Since 2007 the Marvel cinematic universe has released 24 superhero movies. At 22.5 billion dollars, it is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. This includes Avengers: Endgame, which is the highest-grossing film of all time. Endgame surpassed both the Titanic and Avatar by grossing 2.8 billion dollars in just 11 days. 11 out of the top 25 grossing films of all time are superhero movies. It is clear that the superhero genre is a fan favorite.
I was never much of a comic book reader myself, but I will admit that I have watched and, thanks to Johnny Baehman who has shared his Disney Plus account with me, I have re-watched all 24 superhero movies in the MCU. Compared to the classic comic book collector I am admittedly late to the party, but thanks to the silver screen I have become a superhero geek. I don’t understand why anybody wouldn’t like these movies. I mean what’s not to like. These movies are action and drama, romance and comedy all rolled into one. Like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, (yes, I just compared Guardians of the Galaxy to the greatest Greek poems of all time) Like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the hero overcomes incredible obstacles, faces powerful enemies, and in the end good triumphs over evil. What is not to like about that!?
I like a good superhero movie. I think that might be part of the reason I like being a pastor. You see, in some ways y’all remind me of superheroes. Now, hear me out. Some superheroes are the children of celestial beings like Ego, Zeus, and Oden. Well, you are the sons and daughters of Adonai Elohim, the LORD God Almighty. Most superheroes wear a super suit and carry powerful weapons like a lasso, shield, or hammer. Well, you wear the super-ist suit of all. You wear the armor of God that is equipped with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the helmet of salvation. In one hand you hold the shield of faith and in the other you wield the sword of the Spirit. Finally, every superhero faces a powerful enemy hell bent on death and destruction. Well, your enemy is the most hell bent of all. Your enemy, the devil, is described as a roaring lion hunting the vulnerable and as an enormous red dragon waging war on the people of God. Just as the superhero must overcome their villain, so also you must overcome yours. So you see it is not that much of a stretch for me to say, in some ways y’all remind me of superheroes.
But don’t let that go to your head, like it did to the Christians in the Corinthian church. In a relatively short period of time, the Corinthian Christians had enjoyed a great deal of success. Their little mission startup had grown from a humble house church into the largest mission congregation of that time. The Corinthian church became so successful that it even began to daughter sister congregations in the nearby cities. The success of this congregation was aided by the impressive abilities that the members of the congregation possessed. To borrow an illustration from DC comics, the Corinthian congregation was as full of superheroes as the hall of justice. They possessed abilities such as: healing the sick, performing miracles, prophesying, and speaking in tongues.
The members of the Corinthian congregation were a gifted group of individuals. The problem was, they knew it. Soon divisions started to form among them. Like comic book geeks who argue about who is stronger the Hulk or Thor, or who is faster, the Flash or Superman, the Corinthian Christians argued about who was a better pastor: Paul, Apollos, or Cephas and they argued about who had the better gifts: healings vs. miracles, prophecy vs. tongues. In short, the Corinthian Christians had a pride problem. The success and abilities they had been given should have united them into one of the greatest spiritual superhero teams of all time, but instead their abilities were threatening to tear them apart.
Could the same thing happen among us? Ours is a vibrant and active congregation. You are a gifted group of individuals. We have the potential to be one of the greatest spiritual superhero teams of all time. But, could the success and abilities we have been given tear us apart? I can’t say that I have heard anyone say, “I follow Lewis”, or “I follow Zahn”, or even “I follow Zell”. Likewise, I haven’t had to break up any fights between the church musicians and the Sunday school teachers, or the evangelism team and the cleaning crew. I am thankful that we are not splintered to the extent the Corinthian congregation was and I hope and pray we never are. But I can see where pride in one’s area of ministry and pride of one’s contribution to that area of ministry might-could cause a few cracks among us. So, as a preemptive measure, let’s take a look to how Paul got the gospel superhero team in Corinth back together.
Now, there are a lot of reasons why I like superhero movies, but I think my favorite part of every superhero movie is the origin story. A superhero’s origin story takes us back in time and reveals how the hero became super. Almost all superheroes have an origin story in which it is explained how they got their powers and were set apart from the rest of humanity. Origin stories are the core of the superhero’s existence, they help us understand who they are and why they do what they do.
I love a good origin story: an awkward teenager gets bit by a radioactive spider, a frustrated physicist is exposed to gamma rays, a puny private is injected with super-soldier serum. There are a lot of good origin stories but yours is one of the best. In verse 26 of chapter 1 Paul writes, “26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. Paul takes us back in time and reminds us of our humble beginnings. He reminds us that: most of us did not have any specific skill or area of expertise that set us apart, most of us did no possess a physical, mental, or emotional strength that made us superior to others, most of us were not even born among WELS nobility. Rather, Paul describes most of us as foolish, weak, and lowly. Paul’s point is clear, if one were tasked with putting together a superhero team, most people would not ask the likes of you and me to enlist.
The origin story for most superheroes starts with humble beginnings, ours is no different. But, like all good origin stories Paul reveals how our humble circumstances changed. In verse 27 Paul writes, “27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are. It was not a radioactive spider or gamma rays, or super-soldier serum that made you who and what you are. It was a force far more powerful than all of those combined. It was God’s grace. It was God’s powerful, transformative, and all-consuming love for you. Three times in two verses we read “God chose”. When a word appears twice in a small section of scripture like this it suggests a well-balanced thought, when it appears three times it screams for attention. God chose! “God chose the foolish”, “God chose the weak”, and “He chose the lowly.” God chose you. Your origin story makes it clear, you are who you are, and you do what you do because God chose you.
God chose you to be a spiritual superhero. In verse 30 Paul writes, 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Because of God you are in Christ Jesus and in Christ Jesus you are the righteous – that is you have been cleansed of your impurities, in Christ Jesus you are holy - that is you now have the ability to fight the good fight that has been placed before you, in Christ Jesus you are redeemed – that is you will be victorious over the three most villainous enemies of all time: sin, death, and the devil. Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, and in Christ Jesus you are spiritual superheroes. Once more, your origin story makes it clear, you are who you are and you do what you do because you are in Christ Jesus.
Rumor has it there are at least another 14 superhero movies that are scheduled to hit the silver screen in the next 3 years. Chances are rather good that I will watch them all and if Johnny doesn’t kick me off his account I will likely watch them several times. I hope at least some of them include an origin story. Because there is nothing like a good origin story to keep a superhero humble. We know that from personal experience. Today Paul has taken us back to our humble beginnings and reminded us we are who we are, and we do what we do because of God’s grace. So, If the good Lord decides to bless our congregation with the kind of success that He blessed the church in Corinth and even if the good Lord decides to grant us the kind of abilities that He granted them, our origin story has reminded us pride has no place among superheroes, especially spiritual superheroes. Paul concludes our origin story in verse 31. There he writes, “31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” Amen