gifts and talents has God placed in your life? In what ways are you already using them to bless others and bring glory to God? Can you identify ways that your gifts become more effective when they are working together with other people’s gifts that are different from yours? Think and pray about one way, in the year ahead, that you can more fully integrate your own gifts and abilities into the overall mission of “the body of Christ.” (If you’d like help learning how to identify and use your gifts, you can contact Jake Forsythe, our Director of Equipping and Missions, jake@fumcdurango.org or 970-247-4213.) Prayer: O generous God, you’ve given me a portion of your divine power. You’ve called me to use that power in carrying out your mission in the world. I offer you back the gifts you’ve given me. Please use them for your purposes. Amen.

Theme: The Making of a Superhero

“Batman vs Superman” Sermon preached by Jeff Huber

July 26-27, 2014 at First United Methodist Church, Durango

Scripture: I Corinthians 12: 4-7, 14-20

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

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7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.

VIDEO Superhero Week 5 Sermon Starter

SLIDE Batman vs Superman

As we begin, I invite you to take out of your bulletin your Meditation Moments and your Message Notes. At the top you will find the Scripture passage that we are referring to today and below that are some lines where you can take down notes. There is something to write with in the pews in front of you. On the inside you will find daily Scripture readings and we invite you each day to take some time to read them on your own. I think if you spend a few minutes each morning or evening reading the Scriptures and asking these questions and reflecting upon them, they can help your heart and your mind grow deeper as you look more closely at what we are doing this day.

Two weeks ago, we began this sermon series on superheroes by looking at the history of where these characters come from. Comic book superheroes were developed in the time period after the Great Depression and leading into World War II. We learned last week that it was a group of Jewish American writers and illustrators who dreamed of these characters who would lead America to fight for justice and freedom, to see good triumph over evil. One piece of trivia I found fascinating is that one out of every three soldiers who headed overseas to serve in World War II carried with them a comic book of some sort that features superheroes. We have also learned that many of the superhero characters are modeled after biblical figures in the Old Testament.

We also recognized how much people are drawn to these stories. The superhero genre has been the most popular movie in the years since 9/11. Is has taken over Broadway and action figures and T-shirts and bed sheets and breakfast

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cereals and costumes and more. We desperately want a piece of their story in our lives. Many of us have worn the costumes like this cape that I have in my wardrobe. You may have made fun of me for that, but the truth is that most of us have had dreams of being a superhero. I've had this cape in my office for inspiration, and while I may not have worn it all week, it has helped me remember the way I felt when I wore that cape as a child.

As we continue in this sermon series let's remember that we are talking about the ingredients of a superhero. This series is called, "The Making of a Superhero," because we are asking what it takes for us to claim that as people of faith. We started by looking at how we can uncover the power that each of us has within us. While we might not have the typical superpowers that you see in a superhero movie, we recognize that God has gifted each one of us as we are claimed by the Holy Spirit. We receive power through the grace of Jesus Christ. Some of us have the power to encourage others. Some of us have the power to teach. Some of us have the power to heal. Some of us have the power to lead. Some of us have the power to serve. Some of us have the power to make others feel welcome. These are all gifts of the Holy Spirit and we are meant to use them.

That first week we remembered when Jesus looked at his disciples and he breathed on them with his Holy Spirit. He said to them just before his death that those who believed in him and followed him would do even greater works than he did. The apostle Paul said that we could do more than we could ever ask or imagine as we follow Jesus Christ and believe that he lives within us. Paul told the people of Ephesus that they were going to do far more than they could ask or imagine because of the power of the Holy Spirit living within. That first week I asked you a question.

SLIDE Do you believe?

Do you believe you have that power living within you?

Two weeks ago we looked at another component of the making of a superhero. It's not enough just to believe and know that you have that superpower. You also have to put that into practice. We recognized that every superhero has this moment where they are trying to get the hang of their powers. The reality is that practice does not make perfect. What does practice make? Practice makes progress, so we practice, practice and practice some more. The questions I asked you last week was…

SLIDE Are you practicing?

