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SuperheroesJanuary 20, 2009Matthew 9:35-10:1 35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." 1He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. Spiderman, Batman, and the Hulk are just a few timeless superheroes that keep making appearances on the big screen. For decades, these superheroes have fought evil and saved countless innocent people from harms way. It's a shame that they only appear on the big screen. Wouldn't it be a great comfort to know that Spiderman is just around the corner when we need him? Let's face it, we could all use a superhero. We could all use someone to swoop down and rescue us when we fell trapped by the problems in our lives. The scripture today reveals the need for a superhero. As Jesus was preaching and teaching, he noticed the pain and turmoil in the crowds he encountered. The scripture describes them as "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus had compassion on the crowds, but knew that he was one man and could not directly attend to each hurting person. He gathered his twelve disciples and commissioned their help to attend to the crowds. In a sense, Jesus gave his disciples the authority to be superheroes, to swoop in and bring hope to a downtrodden people. Have you ever felt harassed and helpless? There are many levels of harassment that we experience. The most common are: telemarketer phone calls; spam emails; the service man that tries to up-sale you when all you need is a standard oil change. Women certainly experience their share of harassment: being honked at when trying to go for a walk; receiving inappropriate and uninvited comments and/or touch; being easily ignored and dismissed. Others feel harassed continuously by our families who want us to live our lives a certain way or who might dismiss our ambitions by saying that we are not capable of following them through. The worst harassment is the harassment that we internalize. Feelings of not being good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, etc. We are truly helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, when we internalize our harasser's actions. There is no doubt that Jesus is our ultimate superhero; however, it is important in this passage to see how Jesus handled the situation at hand. Jesus used his flawed, but faithful disciples to rescue those hurting from their misery. When you find yourself in a troubling situation, who do you call? Who are the people programmed in your speed-dial? Perhaps those people are your superheroes? On the flip side, who has your number programmed into their speed dial? Who depends on you in times of need? Although Jesus is the source of super powers to rescue and save, he has transferred some of his super powers onto us. Jesus has commissioned each one of us to reach out to the "harassed and helpless." Jesus is depending upon us to be superheroes. Will you answer his call? Prayer: Jesus, thank you for rescuing me in my time of need. Give me the strength to reach out and help others in their time of need. May all this be done in your honor and glory. Amen. For more informationRev. Leigh Martin |
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