Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will officially come out tomorrow (though there are some early showings tonight if you want to stand in a really, really long line). It’s not a particularly religious movie (you can check out my review tonight and read all about it), but it did remind me—odd, I admit—of 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. I call it the body parts passage.
“The human body has many parts,” Paul tells his pals in Corinth in verse 12, “but the many parts make up one whole body.”
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a little like that.
Peter Quill, aka Starlord, is a human castaway. Gamora is a lithe, green-skinned organic weapon. Drax is a pile of muscle and wounded honor. Rocket is a talking raccoon. Groot is a very nice walking tree.
They’re as motley a group of folks who ever traversed the Milky Way. They really have very little in common, and sometimes they kinda hate one another. Alone, each one is a bit of a loser in his or her own way—a solitary blip in the galactic landscape.
And yet together they find a common purpose. They do what they can to—well, guard the galaxy. As individuals, they’re prone to be selfish and sulky. But united they find ways to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. And while they’re certainly not going to plant a church anytime soon near, say, Tarnax IV, they are doing some work that I’d like to think Christians often do themselves: protecting the innocent, battling evil, giving folks a little hope.
“God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other,” Paul continues in verses 24-26. “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” Without giving anything away, we see that dynamic in play in this flick. We see parts of this strange little team suffer and struggle and strive. And when someone gets hurt, the Guardians are hurt, too. When someone falls down on the job, the whole group pays the price. And when team members rise to the challenge, the Guardians are indeed glad.
The Christian Church, like Guardians of the Galaxy, can be a little messy. It’s made up of less than perfect folks. But when the Church’s people are united in common cause, the result can be both beautiful and powerful. Collectively, we can do some amazing things. Maybe even superhero sorts of things.
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