Greetings siblings in Christ,
Recently, I went with a friend and saw the newest Superman film. I have never been the biggest DC comic fan. I was expecting the film to be gloomy and dark. This has been the tone of the more recent DC film/tv adaptations since director Zach Snyder rebooted DC as the DC Extended universes back in 2013 with the release of the Man of Steel. Thus, I was not expecting much when I sat down in the theater to watch Jame Gunn’s Superman. I assumed that I would see the same dark gritty tone, with a plot full of dark and mature themes. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. Instead James Gunn’s adaptation was a classic tale of good vs evil. The message of the film was simple, and that message was that all people should be treated with dignity and that perhaps kindness is the greatest superpower. Across the internet, many people have labeled this film as being “hopecore,” meaning that it is an uplifting and feel-good content that inspires positivity and hope. And so, for many, this film has stood as a reminder that one can find hope in this world even when sometimes it feels like it is falling apart around us. In the film, Superman himself learns to find hope in the world around him in ordinary human interactions. He learns that being human and growing in his mistakes is his greatest strength.
And so, all he can do is try his best to make good choices and to be kind to others, bringing hope and inspiration to all those around him.
This is a lesson that we too as Christians can find in the “hopecore” that is our Scripture. The Bible is one long story of hope. The Bible’s overarching story is that of God’s faithfulness to God’s people. Even in the midst of our human sinfulness, God never gives up on God’s people. God instead promises to be with the people, and this promise reaches its fullness in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, our hope comes from our Lord, who in his resurrection invites us into new life, and in this new life is a hope for a better future where peace and love prevail. A future where all live together in the kingdom of God. However, until then, we are called to live in this hope, and to work towards this reality. We do this by spreading this hope to the world, by living a life of Christ. One way that we can do this is by being kind to others. Jesus himself calls us to do this! In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. In this story, we learn what it means to be a neighbor, and that is to love our others as we love ourselves. Jesus illustrates this with a parable where a Samaritan is the only person to stop and show compassion to a stranger who has been robbed, beaten, and left alongside the roads. Jesus then tells the law expert who promoted this parable with his question to “Go and do likewise.” So too are we to go and do likewise. Thus, Jesus reminds us that our greatest superpower is kindness and compassion. And so, like Superman, all we can do is try our best to make good choices and to be kind to others, so that we may bring hope and inspiration to all those around us. So, there is indeed hope in this world, and may we all share and live in it together. In the name of Jesus, our strength and our hope, we pray, amen.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
Recently, I went with a friend and saw the newest Superman film. I have never been the biggest DC comic fan. I was expecting the film to be gloomy and dark. This has been the tone of the more recent DC film/tv adaptations since director Zach Snyder rebooted DC as the DC Extended universes back in 2013 with the release of the Man of Steel. Thus, I was not expecting much when I sat down in the theater to watch Jame Gunn’s Superman. I assumed that I would see the same dark gritty tone, with a plot full of dark and mature themes. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. Instead James Gunn’s adaptation was a classic tale of good vs evil. The message of the film was simple, and that message was that all people should be treated with dignity and that perhaps kindness is the greatest superpower. Across the internet, many people have labeled this film as being “hopecore,” meaning that it is an uplifting and feel-good content that inspires positivity and hope. And so, for many, this film has stood as a reminder that one can find hope in this world even when sometimes it feels like it is falling apart around us. In the film, Superman himself learns to find hope in the world around him in ordinary human interactions. He learns that being human and growing in his mistakes is his greatest strength.
And so, all he can do is try his best to make good choices and to be kind to others, bringing hope and inspiration to all those around him.
This is a lesson that we too as Christians can find in the “hopecore” that is our Scripture. The Bible is one long story of hope. The Bible’s overarching story is that of God’s faithfulness to God’s people. Even in the midst of our human sinfulness, God never gives up on God’s people. God instead promises to be with the people, and this promise reaches its fullness in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, our hope comes from our Lord, who in his resurrection invites us into new life, and in this new life is a hope for a better future where peace and love prevail. A future where all live together in the kingdom of God. However, until then, we are called to live in this hope, and to work towards this reality. We do this by spreading this hope to the world, by living a life of Christ. One way that we can do this is by being kind to others. Jesus himself calls us to do this! In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. In this story, we learn what it means to be a neighbor, and that is to love our others as we love ourselves. Jesus illustrates this with a parable where a Samaritan is the only person to stop and show compassion to a stranger who has been robbed, beaten, and left alongside the roads. Jesus then tells the law expert who promoted this parable with his question to “Go and do likewise.” So too are we to go and do likewise. Thus, Jesus reminds us that our greatest superpower is kindness and compassion. And so, like Superman, all we can do is try our best to make good choices and to be kind to others, so that we may bring hope and inspiration to all those around us. So, there is indeed hope in this world, and may we all share and live in it together. In the name of Jesus, our strength and our hope, we pray, amen.
Peace and Blessings, Pastor Ethan Doan
