Was Jesus a Superhero?

Welcome – Welcome to Sunday service – Good Morning, my name is Anne Ellis I am the Children and Family Minister here at Mt Seymour. I would like to welcome to this morning’s service; Especially if this is your first time visiting with us this morning. The welcome we extend here at Mt. Seymour is a broad and deep as we can make it. Whether you’re here for the first time or if this is your second home – welcome.  Whatever your marital status, your financial background, your gender identity or your age, you are welcome there with us today and everyday.

This morning is going to be a different kind of service. It is an opportunity to bring Children’s Community in to worship and experience what the kids experience each week.  All the children will be staying with us through the whole service today and they will be invited to help me out during various parts.

Off to this side of the sanctuary there we have our children’s blanket where there are some quiet activities for any one feeling a little restless.

Take a moment to think back to your own childhood – Sunday Schools each week? No church? What was your Sunday school experience – do you remember it fondly or not. Did you look forward to Church or not?

The invitation for you today is to approach today’s service with an open heart and a sense of childlike wonder.  Be curious and allow yourself to wonder at the possibilities.

 

Lighting the Christ Candle – We light this candle to remember the one who said he was the light of the world, to remember the one who said all of you are the light of the world, to remember the one who said let the children come to me, who smiled when babies were born and cried when loved ones died. Who experienced life to the fullest and left us with so many great stories to tell and share.

                         

Passing the PEACE of Christ  - In Children’s Community we have our own welcome and we also spend some times learning each other’s names. We play games to learn each other’s names. As you say good morning and share the peace of Christ with one another  - I invite you today to also say your name – even to those who know it. Example – Peace be with you, my name is Anne – response – and also with you, my name is ______

 

Jesus’ Baptism – Ashley

John the Baptizer was baptizing people in the desert.

John wore clothes made from camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.

He said “There is someone coming who is able to do more than I can.  I baptize with water, but the one who is coming will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

Then Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the place along the river where John was baptizing people. He asked John to baptize him, but John said you should be the one baptizing me. Jesus said this is the way it needed to be, so John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. 

As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the sky torn open. The Spirit came down on him like a dove. A voice came from heaven and said, “You are my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with you.”

For the last few weeks in CC the children have been learning stories about Jesus and thinking about the answer to the question “Was Jesus a superhero?”

 If you have children or grandchildren in your lives then you probably are aware that Superheros – Iron Man, Batman, The Avengers are pretty popular these days. Superhero’s are everywhere – Star Wars, Harry Potter, Frozen – all have characters with Superhero qualities- these are characters that have a very large presence in our children’s lives.

A few months ago one of our children here posed the question, “Was Jesus a superhero?” So we decided to figure that out.

But before we could do that we needed to define what is a super hero exactly? In the simplest of terms, in the most convenient definition the children decided a super hero – uses his or her powers for good and saves the world.

By this definition, when we began most of the kids had pretty definitive yes’ or no’s to our question. It seemed fairly straight forward. But then we really began to look at the stories.

Ashley read us the story of Jesus’ baptism, in Children’s Community we watched the Holy Moly Video version. We’re not going to watch the Holy Moly versions today. We’re going to do a little imagining.

I need some help with this – who wants to come up here and be John?

Who wants to be Jesus?

And we need some crowds waiting to be Baptized.

Okay so John is Baptizing people in the River.

And Jesus comes along and asks John to Baptize him. John is confused. He thinks Jesus should be baptizing him.

But Jesus says –“no it should be you”.

“No you” – and back and forth.

Finally John agrees to baptize Jesus – and Jesus goes into the water.

When he comes out of the water – the spirit of God comes down like a Dove. And a voice is heard saying, “You are my son, the one I love. I am very pleased with you.”

We asked the question “What parts of the story make Jesus look like a super hero, and what parts didn’t?”

Looks like: The Dove, The voice, (in the video, the people bow down, and Jesus changes from a black and white character to colour – a visual symbol of being connected to God)

But he fought with John and John also had the power to baptize, so was he a superhero?

Calming the Storm – Kara

One day Jesus and his followers got into a boat. He said to them, “Come with me across the lake.” So they started across.  While they were sailing, Jesus was tired so he lay down for a nap.

A big storm blew across the lake, and the boat began to fill with water. They were all afraid. The followers went to Jesus and woke him. They said, “Master! Master! We will drown!”

Jesus got up. He gave a command to the wind and the waves. The wind stopped, and the lake became calm. He said to his followers, “Where is your faith?”

They were afraid and amazed. They said to each other, “What kind of man is this? He commands the wind and the water, and they obey him.”

This is one of the miracle stories about Jesus. And it’s a pretty interesting one. Jesus certainly seems like he’s got some pretty impressive superhero powers in this story.

Let’s look at it – I need some disciples for the boat. And I need someone else to be Jesus.

So they’re all in boat heading across the lake.

Jesus lies down for a nap.

Now I need some people to be a storm – blow like the wind, clap your hands like thunder.

The disciples are SO afraid!

Jesus doesn’t wake up.

Then Jesus Does wake up.  He stands up at the front of the boat and commands the storm to stop.

Stop Storm! Stop!

And it does.

All the disciples are amazed.

What parts of this story make Jesus look like a superhero and what parts don’t?

Jesus looks like a superhero because he saves lives and he calms the storm. This is all good.

But him sleeping though the storm – is it a super power to be able to sleep so deeply? Does it make him NOT a superhero because he slept while his friends were in danger?

Hmmmm.... it’s not so easy a question to answer now is it?

Walking on Water – Owen

One day Jesus’ followers were going to meet him across a big lake. They were travelling in a boat to meet him on the other side. There was a strong wind blowing against the boat and it was having trouble because of the waves.

 All night they fought against the wind and waves, but they were not able to cross the lake. In the morning Jesus came to them. He was walking on the water. When they saw him walking on the water, it scared them. “It’s a ghost!” they said, screaming in fear.

But Jesus quickly spoke to them. He said, “Don’t worry! It’s me! Don’t be afraid.”

Peter said, “Teacher, if that is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus said, “Come, Peter.”

Then Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. But then Peter became afraid and started sinking into the water. He shouted, “Teacher, save me!”

Then Jesus caught Peter with his hand. He said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?”

After Peter and Jesus were in the boat, the wind stopped. Then the followers in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “You really are the Son of God.”

Walking on Water! Walking on Water? This is a pretty cool super power, I think.

Lets imagine this story. Again I need some disciples. One of you needs to be peter. And again we need another Jesus.

Here we are again in a boat. Jesus is waiting on the shore. But there’s wind keeping the disciples from reaching the other side. Paddle faster!

All night they paddle and they are so tired. In the morning the disciples see something amazing! Jesus walking across the water to them.  Peter, isn’t convinced and then Jesus invites him out on to the water and at first he has faith and he can walk on the water too.

 But then doubt sets in and with doubt in his mind he starts to sink.

Then Jesus helps him back into the boat.

Well, walking on water certainly makes him look like a superhero and he does save Peter from drowning.

But he either waited all night or didn’t know his friends were in trouble – which isn’t to superhero like, don’t you think?

In fact he seems pretty human actually, he’s not perfect, he has the same weaknesses we do. He gets tired, he doesn’t know everything.  And I think that’s okay.

Lazarus --Anna

There was a man named Lazarus who was sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, “Teacher, your dear friend Lazarus is sick.”

Jesus was far away and he was delayed in coming to Bethany where Lazarus was. When Jesus arrived in Bethany he found that Lazarus had already been dead and in the tomb for four days. 

 When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived she went out to greet him. But Mary stayed home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Jesus said, “Your brother will rise and be alive again.”

 Martha answered, “I know that he will rise to live again at the time of the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection. I am life. Everyone who believes in me will have life, even if they die. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never really die. Martha, do you believe this?”

 Martha answered, “Yes, Teacher. I believe you.”

After Martha said these things, she went back to her sister Mary. She talked to Mary alone and said, “The Teacher is here. He is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she stood up and went quickly to Jesus.  When she saw him, she bowed at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

 When Jesus saw Mary crying and the people with her crying too, he was very upset and deeply troubled. He asked, “Where did you put him?”

They said, “Lord, come and see.”

Jesus cried.

And the Jews said, “Look! He loved Lazarus very much!”

But some of them said, “Jesus healed the eyes of the blind man. Why didn’t he help Lazarus and stop him from dying?”

Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a large stone covering the entrance. He said, “Move the stone away.”

Martha said, “But, Lord, it has been four days since Lazarus died. There will be a bad smell.”

 Then Jesus said to her, “Remember what I told you? I said that if you believed, you would see God’s divine greatness.”

So they moved the stone away from the entrance. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me.”

After Jesus said this he called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with pieces of cloth. He had a handkerchief covering his face.

Jesus said to the people, “Take off the cloth and let him go.”

Okay, Okay – Jesus raises someone from the dead! That totally makes him a super hero doesn’t it?

Well, maybe, maybe not.

