Hollywood has never really been able to get our heroes right. They are either too perfect (original Superman), and thus impossible to identify with, or too human (Iron Man), and therefore undesirable to identify with. But one human characteristic holds true in both types of heroes: they invariably pull through by virtue of something they discover within. We love watching heroic movies because they motivate and empower us. But Jesus doesn’t really fit the heroic type. Consider Jesus’ attitude before his capture and execution. Instead of taking charge of the situation, he frustrates his disciples by his apparent resignation before fate. But this is not an apathetic and suicidal letting go of the desire to live. His retreat to prayer in the garden of Gethsemane shows real struggle between his desire to live (“remove this cup from me”) and his desire to be obedient to the Father. Only this time, no magic solution is discovered, no deep resource of self-motivation unlocked. Jesus is our hero because of his self-abandonment to the will of the Father. Life still tempted him, as it tempts us. His perfection lies not in an inability to feel temptation, but in overcoming it. And his humanity consists not of giving in to fear, but of throwing himself into the will of God (“not what I will, but what you will”).