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Are you working at your faith? When we say yes to Jesus Christ that is only the beginning of our faith journey, or a new beginning. We call that the moment of Justification. But then we continue to practice our faith and it is an up and down journey. We try and we make mistakes and then we are honest about messing up and we start over again. That process of practicing and trying and failing and trying again is called Sanctification, which is about becoming more like Christ. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, talked about this as Holiness or going onto perfection. We don’t get there, but we keep practicing and practicing and practicing some more.

Last week we talked about how many superhero characters are adopted and they had people who chose to invest in them. Batman had Alfred, while Spiderman had Uncle Ben and Aunt Mae and Superman had Jonathan and Martha Kent. We have people who have poured into our lives and we are called to pour into the lives of others. I left you with this question.

SLIDE Who are you choosing?

Who are you choosing to invest in? Who are you helping to see that they are more than what they can see in themselves? We all need that. Even if we didn’t get that from our biological parents, we are people who are adopted into God’s family and so we invest in others, especially future generations.

Last week we continued this series by looking at how superheroes are willing to face enemies and overcome evil. What binds superheroes together is this willingness to overcome and to face these supervillains. The earliest comic book superheroes faced real life evil, real life issues and real life villains like Hitler and the Nazis. Some wrestled with the Ku Klux Klan while others battled communism. You saw them daily challenging real life evil and villains and the idea was that we could read their stories and find hope and live differently. Over the course of time those villains changed and they became fictitious figures that represent things like anger and malice and slander and envy and pride and jealousy. What made superheroes super was their ability to overcome the unsurmountable obstacles represented by villains and evil.

We talked about how we wrestle with evil in today’s world, and that part of our wrestling is that we forget about the light that came into the world through Christ which the darkness cannot overcome. Through Christ, death has been defeated, yet we still live in fear because we forget. So I asked you two questions last week.

SLIDE Do You Remember Who and Whose You Are?

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Do you remember who you are and whose you are? Jesus urges us to remember because he knows we can be forgetful as humans. I also asked you this question.

SLIDE Are you willing to fight for what is good?

Superheroes fight for what is good. Are you willing to do that? John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, gave early Methodists three simple rules. We have preached a sermon series on those rules here before but those rules are key and they remind us of this battle between good and evil.

SLIDE Wesley’s Three Rules (Graphic)

Do no harm; avoid every kind of evil.

Do all the good you can.

Stay in love with God.

Superheroes apply their skill and their powers to do good and this is what we are called to do as people of faith. Each week we have learned about different people in today's world who have been superheroes and as we conclude this series of sermons I thought we would end with a question that I have gotten from many of you.

SLIDE Who’s the greatest?

I have been asked this question in e-mails and in the atrium as people are leaving worship and in a text message. I've been asked this question by people in their 80s and by children. They always ask me with a loaded look in their eyes because if I give them a different answer than who they think is the greatest, they are ready for a battle and a challenge to prove why their favorite superhero is the greatest. I can always tell when the set up is coming in so many of you have learned how I respond in situations like this. What do you think I do when I get asked this question? I ask you a question in reply, "Well, who you think is the greatest superhero?"

I had a number of women tell me why Wonder Woman is clearly the greatest superhero because she had to deal with a whole universe of superhero men. Can't argue with that logic now, can you? I was at the recreation center this week and one of the lifeguards told me that Aquaman was clearly the best superhero, which makes sense if you're a lifeguard. Aquaman actually was developed at the same time as Superman but never had a movie made out of him, at least not yet, so we didn't get as much credit. Each week in worship we

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usually have at least one or two service dogs in worship and I'm pretty sure they would argue for Underdog being the greatest superhero!

What's interesting is how invested people are in this question. I thought this last week we should finally put an end to this question once and for all and so here is my answer. I got this T-shirt 20 years ago as a work shirt when I was doing some work at my in-laws house in Nebraska and I still have it and it's very soft and has the entire Justice League on the front. I remember watching this cartoon when I was a kid on Saturday mornings and it was always my favorite. I especially like the wonder twins!

