X-men

I was not a super hero fan before I married. I watched girly movies like Steel Magnolias, Dirty Dancing, and Gone With the Wind. Out of Africa was one of my favorites. But gradually I developed a taste for action movies and super hero movies shortly after I was married.

There are funny things about marrying while you are still a teenager. I still got up on Saturday morning to watch cartoons. Go ahead, I'll wait while you are laughing at me. I absolutely loved X-men. Never missed an episode.

When the movies came out, I was so stoked. I own them all and have watched them multiple times. I have now seen Wolverine 2 times in the theater.

The appeal to me is two-fold -
1. I identify with being unique. And I identify with not fitting in well with the rest of the crowd. Especially back in the teen years. It's interesting to me that what makes the mutants unable to blend in with others are the very things that are their greatest strengths.

2. The constant battle between Good and Evil. With great power comes the ability to do great good or great evil. The internal struggles of some of the mutants are very intriguing. For example: Magneto wants to ensure the continuation of the mutant population, but he seeks to do so in evil ways. Assumes the ends justify the means. I am also intrigued by the continuing friendship between Xavier and Magneto....even after they become enemies, they remain friends. I love Wolverine's continuing battle to avoid becoming the animal that he could easily be. It's such an ongoing fight for us all to be what we were meant to be instead of what we want to be.

I'll leave all the spiritual applications for Shawn for some future sermon. Lots of great stuff there to look at.