A Ramble About He-Man, She-Ra, and "I Have The Power"

     Like a lot of boys back in the eighties, I became a big fan of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe when I was in third grade. I was one of those kids that ran around their living room, jumped up on the couch and shouted to the heavens “By the power of Grayskull!”  So, eventually when the new He-Man movie, “He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword” had a theatrical release my mom and I went to go see it.
     The story itself revolves around Prince Adam (He-Man’s actual identity) learning that he had a twin sister who had been stolen from his parents as a baby. He then travels to another world completely to find her and give her a second sword of Grayskull which is her birthright too. When he gets there, he finds that she is a ranking commander in the occupation forces of an evil authoritarian regime called “The Horde,” which she is convinced is good and the legitimate government of her world. He then spends the rest of the movie trying to talk to her and convince her of the truth, which she steadfastly rejects because of her brainwashing. Ultimately, he nearly dies trying to “redeem” her, and she breaks free of the brain washing and accepts the gift he was trying to giver her and she too becomes empowered by Grayskull to become She-Ra.
     I recently ran across a pretty good cover of the opening theme song of the movie on YouTube and have been listening to it just for nostalgia’s sake. The more I listened to it though, the more I began to see something I couldn’t as a kid who just loved He-Man. Really, the whole story of the movie is being told in the song, and it’s very much a redemption story. But more than this, what occurred to me is that, from a certain point of view, the lyrics of the song are the Gospel in a nutshell. They could just as easily apply to the Logos incarnating in order to find and redeem His bride. This becomes even more clear when we consider John’s words that “God is Love.”
     So, as strange as it may be, I offer the lyrics of this song this morning as a meditation on discipleship of the Way:

“I Have The Power”

Somewhere out there someone needs me.
I don't know how or where,
but believe me
I'll walk the universe to find her
For better or for worse beside her

For the honor of love
By the power above
I have the power!
I have the power!

A stranger walked into my world
And when he talked, I really heard
He spoke of things like love and peace
The joy they bring will never cease

For the honor of love
By the power above
I have the power!
I have the power!

The truth of love is here to guide me
The strength above is here beside me
Forever more we'll be together
Our hearts will soar one to the other

The truth of love will always guide us
It's strength above will be inside us
Forever more we'll be together
Our hearts will soar one to the other

For the honor of love
By the power above
We have the power!
We have the power!
So can you!

(composed by Erika Scheimer, Shuki Levy, and Haim Saban, and performed by Erika Scheimer and Noam Kaniel)