Spider-Man: Homecoming
(Spoiler Alert: A small scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming will be discussed here).
Have you seen the updated version of Spider-Man that recently came out on DVD? It’s pretty awesome! The visual effects were amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, but a particular scene struck me.
Peter Parker was just getting started as a superhero. He was indeed superhero material — muscular and able to climb up tall buildings with his bare hands. But here’s the thing. Peter had a dorky costume. That changed when Tony Stark (a.k.a. Ironman) gave him a high-tech suit with a talking computer.
Tony asked Peter to keep it low-key. After all, even with superpowers, Peter was still a kid. But Spider-Man couldn’t help himself. When people almost died on a ferry because Peter had to be a hero, Tony Stark had a word with Peter and asked for the suit back.
Peter Parker was distraught. He said, “This is all I have. I am nothing without this suit.”
That struck me.
Sure, the newer suit had 500 settings for his web-thingee and a highly advanced heads-up display. But even without the suit, Peter Parker was still Spider-Man. He was still the strong but kind-hearted superhero who could swing through the buildings of NYC like nobody’s business.
Many times in our lives, we engage in an internal conversation similar to what Peter Parker had with Tony Stark. We also say…
“This is all I have. I am nothing without my work as a lawyer.”
“This is what defines me. I am nothing without my spouse.”
“This is what I live for. I am nothing without my advocacy work.”
Is this true? Does our job, spouse, or good works solely define us? Are we nothing without these things?
Of course not!
Even without these, we are worth more than we can imagine because we are sons and daughters of the Living God. Our relationship with our father defines us.
St. Paul said in Galatians: “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”
Did you read that? We are the heirs of Abraham. We are the Children of God. This is our identity. And this is enough.
