Not Superman

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/05/texas-hill-country-flooding-updates-kerrville-camp-mystic/

Acts 16:25-40

25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 All at once there was such a violent earthquake that it shook the prison’s foundations. The doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the open doors of the prison, he thought the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted loudly, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”

29 The jailer called for some lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He led them outside and asked, “Honorable masters, what must I do to be rescued?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your entire household.” 32 They spoke the Lord’s word to him and everyone else in his house. 33 Right then, in the middle of the night, the jailer welcomed them and washed their wounds. He and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his home and gave them a meal. He was overjoyed because he and everyone in his household had come to believe in God.

35 The next morning the legal authorities sent the police to the jailer with the order “Release those people.”

36 So the jailer reported this to Paul, informing him, “The authorities sent word that you both are to be released. You can leave now. Go in peace.”

37 Paul told the police, “Even though we are Roman citizens, they beat us publicly without first finding us guilty of a crime, and they threw us into prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? No way! They themselves will have to come and escort us out.” 38 The police reported this to the legal authorities, who were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 They came and consoled Paul and Silas, escorting them out of prison and begging them to leave the city.

40 Paul and Silas left the prison and made their way to Lydia’s house where they encouraged the brothers and sisters. Then they left Philippi.

 

A new Superman movie comes out this week. I can remember seeing the 1978 movie with Christopher Reeve at the Bay Cinema 4 in my hometown- I was seven years old. Superman has always been my favorite super hero. I have seen every Superman movie, the good ones and the bad. I rewatch trailers on YouTube when I need to feel inspired. But not the new movie- in fact Miles and I ran out of the auditorium the other day when it started. I’m sure it inspires panic in some, but we don’t want the movie spoiled!

Superman was created by a couple of 20 somethings from Brooklyn, NY during the Great Depression. First published in 1938, the stories lifted up people who were suffering and in need of both escape from current struggles and hope for a better reality. He is all-powerful, a god-like presence in the world who protects and saves. He can do literally anything, can show up at just the right moment, can somehow hear the cries of those in need and deliver them. What makes Superman stand out for me is that he is the embodiment of hope and a better future. He understands his mission as lifting people up- inspiring them.

Our scripture story from Acts takes place in Philippi, a Roman colony in Greece where Paul and Silas were sent by the Holy Spirit. After a few days, they find themselves outside of the city the city walls, where a woman named Lydia and several other women met for prayer. Lydia listens to Paul’s witness and is moved. She and her entire household are baptized- the first converts to Christianity on the European continent- and Lydia’s house becomes a sort of home base for Paul and Silas and their ministry. Walking through the city, Paul becomes annoyed with a fortune teller whose spirit announces to everyone: “They are proclaiming a way of salvation to you!” Paul calls the spirit out of the woman, an enslaved person. When her owners find out their revenue stream is gone, they accuse Paul and Silas, and the two missionaries find themselves in jail.

That night, as they are singing and praying, sharing their witness, an earthquake destroys the jail. The doors are open, and the guard assumes everyone has escaped- he is ready to take his own life. “Don’t hurt yourself!,” Paul shouts. We’re all still here! The jailor, amazed, asks what he must do to be saved. “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved- you and your entire household,” Paul replies. And salvation comes to another family in Philippi. 

Two days ago, flood waters tore through Kerr county here in Texas, including the grounds of Camp Mystic, a place close to Christy’s heart. Christy has spent roughly a third of her life at Mystic as a camper or counselor. She was very close to the owners of the camp. Once I drove there to pick her up after a couple of weeks and she proudly introduced me to everyone and showed off the camp. She was alight with joy. She often describes Camp Mystic as a place of serenity and peace in a hostile world- a place to escape. But even Mystic wasn’t impervious to the brokenness of the world. Many campers have died and others are still missing, beloved staff are lost, and hearts across Texas are broken. 

