Jesus is our Superhero

Our five-year-old grandson attended a Remembrance Day ceremony at his school this past Thursday. He and his classmates are learning about those brave men and women who fought for our freedoms, the freedoms that we all enjoy today.

Discussing heroes with small children, particularly boys, inevitably bring up the idea of Superheroes. Are superheroes real? Were our soldiers superheroes? What did they wear? Did they have super powers?

As we spoke about these things over a child friendly dinner of macaroni and cheese, I was reminded how clear and simple the understanding of good and evil are to a child. None of the grey areas of an adult mind that think of things as mostly good or not too bad. For a child, good is good, bad is bad, and bad will be punished.

Small children also have a natural fear of things that are bad, things that go bump in the night, and monsters. At five, monsters are a big part of things that are scary.

Here we were, discussing monsters and heroes, good and bad, and I could see the wheels churning in that little head. It seems that he was trying to connect all of these concepts before his next question. I could sense this was going to be good.

"Mamma," he asked "does God protect us like the soldiers and superheroes do?" Yes, he does, I explained, wondering where this was leading. "Jesus is the same as God right?" I explained he is the son of God and yes, he protects us as well. "So that means Jesus on the cross takes care of us then." (He was referring to the crucifix hanging on the wall.) I confirmed this was the case.

Again, the wheels were turning. Tilting his head to one side and looking intently at Jesus hanging on said crucifix, little Eli tapped his finger on his bottom lip as he tried to put all of this together. Then came his response. "Mamma, I know how he protects us! If monsters are trying to get in the house or are hiding in the woods outside, Jesus comes to life and chases them away!" This explanation was accompanied by a five-year-olds recreation of a superhero ninja kick (At least that's what it looked like to me.)

Not sure how to respond (this did seem somewhat sacrilegious) I paused for a moment. How to explain that Jesus was a peaceful man not likely one to use ninja kicks. How to explain that God and the Holy Spirit is all around us but not in a physical sense. Admittedly, not an easy task. Was it wrong to allow him to believe these things?

Ok, I admit it; I took the easy way out. Responding in a way that indicated I wasn't too sure about the ninja kicks or how he accomplished his protection, I agreed that Jesus would protect us if a monster attack should occur.

Seemingly satisfied and pointing his focus back to his mac and cheese, Eli finished the conversation with one comment, "Jesus is our superhero." I have to say I agree.