Recently my wife and I have been catching up on Marvel Universe movies and series we’d missed the past couple of years. We’ve zoomed through Wakanda Forever, Hawkeye, Moon Knight. Up next is Black Widow, Shang-Chi, She Hulk. And when Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 comes to the big screen next month? You better believe we’ll be there.

When I dove into scripture to prepare this message it was hard not to get excited. Because when it comes to surprise heroes, flying creatures from other realms, supernatural strength, earthshaking action, bad guys getting their just desserts, and unexpected sequels?

Like a good Marvel plotline – this Easter tale has it all.

As with many memorable narratives there is a prequel. The backstory goes something like this. Religious elites and government empire types had been trying to get rid of our Hero for years. Every time danger was near, he got away.

Sometimes the Hero escaped with words. Other times it was a surprise getaway. And every-so-often? Divine intervention was the name of the game.

Realizing they couldn’t take our Hero out on their own the religious elites and government empire types cut a deal. An insider on our Hero’s team is what they’d need. From there it was a bribe, a betrayal, a trial, a death.

And that was that.
Hitjob complete.
Our Hero gone.

Usually this means –

Story over.
End scene.
Credits roll.

The screen goes dark.

Right?

But wait. This time there is more.

Story
Amid nothingness the atmosphere shifts slightly. What’s that in the distance? Can you see it? There, far, far away. Horizon. And with it the first glimmer of light. A new dawn appears.

As darkness dissipates two women enter. Women? In a superhero story from two millennia ago?

From divinely inspired words written by men?
From a society even more patriarchal than ours?

The Marvel universe has given us leading women for decades, with characters like Storm, Captain Marvel, the Scarlett Witch. When Marvel breaks new ground, celebrating the strengths of women, or racial and ethnic minorities, or orientations of all kinds, well, it often creates controversy.

At least at first.

But this story? Our sacred texts stirred up that controversy long ago.

These leading women, Mary Magdalene and another mysterious Mary, then walk towards our Hero’s tomb. It is they who first experience what happens next.

Without warning the earth begins to quake. There are tremors all around. Strong ones. They didn’t know it yet, but so much of what Mary and Mary thought they knew was about to get rocked, changed forevermore.

Then, in the distance, more light. Its source unclear. Is it a meteor? A falling star? It gets larger, closer. To the two Marys it appears as lightning, descending from above.

Their eyes slowly adjust to the new brightness.

And then they realize. Whoa!

The radiance originates from an angel of the Lord.

The angel looks around, gathers their bearings.

They are here for the big job.
They know just what to do.

The angel spots their target.
The angel advances on it.

There it is.
That’s the tomb.

With the strength of Thor, the angel rolls a massive stone from the entrance. It took only the flick of a wrist.

The scene makes clear –

A grave robber didn’t do it.
A sympathetic soldier didn’t either.
And it wasn’t a band of guerrilla disciples.

It was the angel who had descended from on high.

Heavy lifting now complete, the angel pops up on the boulder, sits on it, surveys their surroundings. They see two government empire types. The empire types are there to keep the Hero’s followers from stealing the body. Because if they did? A fake claim could be made that our Hero was back. That task, of fraud prevention duty, would be infinitely more difficult now.

The angel sat, looking down on the weaponized machinations of empire there to keep our Hero down. Perhaps the angel said something to the guards, having a little fun at their expense.

Hey Dudes!
‘Sup!

Paralyzed in fear, the guards fell to the ground. This time it was the empire who rolled over, as if dead.

The two Marys watch the action, trying to decipher what it meant. Looking to provide clarity the angel approaches. Phase two of the mission begins.

Do not be afraid, the angel shares.
You *just* missed our Hero.
Go, tell the men.

The men?

The leading women couldn’t help but crack a grin. You mean the group of guys that swore allegiance to our Hero and are hiding in fear?

You mean the group of guys known to –

Deny,
Betray,
Doubt?

The two Marys were always cleaning up the messes these guys made. They’d been doing it for years. They were now being asked to do it, once again.

It would have been difficult,
for the two Marys,
not to roll their eyes.

Never ones to shirk responsibility, the women entered the tomb, looked around.

Yeah, it’s empty.
Our Hero is not here.
Better tell the guys.

The angel pipes up again.

Our Hero has been raised.
He has gone on ahead.
Here are the coordinates.
Meet our Hero there.

And with that the angel departs.
Back from whence they came.

The leading women were ecstatic.

Oh my Gosh!
Our Hero is back!
Better tell the guys!

There was –

fear,
joy,
more.

Mary and Mary raced to share the good news with the team.

The plot then twists, once more. On their way, along the path, our Hero appears.

Mary and Mary lock eyes with him from a distance. Our Hero yells –

Greetings!
Hello!

The leading women approach our Hero, grab his feet, thrilled he was physically there with them, once again. And they worshipped him.

The two Marys knew, in that moment, they were in the presence of the risen Lord. The religious elites and the government empire types had been trying to get rid of our Hero for years. This time they thought they had him. Once more, their efforts were in vain.

Jesus tells Mary and Mary –

Go!
Tell the guys!
Here are the coordinates.
I’ll meet you all there!

With this, the two Marys became the first post-resurrection evangelists to see and share about the risen Lord.

End scene.
The screen darkens.
Credits roll.

Like any good Marvel movie, you best not leave the theatre just yet. Because this story too has a post credit clip. The teaser gives you a glimpse of what is to come.

The screen darkens, again.
Three words appear.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Dot.
Dot.
Dot.

Today
This partnership, of religious-based oppression coupled with the machinations of empire is an age-old story. Jesus experienced it firsthand. It has ebbed and flowed throughout history ever since. The partnership is designed to keep some people down and benefit others. It is sadly alive and well today. These days the partnership is best known for being against lots of types of people, including being against –

Women,
LGBTQ+,
Transgender,
The Black,
The Brown,
Immigrants, even
Children.

But that’s not what Jesus is about.
That is not how it should be.

For we are called to care for, love and serve our neighbors.
No matter who those neighbors may be.

Like today’s Easter tale, some of our leading characters come from these groups.

We’ve got to stop trying to remove them from our stories.
We’ve got to stop trying to remove them from our history books.

When you get down about the times we live in – sometimes I do –

Let us remember the two Marys. For it is often the overlooked, the belittled, the marginalized that are the stars of God’s show.

Let us remember the angel. They who casually sat atop the rolled away stone, beside an empty grave. They who watched the empire tasked to keep Jesus gone just fade away.

Like a good Marvel movie, even when the end credits roll it is never quite over. For Christ’s story is one of renewed hope. It is a promise that help is on the way. No matter how much darkness is around.

For Christ’s story is –

TO BE CONTINUED.

Dot.
Dot.
Dot.

Let us remember our Savior, who meets us on the journey. Today and every day. It is then our Hero tells us, triumphantly –

I’m back!
Go, tell the others.

Like any good Marvel Movie, it takes more than one person to save the world.

We’re not Avengers.
Or the Justice League.

We are, instead, called to be Guardians of the Galaxy. We do this work in the name of Christ. For we are not religious oppressors or tools of empire.

We are on God’s team.

Can you see it?
A glimmer of light!
A new dawn appears. Amen.