In the movies, Superman would arrive in Philippi at just the right time to rescue people from the earthquake. In the movies, Superman would arrive at just the right time in Kerr County to rescue the children and staff from the floods. In the movies, Superman never has time to offer what really leads to healing and well-being for the long term: the gift of presence. There is always another person to be rescued, another disaster to bring under control. But here is the reality, as painful as it is for the eight year old inside of me to hear: Superman isn’t real. There isn’t a hero we can call who will show up immediately, always do the right thing, and deliver us from whatever calamity we are facing. What we have is faith: faith in a Messiah who has all power, faith in a God who has delivered, but faith doesn’t promise that we will never suffer. God’s power to save is revealed in first responders and staff who step in to the danger to deliver others. 

While Jesus never promises to prevent storms from coming, Jesus is a presence in the midst of the storm and has power to bring peace and calm in the midst of it. Jesus promises to never leave nor forsake us. Divine love is perfect, never ending, and we cannot be separated from it. Superhuman, god-like powers do not bring wholeness and restoration in the say way as words of love and compassion. Those are the real superpowers. 

It was the words of Paul and Silas that led to the conversion of Lydia’s and the jailor’s households. In the face of tragedies like Camp Mystic or the scary diagnosis a loved one just received, or the uncertain times we live in, the best we can do is pray and offer comforting words grounded in good theology. Our tendency is to try to explain the unexplainable, to find some meaning in the suffering by sharing our limited understanding. Let’s not do that. Every post or comment saying something like “God’s plan” or “God needed this” or “God did this because” will only bring further harm. God does not “take” our loved ones when they die; God welcomes them into paradise. God offers salvation and perfect love for us all. God is not angry and vengeful, awaiting the opportunity to punish our wrongdoing by claiming innocent lives. God offers us comfort and peace, strength for today and hope for tomorrow, as the hymn says.

I hope the new Superman movie is good- but it will only be a two-hour escape from the hurts of our lives and our world. We live in a world torn apart by sin; and because of human sin, our relationship with God and the created order was broken. This brokenness hurts God’s heart, and we long for a day when things will be set right. We know we are not there yet. But the love of God in Christ still endures despite the brokenness we see and experience. The words we offer to each other and our neighbors offer healing and hope. And even more than our words, our presence- being there for each other when we suffer- has tremendous power. I know our congregation will want to participate generously with recovery efforts following the floods in the Hill Country, and when the Horizon Texas Conference shares next steps in the coming days we will make those available. Generosity, loving words, compassionate hearts- these are the superpowers available to us through our Savior Jesus Christ.

In a moment we will gather around this sacred table to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. Jesus instituted this meal as a means of grace- a reminder of his constant presence with us and his love for all of humanity. As we kneel or stand at the railing, we bring all of our worry, our fear, our pain and grief, our joy and hope in the Lord’s promises. We offer all of them to Christ, and he receives them all. We are all welcome. To prepare ourselves to receive this gift, let us prepare our hearts and mind first by confessing our need for God’s love.

WE CONFESS OUR NEED FOR GOD

All: Almighty God, we confess our need of you.

One: We take so much of our lives for granted, but in the end we cannot rely on our own strength or that of others.

All: Almighty God, we confess our need of you.
One: We have enjoyed the blessings of self-reliance, but in the end we cannot rely on our own selves to do what is right or good.

 

All: Almighty God, we confess our need of you.
One: We have built cities, and levees, and power grids to overcome the power of nature,
but in the end we cannot rely on even the best things we have built.

 

All: Almighty God, we confess our need of you.
We can rely only on you.
Into your hands we commend our lives,
for you are our Rock and our Redeemer.
Have mercy on us, Lord. Have mercy.
One: When we confess our weakness, God makes us strong. When we confess our sins, God makes us righteous through Jesus Christ.

 

All: When we confess our need for God, God draws near. May the peace of God strengthen, cleanse, and hold us,
now and always. Amen.