Page 2 - June 2019 Newsletter

Pastor Marc Brown

I went to see the movie “Avengers Endgame” the other night. The Avengers are a series of

characters developed by Marvel Comics fighting evil and saving the world. Though I did not follow

the comics, I have been watching these movies with my children as they have been released. There
are things about these movies I like and there are things about them I could do without. I try to have
an eye/ear to glean a word of wisdom that is hidden in the plot, action and/or verbiage found in

these movies.

In the Endgame, there is scene where Thor – the God of Lighting – has the opportunity to go back in

time to retrieve an object to help change the future. While traveling back in time he has the

opportunity to visit with mother, whom he dearly loves. Through their conversation, she senses his
heavy heart and struggle. He explains that he is struggling to be who everyone else wants him to be.
Have you been here? Have you felt the pressure, struggle and tension others have placed on you? I

am not always certain of others intentions, but the reality of engaging other people can influence

who we are and how we function. Thor shares with his mother that his failure to meet others
expectations has become overwhelming. His mother turns to him and states "Everyone fails at who

they're supposed to be, Thor. A measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being
who they are.”

Are you being who God created you to be or are you more concerned about what others are saying?

In Luke 7:36-50 Jesus is having a dinner with the Pharisees (church leaders) and a woman with a
questionable past and character comes to wash and anoint Jesus’s feet. She had failed many and did

not measure up to other’s standards according to what the Pharisees say. She knew the weight of
failing to be the person others expected. Yet, at Jesus’s feet she found hope and healing. Jesus offers

her both forgiveness and love and for the first time in a long time, she is able to be who God created

her to be.

Are you overwhelmed by trying to be the person everyone else wants you to be? Then come to
Jesus and find healing and hope to be the hero God created you to be. Find forgiveness from your

failures to measure up and try again to be who God created you to be.