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Tony Miles, Reverend at Methodist Central Hall Westminster:
I’m an old romantic, Zoe, so I must tell you that it was 40 years ago this week, that I first asked Frances to go out with me. She was 14, and I was 16. Amazingly, she agreed, and we arranged to see the first Superman film, featuring the late Christopher Reeve. I was a little surprised that Frances brought her friend along, but my arm went around the right girl, and it worked out okay. Six years later we were married, so this week, we’re also celebrating our Kryptonite, sorry, OPAL wedding anniversary: 34 years!
No doubt we’ll be re-watching the film to reminisce! The author, Stephen Skelton, sees a kind of parallel in Superman to the Jesus storyline: as a child, Superman is sent to earth by his father; he’s found by Mr and Mrs Kent, who adopt him; he grows up realising he has superpowers, which he uses for good and to fight evil. Superman spends time in a wilderness before his mission begins, aged 30; he fights for truth and justice, and seeks to save people from disaster. Churches mark these days leading to Easter Sunday as a ‘Holy Week’. 
It’s when they remember that Jesus - a historical reality not a comic-book hero - wasn’t the mighty Messiah people were expecting to liberate them from their oppressors. He didn’t use physical strength to biff ‘bad guys’, but humbly and peacefully turned the other cheek. If Jesus had a superpower, I think it was as a love-hero: the power of compassion, forgiveness, and peace to overcome evil in the world. Now, in reality, Christopher Reeve was, of course, a mere human who faced challenges following a terrible horse-riding accident. 
With inner strength, he said, ‘A hero is someone who in spite of weakness, doubt or not always knowing the answers, goes ahead and overcomes anyway’. This week then, my prayers are with all who seek to be radical and determined to overcome the odds with self-less love. And talking of overcoming, Zoe, Holy Week’s a busy time for us clergy-types AND I’ve an anniversary to celebrate too. To be honest, I could do with a few superpowers myself!