VIDEO Wonder Twin Powers Activate!

SLIDE Batman vs Superman (Graphic)

Those guys were awesome and I especially liked their little purple monkey, “Gleep.” The truth is that if you are a comic book fan, you know there is an answer to this question about who is the greatest superhero and it really has to do with Superman versus Batman, which is the expected next superhero blockbuster coming out next summer. You will notice in the graphic above for the movie that they used the letter "V" instead of "VS." This is meant to suggest that at some point the two will join forces and supposedly they will be joined by Wonder Woman. You can't wait can you? I can see it in your eyes!

Comic book fans make it clear that when you decide which superhero is the greatest it really is about whether you are a DC comic book fan or a Marvel comic book fan.

SLIDE DC Comics (Graphic)

If you are a DC comic book fan then you're into Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman and the Flash and the Green Lantern and Aquaman.

SLIDE Marvel Comics (Graphic)

If you are into Marvel comics then it begins with Capt. Marvel who would later become Capt. America. On that side you will also find Thor and Iron Man and Incredible Hulk who make up the Avengers, along with Spiderman. You are either a part of team DC comics or part of Marvel comics and that defines who you are in the comic book world in many ways. This argument has been escalating over the past few years as the stakes grow higher with big-budget superhero movies. The Marvel folks have been on top for a long time with movies about the Avengers but with the Man of the Steel movie coming out last summer and then Batman versus Superman along with Wonder Woman next summer, the DC

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people have come on strong and made the Marvel folks not very happy. I read that in order to spice up their side of the slate, Marvel has decided to turn Thor into a woman for the next Avengers movie. I know you think I'm joking but it really is true!

SLIDE Marvel vs. DC Video Game (Graphic)

One of the best-selling videogames over the past few years has been this contest between Marvel comics and DC comics, which you can see on the video screen. You can now settle this disagreement once and for all by playing this game. Superman can fight a battle against the Incredible Hulk or you can have Spiderman fight against Batman to see who is indeed the greatest.

SLIDE DC vs Marvel Comics (Graphic)

You end up with a world looking like this graphic where everybody is fighting against everybody else. When I look at this picture it just doesn't seem right to me, to see the Superheroes battling each other. When we think about what makes a superhero it seems to contradict the idea of superheroes battling each other, and yet that is where we find ourselves when we begin comparing one superhero against another to see who is the greatest.

If you have found yourself asking this question about who is the greatest then you are in good company because this is a question that the disciples of Jesus asked on many occasions. In the gospel of Luke the disciples get to see Jesus doing amazing things they have never witnessed before. Jesus is healing the masses and he is preaching and teaching marvelous things so that crowds are coming by the thousands. He is feeding them with just a small bit of food and he is hanging out with people that no one else would hang out with if they were a religious leader. In the gospel of Luke, they even climb up to the top of a mountain and Jesus is transformed and filled as the son of God with all of his power and might and strength. They have experienced unbelievable and heroic and out of this world experiences and by the time the disciples get to Luke chapter 9 we read this about them.

SLIDE 46 Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest.

They had seen all of these marvelous things and instead of reflecting on them and thinking deeply about them, they turn to Jesus and ask him who the greatest among them will be. They may have asked in this because Jesus had just finished predicting that and so they wanted to know who would inherit the role of

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leadership. They did this more than once because in Matthew's Gospel we read about the disciples coming to Jesus in chapter 18 with each of them holding up their shirt and asking:

SLIDE 1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

In Mark's Gospel we find that Jesus has just finished numerous healings in Capernaum, which was his home base for his ministry. While they are walking on the road the disciples began arguing among themselves and here is what we read happens next.

SLIDE 33 After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” 34 But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” 36 Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

Each time Jesus is confronted with this question he does the same thing and sits them down as disciples and then bring a the child in front of them. He tells them that if they really want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven they must be like this child. If they want to be first in that kingdom then they must be willing to be last and to serve all of the others. They need to humble themselves and welcome children into that kingdom, and in Matthew's Gospel Jesus actually tells them they must become like children with wide-eyed faith that is dependent and pure and in awe.

