Your Friendly, Neighborhood...

I didn't intend to get stuck on the work of Stan Lee, honestly I didn't. I guess it's just one of the hazards of working with the geek subculture!   This time I'm not looking to talk about a Stan Lee / Jack Kirby character, but rather one that came into being through the collaboration of Lee and Steve Ditko.  I'm talking about a character who some experts believe never would have been given a chance in today's publishing world, where every character is run through test audiences and marketing gurus before they ever see the light of day.  And yet, this character is considered by many to be the flagship character of Marvel Comics.

 I'm referring, of course, to your friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man.

One of the things I love about Spiderman and his alter-ego, Peter Parker, is that his story isn't so much about how he received his powers, but rather about how he decides to use them and the effects it has on his life.   That and the fact that just like most of us, he seems to need to learn things the hard way—despite the loving care of good parental figures and all the advice that comes along with it.  There's a reason that one of the most quoted lines from the series is attributed to Peter's Uncle Ben, "With great power comes great responsibility."

But Peter doesn't use his new-found powers responsibly right off the bat. In the original comic books he seeks to capitalize on them by donning a costume and becoming a television star (stupid arachnid tricks instead of stupid human tricks?)  In the 2002 film, Peter immediately enters a contest to last three minutes in the ring with a professional wrestler.  In both cases, he chooses to stand aside when he could have foiled a robbery—a move that would come back to haunt him when the same villain would victimize and ultimately murder his Uncle Ben.  Only then does Peter begin using his powers for the benefit of others.

Immediately following his baptism—complete with a voice from heaven and the Holy Spirit falling upon him so hard that people actually saw it—the Spirit drives Jesus out into the wilderness.  According to the scripture, Jesus stays out there for 40 days and 40 nights before "the tempter" came to him and, well, tempted away!  There were actually three temptations:  the temptation to turn stones into loaves of bread for Jesus to eat; the temptation to throw himself off the roof of the temple and miss the ground, aka flying (I'm paraphrasing); and the temptation to rule the world.

We have to assume that these were all feats within Jesus's power (ok, I was having fun with the flying thing—the text actually says, "...throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'")  But, like Peter making a buck off his super powers, these were all feats that only benefited himself.  Bread for Jesus to eat, the joy of falling (flying?) and not dying, unadulterated political power...  I imagine that last one would have been the most tempting, actually, since a lot of good might theoretically be done with that kind of political power.  On the other hand, that was the one that came with the price of worshiping the tempter...

In any case, Jesus didn't have to learn the hard way, like Peter Parker—and the rest of us!  Jesus counters every argument and refuses to serve himself.  The tempter leaves and angels suddenly appeared to take care of him.

And then he went out into the world and used his super powers for the benefit of others.

Be good to each other,
Rev. Josh
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The scripture lessons for March 9th—The First Sunday of Lent Year A—are:
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7—Psalm 32—Romans 5:12-19—Matthew 4:1-11