What do Cal Raleigh and Superman have in common?

I am sleep deprived as I write this article this morning, and it’s Cal Raleigh’s fault. For those who don’t follow his story: Raleigh is the switch-hitting catcher of the Seattle Mariners. He is currently leading Major League Baseball in home runs. 

Last night, he made history when he became the first catcher and the first switch-hitter to win the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game.

I usually get to sleep around 9 p.m. because I get up at 4 a.m. to finish that day’s Daily Article. But thanks to Raleigh’s exploits, I stayed up until he won and am gladly paying the price today.

Given his prodigious home run production, you might think that’s why I am writing to compare him to Superman. But that’s actually not the case.

Why Superman changes with the times

Shifting to the Man of Steel: the latest installment in the many movies made about him is in theaters and generating controversy in light of director James Gunn’s emphasis on the superhero as an immigrant.

Here’s some historical context: Superman made his first appearance in 1938 and first received his own self-titled comic book in the summer of 1939. During the Golden Age of the comic books (1938–1950s), he focused on real-world problems during the Great Depression, confronting unsafe working conditions in mines, child labor, poor housing, and corruption in various forms.

As geopolitical threats rose during World War II and the Cold War, Superman began fighting a “never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.” During the Cold War, he often saved us from terrorist attacks. In 1978, Richard Donner’s Superman became the first superhero blockbuster, creating an entire genre: fifteen of the top forty highest-grossing films of all time are now superhero movies.

I say all of that to say this: Superman shifts with the cultural times because those who make comic books and movies about him do so to make money. They know that art that resonates with the times will be more popular and thus more profitable. As a result, we can learn much about our cultural moment by studying the movies, shows, and music that are popular today.

If producers are making money by making movies in which superheroes fight villains we cannot defeat ourselves, then we can learn something about the discouragement, anxiety, and loneliness of our day.

“It is not good that the man should be alone”

By contrast, Cal Raleigh made news last night only partly for his home run prowess. The part of the story that I found even more compelling was the fact that his pitcher was his father, and his fifteen-year-old brother was his catcher.

I’ve been watching home run derbies for many years and have never seen that. Other competitors have had their father pitch to them, but I cannot find any whose brother also caught for them. It was really an amazing feel-good experience to watch their family work as a team.

And, as with movies and other popular culture, what resonates with commentators tells us something about ourselves. Those announcing the competition were as excited to watch the family at work as I was. In fact, I would not have known the identity of the pitcher and catcher if they had not made so much of their roles.

As with movie producers and directors, television commentators are employed to make money for their employers. They are fans like the rest of us, but they do their jobs best when they say and do what we want them to say and do.

And so, we can perhaps learn something here about our culture’s yearning for family in a post-family culture. Our society has redefined and deemphasized marriage; fewer US adults than ever are living with a spouse (or even a partner). Americans are having fewer children, if they have them at all.

But as the Creator said of the first human, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 1:18). The Lord invented marriage and the family as foundational to our flourishing. Because we are made in his image (Genesis 1:27) and he is a relational, trinitarian Lord, we are created with the need and desire for what the family was designed to provide.

“The greatest honor we can give Almighty God”

If we want to use our influence to impact the culture for Christ, it is good to begin with needs we can meet in Jesus’ name. He healed sick bodies to heal sick souls. Early Christians earned the right to preach the gospel by helping hurting people (cf. Acts 3).

As my friend, Dr. Randel Everett, says, “I have no right to preach the gospel to a hungry person.” When I feed his body, I often have the privilege of feeding his soul.

The publicity given to Cal Raleigh’s family during the Home Run Derby demonstrates our cultural hunger for what their family clearly seems to possess: a love for each other manifested in service, mutual encouragement, and joy. The continuing popularity of Superman in our day makes the same point: we are an estranged, anxious, even depressed society in need of help beyond ourselves.

The good news is that our Savior is the answer to both. The more we love him, the more we love our families and others. And the more we share his love in our compassion, the more others are drawn to his grace through us.

And so, it comes back once again to the Great Commandments: love God and love others (Matthew 22:37–39). Each requires the other. Each demonstrates the other.

And together they make an impact that will be felt millennia after last night’s home run derby and today’s movies are forgotten.

Julian of Norwich observed,

“The greatest honor we can give Almighty  God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love.”

Will you “live gladly” today?