When we had Vacation Bible School here two weeks ago the theme was Wilderness Experience. The children got to imagine what it was like to be out wandering in the wilderness like the children of Israel did when they left Egypt and move towards the Promised Land. Each day they got to meet Moses, played by Ray Wilson, and Moses would tell them part of the story of being in the Wilderness. I just love watching the kids each day, especially the smaller ones, looking at Moses as if the Bible had just come to life.

SLIDE Ray as Moses VBS 2014 (Graphic)

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SLIDE Children at VBS 2014 (Graphic)

Look at the kids under this table as they hear the story of the Passover and what it means to be a part of God's people. Jesus tells us that if we want to be the greatest we must change and become like children. So what does that mean? What does it mean to become like a child? What can we learn from children about being a part of the Kingdom of God? How does becoming like a child help us to become more like Jesus Christ?

My daughter loves to still go into the Christian school and play with the toys that were hers to play with when she was in preschool. When we go in the room it is so cool to get down on the level of a child because they have things like toy trains and a kid’s kitchen and lots of cool animals and other things to play with. You might try getting down on your hands and knees and being like a child sometimes. It may help you to realize how important it is to be humble and how free it is to just be able to play.

When I was in college I took a job one summer directing a children's day camp in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each week there was a field trip that was part of the camp theme for the week. One week our plan was to take the kids on a ferry ride across the bay to a place called Angel Island. We had a large school bus and several cars which made the journey. I arrived at the ferry building along with several other cars and we waited and waited. This was before the days of cell phones and so when the bus didn’t show up I began to be worried. I called the bus dispatcher and I was told the bus had dropped the kids off at the ferry already and the bus driver was on break. I explained that I was at the ferry and there was no bus to be found with 75 children on board!

Pretty soon, a young woman came running out from the ferry building and approached me and told me that our group had been dropped off at the commuter ferry down the road. The commuter ferry simply took people back and forth across the San Francisco Bay and did not take people to Angel Island. I drove over there to find a few of my staff very perplexed because they tried to get on the ferry but were told they were at the wrong place. We didn't get a hold of the bus driver because he was on break and we ended up spending five hours in front of the commuter ferry building dreaming up things to do with 75 children. Have you ever had to do that? It is not very much fun.

We played every game that we had in our camp counselor brains and that got us through about an hour and a half. Just as we thought we were about to go bonkers one of the kids found several used plastic plates in the bushes. They used

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some for bases and they used some as frisbees and they invented about 20 different games over the next three hours. I wish I had written down and recorded each of those games because they were pretty good, and it might be a great resource for someone else who gets stuck with 75 kids in a parking lot for five hours.

I'm not sure adults could've figured out what to do for five hours without the use of cell phones and handheld video games and laptops, but those children sure figured it out and they had a blast. At the end of the summer a number of the kids who had done the entire program with us said that was their favorite day. Those kids could see everything as a gift and children have the ability to do that. They saw those old, dirty plates is a chance for adventure and fun and they didn't put limits on it like we did as camp counselors who were just worried about the germs and diseases that we were sure our kids would catch. They were even able to share those new discoveries with other kids.

Jesus says that in order to become great, in order to become superheroes, in order to become his disciples, we need to become like children. We see the things around us as gifts that we will employ and share with others. We need to see those gifts that we have as a way of changing the culture from one of sadness and boredom into excitement and adventure. That's what I love about kids and why I loved being a youth pastor for 10 years. I love watching kids get their first superhero costume and see the look in their eyes when they put the cape on. When they open up the box and they see the Cape they don't hesitate because they know exactly what to do with it. They put it on and they begin to fly around the room like their favorite superhero. They believe the Cape and the costume will give them the ability to do extraordinary things and they don't hesitate to use it. They literally believe they will be able to do abundantly far more than they can even imagine or believe, like the apostle Paul encourages those early Christians in Ephesus.

