KRYPTONITE

So, there I am driving home from Ohio with my family listening to my daughter’s Radio
Disney CDs. A track comes on that is a welcome relief from three turns listening to the
mind-numbing Macarena song. I had heard the song “Kryptonite” by the band 3 Doors
Down a few times before on various radio stations, liked it, and had been wondering
what the song was about. Well, on my trip home from Ohio, the light bulb finally came
on. I turned to my wife and said, “Cyndi, that song is written in the first person from the
perspective of Jesus.” Cyndi replied dryly, “You mean it’s a message from Jesus?”
I said, “yes!” And then, I proceeded to explain various portions of the song to her using
Bible passages that were coming to mind. Cyndi exclaimed, “Wow, I think you’re right!”
Later, Cyndi confessed that she hoarded the CD after our road trip to listen to the song
by herself to enrich her private time with the Lord.

I have no idea if my interpretation of the song “Kryptonite” is what the original writer
had in mind, but now the song finally makes sense to me from a Christian perspective. I
want to share my thoughts so others might listen to the song and be blessed
accordingly. Read what follows. Listen to the song again. See if you agree.

The first stanza of the song makes no sense UNLESS THE RISEN LORD JESUS
CHRIST IS THE ONE SPEAKING IT! Read it now from his perspective. I believe this
song was born out of visitation with the Lord and can become a visitation for all who
listen to it with that understanding.

Keep in mind that when friends talk to each other, they don’t feel compelled to explain
every single word they say. Sometimes, I speak with my wife and she understands what
I’m saying without me having to fill in every single detail. Most of the time we speak in
half sentences. If a stranger were to secretly listen in on our conversation, much of what
they hear would be alien to them. We would come across as speaking in some kind of
code. This song is written in much the same way. The speaker (Jesus) assumes the
listener understands the apparently foreign terminology he uses (i.e., Superman and
Kryptonite). For that reason, the listener must extrapolate the meaning of this song by
imagining himself sitting at the Lord's feet in rapt conversation with the Master.

I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind.
I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time.
I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon.
I feel there's nothing I can do.
Yeah!

Christians know that Jesus is alive and well now and able to speak to us with the words
of this song. In fact, only Jesus could make the statement: “I left my body lying
somewhere in the sands of time.” Through death on a cross, burial and resurrection,
Jesus left his earthly existence in the natural realm and now coexists in our dimension
and the heavenly dimension simultaneously. Hence, the risen Lord comes to us now
and speaks to us directly through this song. In his resurrected form, Jesus takes walks
around the world to inspect the condition of God’s creation he died and rose from the grave
to save. At one time Jesus was restricted as to where he could “travel” with God,
but now in his resurrected glory he can be everywhere the Father is. In resurrected
union with the Father, Jesus walks around the world as its Inspector General. Jesus
makes a stop during one of his walkabouts to speak with us.

This song reveals the Inspector General’s great despair and angst. He is deeply
troubled by the sinful condition of the world. 2000 years ago, the Inspector did more
than just feel bad about human sin and satanic influence in the world. He died on the
cross for our sins and rose from the dead to unite us with God and simultaneously sever
us from Satan’s power of persuasion. However, Jesus' work didn't end there. In his
resurrected state, he continues to involve himself in the world’s affairs to save it. One
example of his intervention is this song. Jesus initiates change in the world by visiting
his friends first and enlisting their help in the battle for the world. Ultimately, the world
is changed in conformity to God’s ideals when humanity lives in union with God. This is
Jesus’ goal in this song. He visits us to deepen our relationship with him in order to
impact the world with God’s kingdom.

I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon
After all I knew it had to be something to do with you
I really don’t mind what happens now and then
As long as you’ll be my friend at the end

Jesus comes to us in this song and lovingly confronts us. Are we contributing
to his sorrow? Are we troubled at all by what troubles him? Do we know how much it hurts him
when we are part of the problem instead of the solution? Have we forgotten our destiny
and calling to be with and like him and change the world into a place suitable for the
Father’s habitation?

After confrontation comes his offer of reconciliation. Jesus focuses on what is most
important in all of life: personal relationships. Jesus’ priority is keeping friends for life.
God confronts our sins but rarely belabors the point. He is more interested in solving the
problem of sin than dwelling on it. In this song, Jesus removes the shame we naturally
experience when confronted by his holy presence. In order to put our failing him into
perspective, Jesus tells us to focus on the fact that what is most important to him is that
we remain committed friends until the apocalyptic end (here is an echo of Matthew 24:13).
Friendship with God is the only reality that transforms the world and us.

