Thor’s hammer and David’s heart

By Pastor Norma Malfatti

One of my New Testament professors in seminary regularly assigned an integrative project for the end of the semester. This project required that students create some practical application of using Scripture, beyond writing a sermon, of course.  One friend of mine wrote a graphic novel, and another classmate connected a piece of classic artwork to a Gospel story.

One of my projects involved creating a youth group series called “Paul at the Movies.” Now, I am almost always see the themes of Biblical stories pop up at the movies, … which was likely one of the points of these projects (in addition to realizing that the Bible isn’t just for reading in worship).

“The expectations of the world and what people look for in a celebrity or pro athlete are not what God is looking for in a leader.”

Earlier this week I shared at the synod’s First Call Theological Education gathering that one of my favorite movie genres is Marvel superheroes. I have done a whole sermon series connecting the Holy Spirit, the purpose of the church, and your favorite superheroes (and mine!). Most recently I’ve been rewatching the Avengers series in preparation for the release of Loki on Disney+ on June 9.

Lo and behold, the Scriptures have jumped out at me once again. This time seeing the story of David’s anointing in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

 

IN MARVEL LORE, ONLY the worthy are able to lift and wield Mjolnir, a powerful hammer forged at Odin’s request for his son Thor. Thor himself was deemed unworthy of his hammer for a time and had to re-earn the right to use it. During a party in the wee hours one morning, the core Avengers are gathered around Tony Stark’s living room chatting, as friends often do. Soon the bravado of the conversation leads them to test out the theory that “only the worthy” can handle the hammer.

“It was David’s heart – his desire to be faithful to his call as a shepherd – that had God saying, ‘This is the one.’” 

One after another member of the Avengers – the richest, the smartest, the wittiest, the ones with gadgets, the family man, and the strongest – tried to lift it. While Steve Rogers got the hammer to move a little, causing some concern for Thor, he too was deemed unworthy. (In case you’re wondering, the Black Widow said that she “[didn’t] need an answer to that question.”)

Watching these men, one by one, come to the table to lift that hammer was reminiscent of Jesse’s sons coming forward to the prophet Samuel waiting to learn if they were deemed worthy, so to speak, to be the next king over Israel. Samuel was expecting the best looking, strongest, the oldest, or wisest to be the next king. These were the same values and expectations that had him anoint Saul as King and that was a huge disappointment. A retired Methodist professor refers to God’s “no” to these seven elder sons as “been there, done that, and it didn’t work.”

While wielding Thor’s hammer in a comic book is certainly not the same thing as being anointed King over Israel, the similarities cannot be ignored. The expectations of the world and what people look for in a celebrity or pro athlete are not what God is looking for in a leader, though there may be some overlap. Afterall, when David finally arrives on the scene, he is first described as ruddy and good looking with beautiful eyes. Still, it was David’s heart – his desire to be faithful to his call as a shepherd – that had God saying, “This is the one.”

Now, we know the rest of the story and how easy it is for God’s beloved David to sin so tragically and egregiously by abusing his power, committing sexual assault, and plotting murder (to name a few trespasses). But this story demonstrates that, at the beginning of David’s call and rise to leadership, being faithful to God and being a leader in the Church isn’t about who is the most popular, smartest, strongest, or any other superlative.

Being a leader involves a deep commitment to caring for others, pushing past fear to work for God’s justice, and listening for God’s voice, not the world’s cacophony of voices. Leadership in the church means striving to hear where God is calling. By God’s grace, we are made worthy.