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Spider-Man
3
A
Gospel Message
For the World
Of More and Better Gadgets
May 13, 2007
By Philip D. Ropp
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Perhaps the most interesting thing about the Book
of Acts is the fact
that there is so little in our religious life that has actually changed
since the earliest days of the Church. When we look around us and
observe how truly different the physical and political world is today
compared to the world of the apostles, it is astounding to realize how
very much the same as us the people are that populate that world.
The timeless character of the Scriptures is not the result of their
divine inspiration, but rather because the human condition remains so
constant despite the passage of eons and ages of time. This is
why the Gospel message remains so powerful. Humanity remains that
leopard that cannot change its spots, and so our need for the saving
grace of Christ remains unchanged regardless of advances in science and
technology. "Progress" is an illusion; we merely surround
ourselves with more and better gadgets.
Curiously, there are those times and circumstances
in which these more and better gadgets are employed to "tell the old,
old story" in new and different ways. The latest example of this
can be seen in the theaters right now in the somewhat unlikely form of Spider-Man 3: The Struggle Within. To
those of you who have spent the last week on the moon, let me inform
you that this film has just redefined the meaning of "summer
blockbuster." In its first 6 days of release, Spider-Man 3 grossed an all-time
record box office take of $373 million. To put this in perspective, I
looked up the unadjusted gross for Gone
With The Wind, and it is $198 million in 68 years. Mind
boggling, isn't it?
Now, our girls, Elizabeth and Martha, got caught up
in the advertising frenzy that accompanies the release of major motion
pictures, and have been dropping not too subtle hints about how much
they would like to see this movie for the past few weeks. On
Friday and Saturday nights, the FX network ran Spider-Mans one and two,
and they were glued to the TV both nights. In fact, I sat and
watched number two with them on Saturday night and found myself
intrigued with a scene near the end of the movie in which Spider-Man sacrifices his own life to save the
occupants of a runaway commuter train. Shooting webs from his
wrists which attach to the nearby buildings, and holding on with all of
his spider strength, the erstwhile Spidey ends up in a perfect pose of
crucifixion and seems to expire as he brings the juggernaut train to a
stop in the nick of time. The passengers grab him as he is about
to fall forward into oblivion, and pass his lifeless body over the
crowd in a series of images that recall the descent from the
cross. There is a even a gash on our fallen hero's side that
brings to mind the lancing of our savior by Longinus the
centurion. Unlike the most recent Hollywood treatments of
religious themes, this scene was done with respect and was touching,
with no hint of mockery. Even when Spider-Man opens his
eyes and, to the delight of the crowd, returns to the land of living,
there is an air of reverence and a feeling of respect for what is being
represented. Hard to do with comic book characters.
I never was much of one for comic books, even
as a child, but give me Spider-Man as a type of Christ, and
you have my interest. I looked up several reviews of the
new film and discovered the Christian movie critics were both delighted
and amazed at the thematic content of Spider-Man 3. It
seems that Sam Raimi, the man behind the Spider-Man movie franchise,
planned his assault against evil by establishing the Christian themes
of redemption, salvation and the triumph of good over evil in the first
film. In the second, he elaborated on this and pushed the
envelope with the symbolic crucifixion/resurrection
scene. Knowing that the third movie was the last in the series,
he pulled out the stops. Even the more secular and cynical
reviewers could find little fault with the action and special effects,
choosing to mostly ignore the religious aspects. This resulted in
the nation's movie houses being jammed with delighted patrons who, in
turn, spread the word to their friends and the end result was the
biggest opening week for any film -- ever.
So I didn't let on to my daughters that I had
my own motives for seeing the movie on Sunday afternoon, and I
shamelessly let them think old dad was quite the hero for suggesting
that we see Spider-Man 3 at the one o'clock matinee. I even
assuaged my own guilt at this by coughing up an extra fiver for candy
and a soft drink.
On no level did Spider-Man 3 disappoint. The
actors knew their characters and played them to perfection, the
technical aspects and special effects were employed in such a way that
the action sequences were intense and flawlessly executed with little
in the way of gratuitous violence, and the story telling was well above
the level of the namesake comic book. The various Christian
themes of redemption, salvation and self sacrifice from the earlier
films were augmented by a struggle between good and evil that expanded
into the difficult areas of the sinful aspects of human nature and
demonic possession.
The demonic entity is played by a creeping
alien intelligence from a meteorite that is capable of attaching itself
to an individual -- in this case our hero, Peter Parker and his
Spider-Man alter ego -- and amplifying negative emotions into evil
behavior. When the black suited and alien possessed Spider-Man
comes to grips with his situation, he seeks solace in a pouring rain
sitting beneath a cross atop the steeple of a Catholic church. As
the camera pans around the dizzying heights, we see Spider-Man kneeling
and deeply absorbed in prayer. Easily the film's most moving
scene. Inside the
church, his nemesis, a young man named Eddie Brock, who has been in
competition for the same job as Parker at the Daily Bugle newspaper,
dips his fingers in Holy Water and kneels before a life-size crucifix
and proceeds to pray to God for the death of Peter Parker.
The Lord is, of course, having none of this. Parker, in the guise
of the black-suited Spider-Man enters the church's
belfry and when he accidentally rings the church bell, the vibration
miraculously frees him from the alien demon entity, which in turn
possesses
Brock. When the alien is able to feed on the negative
energy of Brock's own inherent wicked intentions, he quickly morphs
into the
ultimately evil supervillain "Venom," and the story begins to move
towards its inevitable climax.
There are two other storylines involving villains,
one involving Parker's lifelong friend Harry, who is duped into
assuming his dead
father's insane legacy as the new "Green Goblin." The other deals
with the "Sandman," a genetically altered, radioactive silicone monster
that begins and ends the film as the smalltime thug that murdered
Parker's Uncle Ben in the beginning of the first film. This was
the impetus for Parker to assume the mantle of Spider-Man, and when
superhero and supervillain come to peace and understanding at the end
of the third film, it neatly wraps up both the film and the
series. The theme of both of these subplots revolves around
betrayal, conflict, jealously and estrangement, followed by repentance,
forgiveness, redemption and peace. And so the movie ends with not
only a "feel good" ending, but more importantly, the good feeling is
for all the right reasons.
While one movie, more or less, won't have much
impact on a culture that has seemingly come to eschew all things
Christian, it is, nonetheless, nice to see that someone in Hollywood
has the courage and the creativity to present ultimate and
timeless Christian values within the context of our world of more
and
better gadgets. And there is certainly at least a modicum of hope
to be found in the fact that the movie all the kids want to see this
summer is exactly the one that they should. And while the world
that we live in is vastly different from that of the apostles, we've
got to believe that Paul and Barnabas and all of our ancient brethren
must take no small satisfaction in knowing that even Spider-Man
needs the saving grace of Jesus Christ. And it is this that truly
makes him a super hero.
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Acts
15:1-2, 22-29
Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders
about this question.
The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The apostles and the elders, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”
Ps
67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Rev
21:10-14, 22-23
The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
I saw no temple in the city
for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gave it light,
and its lamp was the Lamb.
Jn
14:23-29
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”
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