There is no Superman

We admire heroes. We look up to those whose excellence and apparent perfection gloriously surpass the weaknesses of our dingy and complicated lives.

And then we see them fall: circumstances change and a once hidden flaw becomes a hideous blemish. Some turn away, while others revel in mockery and schadenfreude.

For this reason, some of us no longer even try. We fear flying too high. We shy away from public service and witness. And because of this, the world slips further into darkness and we slide along with it.

In today’s first reading (2 Cor. 1:1-7), St. Paul, one of the greatest heroes of Christendom, literally a worker of miracles, shares the secret of his success:

Affliction and suffering.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion
and the God of all encouragement,
who encourages us in our every affliction,
so that we may be able to encourage
those who are in any affliction
with the encouragement
with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us,
so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.

Paul understands that he is not Superman. He is not the Savior of the world: Christ is.

When Paul is afflicted or even humiliated, it only demonstrates that the power of his ministry rests ultimately not on his own strengths, but on the infinite power of God poured forth in Jesus Christ crucified and raised.

It also brings Paul closer to those who hear his message, for we are all mortals of flesh and blood: with limitations, weaknesses and even afflictions.

so that we may be able to encourage
those who are in any affliction
with the encouragement
with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.

As Paul did, so we too must do.

One way or another, we are all weak and afflicted. We are not Superman. We depend totally and absolutely on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, upon God the Father of compassion, and upon the unseen working of the Holy Spirit.

Our society needs people to step up to the challenges that face it. The Church needs people to step up to the tasks of evangelizing and caring mandated by Christ.

We – you and I - must do this: not based on any strength of our own, but always with the truth, the love, and the strength given to us by Christ.

I am not perfect, but Christ is. There is no Superman, but Jesus is the Savior. I am weak and afflicted, but the Lord rules and he calls us to serve.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