THE SUPER IN MAN

Let's eavesdrop on this conversation between the creators of "Superman," "The Twilight" saga, and "Batman:"

"Superman is the greatest of all superheroes. He's super strong, cuts through air as a bullet and pierces one's being with laser eyes," says Jerry Siegel, echoing his partner Joe Shuster's argument.

"He may be that, but he's far from possessing the charisma and powers of my immortal vampire," counters Stephenie Meyer.

Bob Kane remarks, "But your characters are not human. Batman is flesh and blood, yet he triumphs over evil because of his passion for justice, sheer intelligence and because he is rich and tinkers with technology."

Which super person appeals to you?

I once swooned over Superman because his movie persona in Christopher Reeve simply behaved heroic. I hate vampire stories so I've never attempted to read them. Batman seemed human and vulnerable, yes; but he just had an ax to grind for the murder of his parents.

Well, we view these super beings for their entertainment value, a temporary escape from the conundrum of our earthly woes.

But come to think of it, we too identify with them in a big way---this need to be needed, validated, elevated, exalted, immortalized. That's why Hollywood has flooded us with sequels and prequels of the same. Why do millions of young people all over the world clamor for more of Robert Pattinson's vampire or Harry Potter's Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

Could it be because it is in our nature to crave power and soar where no one has gone before? To want to be in control and have no one lording it over us?

Very reminiscent of this garden scene: Eve biting into the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She didn't do it because the fruit seemed yummy, but because she imagined she could be as wise as God.

"For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5), Satan tempted.

It does sound like: "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." (Famous words from William Ernest Henley's "Invictus"); or Frank Sinatra's "My Way." Precisely my motto in my younger days when I didn't have Jesus in my life.

I felt I didn't need to answer to anybody or needed help from any one. "Kaya ng powers ko, kasi magaling ako!" So much like Eve, aspiring to be like God.

It's that "SUPER" in me! Super-sized ego says, "I have to fight my way to get what I want. I am my own man."

How many of us have sung "May Way," only to discover that motto was leading us to hell? Jesus is the Way!

"Apart from me, you can do nothing," Jesus says in John 15:5. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit."

Either He is Lord or you are Lord. He is Il Divo, the Mega Star; and we're just the back-up singers.

It's sobering to be reminded that we're not the main act. More to the point, we are but dust.

"The Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life, and man became a human being" (Genesis 2:7).

I've very recently witnessed the remains of a loved one cremated in just more than an hour, his ashes packed in a bag no larger than a purse which then went into an urn, the ashes' permanent resting place.

Our cemeteries prove that once robust, healthy and strong individuals meet their end somehow; and what remains testify to their mortality. Life is a breath, here today and gone tomorrow.

A dictator, once powerful and feared, met his end while as a rat he hid in a foul sewer---hunted down by mobs.

What's sobering too is, in spite of us being dust, He breathed His life unto us. We are alive only by the grace of God. The Great Potter is everything; Harry Potter is nothing.

So even if our dusty being returns to earth, we are assured of one thing: our spirit, made alive through our faith in Christ, goes back to Him---for the super (note, in lower case) in man to dwell with his Creator forever and ever.

Power? That's the least of our concerns. Part of believing in Jesus comes empowerment anyway. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." David and Joseph and Peter and Paul, as well as those who follow the Way today, have proven this to be true in their lives.

That's power greater than any human power combined!

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15: 7-9)