Daniel 12:1-3 / Hebrews 10:11-14, 18 / Mark 13:24-32
It is said that the world is a stage and we are all actors.
That is of course just an analogy, because there is a big difference between the drama of the real world and the drama in the movie world.
If we were an actor in a movie, we will get to look at the script, the role we have to play, what the story is about and how it ends.
Generally speaking, a good movie is not just about action and romance and a happy ending. A good movie has a hopeful ending.
Because a good movie rekindles hope for a troubled humanity, hope in a dark reality, and hope for a glorious eternity.
We would like to act in those kind of movies, especially if we are acting the part of the good guys who initially had to go through a rough patch but persevered and overcame the odds and are victorious in the end. And maybe get to win Oscars and awards too.
But the drama of the real world is not like that of the movie world. In a movie, the action, the thrills and the spills last for about two hours and then in the end it is a happy ending.
But in reality, the troubles and the struggles of life don’t last for two hours. It can be anything from two months to two years or more.
In the gospel, Jesus described a scene that looks like something from an action movie or a science-fiction movie. He tells about a time of distress, a darkened sun as well as a darkened moon, falling stars and the heavens in some kind of turmoil.
These descriptions give an uneasiness to say the least, and on the other end, it may be frightening enough to make us look for some kind of religious security.
But like in a movie, all these will pass and make way for the glorious and mighty coming of our Saviour and His angels, and everything will be made right and vindicated.
It will be a glorious and happy ending. All the evil and bad guys are destroyed and the good guys live on happily ever after.
All that sounds good, like a movie with a happy ending. But the drama of the real world is different from the drama of the movie world.
We all have tasted the bitterness of the troubles and struggles of life. Our faith gets shaken, our hope gets darkened, our love gets weakened. Illness and sickness ravage us physically, and worry and fear weigh us down emotionally and mentally.
At times we wish we were like those superheroes in the movies who seem to be able to rise above and overcome the troubles and dangers that the world faces.
Talking about superheroes, last week saw the passing on of the comic book writer, Stan Lee, who created the Marvel superheroes Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spiderman, Iron Man, the Avengers, Black Panther.
One interesting point in his superhero creations is that he created all his superheroes with some vulnerabilities in each of them.
He said this of his superheroes:
• I thought that it would be great to do superheroes that have some kind of life problems that anybody would have.
• No one has a perfect life. Everybody has something that he wishes was not the way it is.
• Just because you have superpowers doesn’t mean your love life will be perfect. I don’t think superpowers automatically means there can’t be any personality problems, family problems or even money problems. I just tried to write characters who are human beings who also have superpowers.
In that sense, Stan Lee made the connection between the real world and the movie world. So for all the action and the drama in movies like The Avengers, Spiderman, Hulk, Ironman there are those aspects of vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
And then we can understand that the movie superheroes are also just human beings with some kind of superpowers.
We too are human beings and we too have a kind of superpower. We have that superpower of prayer that keeps our faith firm, our hope alive and our love burning.
It is with that power of prayer that will keep us going in the troubles and turmoil of life, and keep us loving when evil and bad people seem to be overwhelming.
Yes, with the superpower of prayer we will endure and persevere till we see the saving power of Jesus. And we will also be able to help others to endure and persist and believe that the promise of Jesus to save us will never pass away.
Life is certainly not like a movie, but like a good and inspiring movie, the happy ending is that Jesus will be there waiting for us.
So let us keep praying, let us keep loving, let us keep believing and let us keep hoping for that glorious and happy ending.