We have some very insightful kids in our church and they had a lot to say on this powerful story.

Yes, they said Jesus looked like a super hero when he:

Brought Lazarus back from the dead, that he didn’t do this for fame, but because he loved his friend. He was true to his promise to come to see his friend.

Yet, they were quick to point out some of the issues with this story – ones which we adults struggle with too:

Most importantly, He was late. Superhero’s are never late. Maybe they get held up – but they always make it in time. Right?

And, there’s always the question – maybe Lazarus wasn’t really dead? We had some pretty good wonderings about that.

But these are the comments and questions that really got to me. He cried. Seeing Jesus cry at the loss of his friend made him exceptionally human. Not that superhero’s don’t feel grief, they generally do, but for our kids “Jesus wept”, made him relatable. He was like them, with the same feelings they have.

(Pause)

Most superhero’s in their back stories, their origin stories, involve a great loss. Batman’s parents are killed, Superman’s home planet is destroyed, Spiderman’s uncle is murdered. These losses are often the catalyst that launches them into their superhero career.

Here we have a story of grief and loss, but then Lazarus isn’t dead. The suffering stops and Jesus becomes the exception to this superhero stereo-type. Of course, we haven’t touched on his own death and resurrection, but before that happens, is he a regular human or a superhero?

What do you think? Was Jesus a Super hero? He used his power for good, he saved lives, he saved the world.

But he was also a person – who walked, didn’t fly. Who wept and slept, and wasn’t always on time. He’s humble and compassionate.

Early on in our project – a child asked – Was Jesus performing the miracles, or was God performing them thought Jesus?

A very good question, one I don’t have an answer too, but is worth considering; especially when we look back at the beginning – John the baptizer says he’s baptising with water, but Jesus will come and baptize with the Holy Spirit and the story of Pentecost – where the power of the Spirit dances above each person who is their like a little flame.

We celebrate Pentecost as the birth of the church, the spirit of God entering the community so they can continue to live a life committed to following the ways of Jesus. This community has lasted thought the ages all the way to us today. The gift of the Spirit that was in Jesus has been passed to us.

When we weep with those who grieve and try to bring peace and calm to the storms in others lives;  when we use our strengths and our weaknesses for good, to do good, to be good, to bring goodness into the world; doesn’t that make us superhero’s too?

Maybe we can’t perform miracles like walking on water or calming storms, but when each of us uses our light, the light that shines from within to make a difference in the world; to try to make the world a better place for all of us to live in that can feel like a super power, can’t it?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. I don’t think it’s an easy question to answer and that’s okay. Trying to find the answer, wondering about the mystery and remaining open and curious to the possibilities in the key.

And that’s what we do in Children’s Community. So, I ask all of you – was Jesus a superhero?

Prayer of the People  - Please join with me in a time of Prayer.

Take Heart.

In this hour of opposites

Between the waxing and the waning of the day

We pause to remember who we are:

Birth givers, peace keepers

Joy bringers, light bearers.

Take Heart.

We are the light of the world.

In this hour of illumination

Let us shine into the broken places with our very own christ light.

Take heart.

We can be the peace

We can be the healing we can be the Christ.

Trailing clouds of glory, we have come from the brightness of God.

Take heart.

Our power to love will

Over shadow our love of power.

In this luminous hour we will see

What we must see and we will shine because of what we have seen.

(This Prayer is from 'Seven Sacred Pauses')

We pray to the Holy one, that we may be like Jesus followers and trust in our faith and stand tall in our faith and our love when waves and wind challenge us to sink down small.

We pray that when storms rise up in our lives, causing alarm and strife that we may find some peace of mind and calmness within our hearts to face our storms without fear.

We pray that we may see so much goodness in others the only arguments we have is about who has more goodness. You do, no you do, no you do.

We pray that when there is sorrow in our lives we are comforted by our loved ones and that healing may come to those who need it the most.

Today we prayer for everyone attending BC Conference, members of our congregation and community who are struggling with health issues and those who are carrying heavy burdens in their lives, may they find healing, and respite from the things that bring struggle.

We prayer know for those we name out loud and in the silence of our heart.

Lord’s Prayer Rewrite, Anne Ellis

Creator, Earth Mother, Sky Father,

Be with us this day as we pray.

Bless us as we live with gratitude for our daily bread,

Love our imperfections as we love the imperfections of others,

Walk with us in compassion ever towards a closer relationship with your gentle presence

Free us to live fully in your light, your love, your strength

That we may know our light, our love, our strength,

As above, so below,

As within, so without,

As the universe, so my soul.

Amen