Brothers and sisters,
I joked with a couple church members this past Sunday that my sermon was nearly going to be two and a half hours long. Not because I was going to write a 50-70 page sermon, but because I was going to propose we all go to the movie theater and just watch the new Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And while the idea of watching a movie as a sermon was a joke, the message of the new Spider-Man movie is not. I remember leaving the theater thinking, “That’ll preach.” So, without spoiling any of the movie, let me give you a brief taste of why this movie’s message is being so well-received.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day takes place after the events of the previous Spider-Man movie, No Way Home. The incredibly short recap of that movie is this. Spider-Man’s secret identity has been outed by one of his enemies, Mysterio, meaning everyone now knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Peter’s friends and family begin to suffer because of that revelation and he tries to fix the problem by having Dr. Strange—a sorcerer—cast a spell to make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. The spell goes awry, all kinds of crazy shenanigans ensue, and at the end of the movie, reality itself is about to be torn apart. So, Peter asks Dr. Strange to cast a new spell—make everyone forget Peter Parker ever existed. Dr. Strange casts the spell, reality is saved, but now Peter is completely and totally alone. No one knows who he is—at all.
Brand New Day picks up from there. At the beginning of the movie, we get to see what Peter’s life looks like now without any of his friends or family. As Spider-Man, he spends all his time taking down villains, cracking cases for the NYPD, and generally being a force for good in NYC. But there’s a stark, sad dichotomy that the movie starts with. Spider-Man, the hero, is beloved; Peter, the person, is forgotten. Spider-Man builds connections; Peter is isolated. Spider-Man gets the key to the city; Peter gets an asbestos-laced apartment. And so, the movie wrestles with several questions.
On the one hand, it asks questions about identity. Peter must decide, “Am I Peter
Parker or am I Spider-Man?” The movie also asks questions about what truth is—who possesses it and how do you responsibly wield it? But the most persistent questions Brand New Day asks are about love and connection. What does it mean to be loved? How do our connections shape our identity? Who do we build connections with, how do you build them, and what happens when we’re disconnected? In the end, the two main assertions the movie makes are, “You don’t have to do this alone,” and “The people who love you, they love you not because you’re special. They love you because you’re you.”
These are the kinds of questions churches should be asking. These are the kinds of things churches should be asserting. We believe in the truth of a God who loves us deeply, simply because we are who we are. We believe in the truth that God is with us, even during difficult times, and has created and molded the church to be a community where people do not have to go through life alone. We should be a place, as well, where the truth is preached—that there is a God who created us all, a Savior who loves humankind so incredibly deeply, and a Holy Spirit that guides us all to live faithfully. So, yes, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will preach.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben