As a kid, I was an avid comic book reader, and Spiderman was one of my favourites. One of the great tensions in comic books, as in all great mythology, is the conflict between good and evil. In comic books, the principle tensions were between super heros and super villains, and the question that always vexed me was that following: what makes someone endowed with exceptional skills and power tilt their hand in favour of good or evil?
On that subject, Spidermans' uncle Ben made the following statement: "With great power comes great responsibility".
Not a novel concept, but seemingly a difficult one for many people to grasp. In today's Gospel passage, Jesus criticizes the abuse of power on a number of levels. How sad that Herod, a political figure who should have been just was instead so corrupt. How sad that the Pharisees, religious leaders who should have been moral were instead so conniving. How sad that Jerusalem should have been so obstinate and hard-hearted.
This is important for us to consider during our Lenten journey. Whether we like it or not, I can almost guarantee that someone looks up to each and every one of us. Each and every one of us has power, whether we acknowledge it or not. That means that each and every one of us has a responsibility.
Jesus, among the truly great men and women in history, decided to use his power for good. Will we decide to do the same?
My sermon for this Sunday was based on Luke 13:31-35.
Click here to download the podcast.
No comments:
Post a Comment