With Great Power--June 12, 2025

With Great Power--June 12, 2025

[Jesus said to his disciple:] "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you." (John 14:16-17)

Call it the Spider-Man Rule--you know, that recurring principle from Peter Parker's wise Uncle Ben. "With great power comes great responsibility," he says to the young man who will become Spider-Man. And over the course of several movies, various TV cartoon series, and countless comic books, the web-slinging superhero comes to terms with the truth that he's been given "great power"... which therefore calls forth from him "great responsibility." 

Now, in the case of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, the "great power" is the amazing strength (proportional to a spider's strength at a human scale), preternatural agility and awareness of danger (his "spider-sense"), and in some versions, even the ability to make webs shoot out of his wrists (because, of course). In the comics, ol' Peter Parker didn't have a choice in getting these powers--he was bitten by a radioactive spider (again, makes total comic book sense) and gained all the accompanying powers.  But the character comes to see this change, not as a curse, but as a gift--as a gift that does indeed empower him, as much as it calls for a particular response from him.  In comic book logic, if you've been bitten by a radioactive spider, you gain spider-related abilities--and you are called to use those abilities for the sake of good, rather than harm. The power is never for yourself or your own crass advantage, but for the sake of others.  That's what Uncle Ben would have said, anyhow.

One of the things I have always loved about that sort of comic-book logic is the notion that the powers Spider-Man gets aren't random: they are a direct result of the particular thing--radioactive spider venom--that got into his bloodstream. In other words, in the logic of comics, the spider bite makes you like a spider, but does not make you sprout eagle wings, because that doesn't fit.  If you get hit by a bolt of comic book lightning, you become The Flash, not Beast Boy.  The power that fills you has a particular character to it, and it shapes who and what you become--at least in the pages of the comic books.

And maybe also in the community of Jesus, too--because Jesus is convinced that the particular character of the Spirit who empowers us will also shape who and what we become as well.  In these verses from John's gospel, which many of us heard this past Sunday, Jesus promises that his followers will be given "the Spirit of truth" as an "Advocate" like Jesus is for us.  And while the Spirit's presence within us certainly is empowering, that power is not aimless, but points in a certain direction.  The Holy Spirit--whom Jesus also names "the Spirit of truth"--has a certain character, a certain "personality," you might say, and will move us, shape us, and direct us in ways that fit with that character.  Since this is the Spirit "of truth" that we are talking about, we will be shaped more and more into people who tell the truth, live with integrity, and act with honesty toward others.  We will not just settle for listening only to the voices who already tell us what we want to hear, or for just accepting whatever the loudest person in the room says. It means we will resist giving into propaganda or passing it along (like unchecked memes and conspiracy theories on social media).  It means we will do some research and check facts before we pass something along, whether on a screen or in whispers of gossip to people around us.  It means we will stop ourselves from just believing the narrative that fits with our preconceptions, but will take the time to learn the real facts, backstory, and context of things rather than forcing facts to fit our existing presuppositions and perspectives.  We will become people who care about telling and listening to the truth, because the One who fills us is none other than "the Spirit of truth."  See--it's Spider-Man logic all over again.

For that matter, we could look at the kinds of character traits and virtues that the New Testament calls "the fruit of the Spirit."  In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul says that the Spirit's indwelling presence in our lives will bring forth things like "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control" (see Galatians 5:22 and following).  And the point there is the same as with the truth--because of who the Spirit is, our character will become more like the Spirit's own love, joy, peace, patience, and all the rest.  If the spider's bite leads Peter Parker to become "Spider-Man," then the Spirit's indwelling of us will make us like the Spirit: truth-tellers, authentically loving, joyful peacemakers, and more.  The power of the Spirit is not like a genie's power, for us to harness for our own agendas or wish-lists, but rather comes with a certain kind of responsibility, and a certain direction in our lives, which come from the character of the Spirit: truthful, loving, creative, and bold.  To be a disciple of Jesus, then, is to let that particular Spirit make us into that kind of likeness, which turns out to be more and more like Jesus.

More often than I would wish, I hear Respectable Religious Leaders invoke the Holy Spirit for things that sure don't sound like Jesus and don't look very much like the fruit of the Spirit, either.  When agendas marked by cruelty and greed, domination and avarice, boastfulness and apathy toward the needs of others are promoted as God's will or blessed by Christ, it sure sounds to me like we have lost the plot.  And when loud voices around us stop caring about what is true in the service of what helps them hold onto power or status, and then claim divine favor when they do it, it is a sure sign that they are not listening to "the Spirit of truth." With great power (from the Spirit) will always come the great calling and responsibility (enabled by the Spirit) to more deeply embody the character of Christ.

But you and I have been filled with the Spirit, and that very same Spirit is at work right now, with a power that is making us into new creations with the courage and grace to love like Jesus.  What do you suppose that might look like... today?

Lord Jesus, fill us with your Spirit anew, and allow us to become more fully like you.