Elisha and the Jars of Oil
2 Kings 4:1-7
5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
2 Kings 4:5-6
In the Justice League, Superman is highly regarded as the most powerful of all. In all adaptations of this fictional character, much has been made of his incredible powers, superior to that of any normal human being. I’m sure this will sound familiar, “Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Superman!”
Superman first came into the public eye in the 1930’s. Through the years, many different authors have added on to his story, augmenting his powers more and more, and expanding on his mythology as the needs arise.
It doesn’t hurt that his powers supposedly come from the light of the sun. That means he can never be depleted nor defeated, as long as he has access somehow to sunbeams. That’s bad news for villains, and ensures that in all his storylines, good will always prevail.
Other characters have also since arisen, both good and bad, with flashier powers, more incredulous abilities, and even shinier costumes. But through it all, Superman reigns supreme, always somehow stronger, faster, more powerful.
Superman has a human alter-ego: Clark Kent. This part of his story is what makes him so compelling as well — the fact that he is “normal”, that someone as mundane and ordinary could actually be super like, well, Superman.
It’s a fun mental activity, fantasising having the kinds of powers these superheroes have. It makes for an interesting exercise, imagining what it would be like having these borderline magical capabilities. Like a grown up game of “if-only”.
Reading about these fantastical superheroes and seeing them on the page or on the screen are all well and good, but we shouldn’t forget that we can also possess supernatural powers ourselves. Of course, nothing so flashy as being able to fly, or shooting laser beams out of our eyes.
The powers that are available to us are greater than these, and more applicable to our day to day situations that don’t necessarily include nasty villains, or aliens from outer space. Powers that are accessible, and useful, and unlike comics, are totally real.
And we don’t even have to rely on sunlight to acquire them.