What follows is the song’s chorus. It makes no sense unless one understands the title
"Superman" to be analogous to the biblical appellation for Jesus of “Messiah.” Keeping
this in mind, recall how in the gospel accounts the disciples had a hard time accepting
the fact that Jesus, as the Messiah, would have to suffer and die an inglorious end. One
time when Jesus told them he would have to die, Peter rebuked the Messiah for such
"crazy" talk. Ultimately, Judas betrayed Jesus for his craziness because he didn’t
understand that Jesus’ lunacy was merely devotion to God’s ideal of messianic humility
and suffering. Keep all of this in mind as you read/listen to the chorus of the song. Jesus
is speaking to us as he would have spoken to one of his disciples many years ago except
that now Jesus relates to us with modern and familiar comic book terminology.

If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman.
If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand.
I'll keep you be my side with my superhuman might Kryptonite.

In the song’s chorus Jesus confronts the listener as he did his disciples in John 6:67.
He asks us, “will you forsake Superman if he does something outside your paradigm (like
die for you or ask you to die for him), or do you love Superman enough to stand by him
patiently to see how his story (and yours) really ends?” Will we stand by Superman
through perceived good times and bad? The issue in Jesus’ question isn’t his death and
resurrection. He’s already “been there done that.” The issue is our death and resurrection.
Will we trust our lives so completely with Superman that he can do anything with us
for the glory of God even if it involves taking us through the valley overshadowed
by death to get us to the promised land of green pastures and still waters?

Like the prodigal son’s father, Jesus doesn’t even wait for our answer. He wraps us in
his arms, pulls us to his side and declares his intention to use all power at his disposal
to keep us close by his side. Jesus' superhuman might is his love for us proven at
Calvary! He went love-crazy for us and died on a cross for our sins. His love for us is his
Achilles heel. We are his weakness. We are his Kryptonite.

I want to emphasize the fact that Jesus didn't die for his own sins but that he died for
our sins. In fact, one would be accurate to say that humanity's collective sin killed the
Messiah. It was God's plan for Jesus to die for the sins of the whole world so that
technically God has judged all humanity for sin through the substitutionary death penalty
of his son. However, Jesus was more than mechanically following a divine script. He
didn’t have to die for us, he voluntarily died for us because he loves us. Though we are
weak, yet we are his weakness. We may be Kryptonite, but we are his Kryptonite and
he won’t keep us locked away in a lead box to protect himself. Rather, he keeps us by
his side where we have the potential to do him more harm and he wants us to trust him
totally with our lives and join him in saving the world.

You called me strong you called me weak but still your secrets I will keep.
You took for granted all the times I never let you down.
You stumbled in and bumped your head if not for me then you would be dead.
I picked you up and put you back on solid ground.

In this verse, Superman reminds us of our fickleness and his faithfulness. When things
go our way, we have a tendency to call God strong. When times are tough, we have a
tendency to call God weak. Superman responds by saying that the real issue isn't his
apparent strength or weakness but rather his faithfulness. We waiver in our respect and
honor of Superman, but he always respects us by keeping all our deep dark
confessional secrets safe with him. This statement is a reference to all the secret sins
he's forgiven us. We take for granted all the times he grants us help. Only because God
was out looking for his lost sheep did we happen to bumble and stumble across his path
to be saved in the first place. In a flyover, Superman located us with his X-ray vision and
swooped down to save us from our miserable lives. We now stand side by side with
him, capes blowing majestically in the wind, ready to take on any task with him for the
glory of the Father.

Here is the chorus to this amazing song, one more time. Listen close. Superman is
talking to you!

If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman.
If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand.
I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might Kryptonite.

God is determined to transform the world around you through you. His solution to keep
the world from floating to the dark side of the moon is to use you as his change-agent.
This means transformation begins at home, or as saint Peter promises: “Divine
judgement begins with God’s family (1 Peter 4:17).” Superman wants to know if we will
let him do the Father’s will in our lives even if what he does seems unbearable at times.
Will we trust in his wisdom and parenting? God changes us first in order to change the
world around us. This means that as Jesus moulds us into the perfection of God there
will be times that Superman seems to be doing things with us that are “crazy,” or that
make no sense. However, God’s ways never change. Though it pains him deeply, every
one of his children must experience Calvary, burial and resurrection firsthand in Christ.
This path of identification with Jesus seems absurd at first. But the end result is worth
waiting out the hard times for. Will we hold on to God’s hand until we see personal
breakthroughs in our lives? Will we be like Job and hold God’s hand in the times that he
seems to have gone crazy and deserted us like a dead man? Will we endure until God’s
deliverance comes and it becomes apparent that he is indeed “alive and well?” Will we
stick to God’s side like glue come what may? This is the question posed at a wedding
altar. Jesus has already said, “Yes.”

How will his bride respond?