When children get immersed in creative play they stop quarreling and they begin imagining how they can save the world. They don't stop and think about it or try to analyze it, they just enjoy it and they often invite others to be a part of it with them. I remember that day as kids were inventing new games how our young adult staff fell into two categories. Some thought the kid’s games were stupid while others jumped in and joined the fun. Which one you think had the best time that day? Which ones do you think had smiles on their faces?

This is what it looks like to become a child and even we adults can

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participate in that. We have a choice. As followers of Jesus Christ we get a gift that is better than any other gift. We get a gift that is better than any Cape or costume we could ever unwrap. We get the gift of sacrificial love and unfettered grace that is greater than anything we can ever ask for or imagine. Remember what Jesus said in John 15.

SLIDE 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus offers us this gift in the Last Supper as he tells us to take the bread and remember and to take the cup of salvation and know that he has laid down his life for us. Jesus is telling us through that meal that he is giving us all that he is and all that he has, the gift of grace and the gift of love, so that we could go and do greater things then we can ever ask for or imagine. We are called to go out into the world and to be the presence of Jesus Christ in the world in a way that changes the world into the Kingdom of God. We are meant to share the gift with everyone we meet so they can experience that gift as well.

All Jesus asks us to do is to unwrap the gift and work together to share it, but in Luke's Gospel we see what happens when humans are given extraordinary gifts. They begin to quarrel. After the disciples share in the Last Supper in Luke's gospel here is what we find happening in chapter 22.

SLIDE 24 Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. 25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

Instead of quarreling, Jesus invites the disciples to serve each other and to see the gifts in each other and to have a humble heart. One of the main phrases that Jesus uses throughout his ministry is that we should, "love and serve one another." This is the same theme that we find from the apostle Paul in his letter to the people at Corinth. The church at Corinth was planted in a very affluent setting and a competitive setting because of the athletic games which happened in and around their city. This congregation had many people in it who had many

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gifts such as preaching and teaching and speaking in tongues. Rather than use those gifts to complement each other, they were using their gifts to show who was better and who was the top dog and he began to be a competition. "Who has the greatest gifts? Look at me, I am better than everyone else! My gift is so great that I should be in charge of this church."

I have never seen humans act this way, have you?

It is into this setting that the apostle Paul writes a letter and he tells them to stop wondering who is the greatest or the best. Instead, he reminds them of what the fabric of Christian community is meant to be about. He paid for the picture of what it looks like and how we might employ our gifts and use them together by talking about the church as a body. He writes this to the church at the community in Corinth in Corinthians 12.

SLIDE 4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.

Paul tells us there are a variety of gifts that each of us have been given but they all have been activated together by the same sense of grace. If we can learn to work together we can do amazing things, heroic things, as people of faith. The Holy Spirit brings us together to be one body but it requires that we humble ourselves, and in many ways we become like a child who learns to take the plastic plates out of the weeds and plants and do something creative with them with the rest of their playmates. We are meant to see everything around us as though it is a gift or an opportunity to be a part of the Kingdom of God. We are meant to see

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our gifts as complementary and not competitive because that is when the body is at its best.

What I love about comic books is that they take us back to that place of being a child. We are now seeing in comic book movies the different superheroes coming together. Next summer it is Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman. But the most popular superhero movie in history was one where a collection of superheroes came together known as the Avengers. It began with Iron Man almost 5 years ago and now he is joined by the Incredible Hulk and Thor and Capt. America and the Black Widow and some dude who shoot arrows. I think one of the reasons it was such a popular movie is because it brought together all of these different superheroes and they had to figure out how to work together. In many ways it was a microcosm of our struggle as humans to figure out how to work together. As the movie comes to its climax in the Avengers have to figure out if they are going to work together to fight a common evil threat and here's what happens.

VIDEO The Avengers

SLIDE (Slide while preaching)

You see the same movement happening in the X-Men where different mutant superheroes join together. The truth is that none of the superheroes can do near as much on their own as they can do together. Superman and Batman and Wonder Woman may be credible by themselves but you put them together and they can do far greater things. When the Justice League forms they can overcome even greater evil together than they can apart.

