I tried really hard not to make this weird and/or cheesy.

Recently I was pondering writing something about superheroes. My favorite superheroes wouldn't normally be labeled as such. I mean, Batman's ok, but other than that, I don't really care. However, I totally consider some literary characters to be superheroes. They can't fly (well, not on their own) and don't have laserbeams or a bat signal or anything, but Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia and [*gasp* ] Harry Potter are superheroes in my book. What makes them so special?
Aslan faced humiliation and pain when he laid down his life in exchange for that of another. Edmund Pevensie broke the rules and deserved whatever punishment the White Witch should have chosen to give him, but Aslan, knowing what his enemies would do to him, knowing how much it would hurt, traded his life for Edmund's. And his death was not a simple, quick execution. It was drawn out in agony and his enemies did their best to bring as much shame on him as they could. He died, but he came back. The stone on which he died was broken and he came back and saved the day.
Harry Potter did his best to try to grow up a regular guy. He knew for a while that someday he would eventually have to face his enemy- a dark and evil wizard. When the battle was raging and his friends and fellow students were dying in an epic fight against evil, Harry walked willingly into the arms of death. He could have run, could have found someone else to fight his battles for him, but he knew what he had to do and he did it. He let himself be killed, in part, to save his friends. He came back, too. Those who had watched him grow up and had been the closest thing to family he had ever known were shocked and cried in disbelief. But when Harry came back, he met his enemy face to face, and defeated him. And his world was set right again.
We always think of superheroes as being ficticious. Real people can't fly. They can't shoot big metal claws out of their hands like Wolverine, or swing from building to building on webs like Spider Man. We love superheroes because they do things that wouldn't really happen in the real world. People don't have magical powers like in Harry Potter, and lions can't talk like they do in Narnia. And surely no one would really, willingly lay down their life for people they just met or maybe don't even know. But someone did! His name is Jesus. He traded his life to make our wrongs right. He was humiliated and suffered a painful death, one he went to willingly. He accepted his fate and died for our sins. And He came back! He lives today, and he will be coming back again and defeating the enemy and making our world right.
This Easter, don't let the focus be on how much candy you did or didn't get. The Easter Bunny isn't real. This is Resurrection Day. Let's give thanks to the real reason today is special: Jesus.