When we think about being a superhero as people of faith we must move away from thinking about being the hero on our own and recognize we are called to do heroic things together, as the body of Christ. We need to stop being competitive and thinking about which one is the greatest but recognize that we need all the gifts and every person for the body to function at its best. Every one of us has a gift to share in the body of Christ and we are meant to bring those together to do great things. Superheroes in the Christian faith don't ask, "Who is the greatest?" Instead, we looked at how we can bring together all of our gifts and then we ask, "What can we do together to help be the presence of Jesus Christ in the world?"

As we wrap up this sermon series I want to come back to this piece of fabric that has been on the altar each week, the Cape of Superman. My middle name is Scott and there is a part of me that wishes the S on the Cape stood for that, but

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the truth is that it doesn't. When I was a kid and got a Cape like this and I put it on I did feel like I could do anything and maybe even I could be Superman. What if we were to act like children again with the Cape and think about this as being clothed in Christ? What if we thought about this as being clothed in righteousness so we could do great things in the name of Jesus Christ? What if we thought about this as being clothed in grace that would allow us to do extraordinary things, even more than we can ask for or imagine? What if I saw this Cape as a gift that I was meant to share and not keep to myself? What if I saw this Cape as something that encouraged me to give and bring my gift to the body with humility, knowing that doesn't make me the greatest but it makes me a part of something which is the greatest love that humanity has ever known?

What if we were part of an entire community, the body of Christ, which thought of ourselves as being caped and clothed in superhero glory?

Let's remember that one of the main differences between Clark Kent and Superman is glasses. Those glasses are meant to be symbolic of perspective. What do you see when you walk through your office or your neighborhood or your family? Do you see people that you are meant to compete with or do you see people that are part of the body with you? Do you see the connections that happen between you and others? When you have to work with people who are different than you and you don't see the world the same way you do, do you see them as distractions or as adversaries, or do you recognize that you are different parts of the body?

Are you willing to invite others to join you as part of the body? Are you willing to invite them to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ and join you on this journey as we seek to be the presence of Christ in the world? Are we willing to invite others to join us on this journey as we seek to follow Christ and be his superheroes?

This last week my daughter was part of a group of Middle School students from our church who went to MIX camp in Gunnison. They had a great time learning about God and they sent me these photos as they got back. In this first photo you see Jesse and Courtney our youth director and his super wife. I personally think she should have had the shirt with the S on it! You also see Kimmy and Sarah our two summer interns who went with the kids.

SLIDE Youth Sponsor Superheroes

SLIDE Girl Superheroes

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And here is all the girls in their superhero get ups! I got to see my daughter’s book from the event and they had one day focused on superheroes. Part of being a superhero in the Christian faith is trading in what the world says about you for what God says about you. In the book they had a page where you would trade THIS for THAT.

THIS: Why can’t you be better? You’re no good. You’re stupid.

THAT: You are good. You are great. You love me.

THIS: You’re worthless. You mess everything up. You’re annoying.

THAT: Give me your power. You are my God. I am yours. You are powerful

What I find interesting is that not only do we hear these words from God about what we can be, and about how powerful we can be, but we need to hear them in an incarnational way…from the body. We need to hear these words from each other. That’s how we are Jesus Christ to each other and to the world. Not only do we each have a role in the body, but we need to see each other’s roles and encourage each other to use them for the glory of God.

As we close this time together I want to remind you that we are all part of the fabric of superheroes that has brought us to this place. We have invited you to bring pictures of your superheroes, or even better yet, to bring them to worship with you. We have tables with candles set up in several places in the sanctuary and I want to invite you to come forward and bring your superhero pictures and place them on one of the tables. If you would like, you can stop and pray up front at the prayer rails but this is a time to remember those people and to remember that you are a part of the body of Christ with them. Each of us has gifts to share and each photo that is placed on a table is part of that body. As you come forward were going to hear a cheesy song from the 1990s about what it means to be a hero, but before we do that let's pray together.

SLIDE Prayer

SLIDE “Hero” –Michelle James and Sara Perkerewicz

SLIDE Prayer

SLIDE Offering