By Last Wednesday I took three of my children to the theater to see the latest Avengers movie: The Age Of Ultron. Aside of the handful of curse words that are becoming normative for a Marvel movie, it was a worth-wile adventure for our family. There were a couple of things in the movie that I thought were interesting and worth a ponder or two.
At one point in the movie, the Avengers have been distraught and divided by a woman with witch like powers who messed with their minds. This mind twisting caused the Hulk to destroy lots of innocent lives and the world was at the brink of bringing accusations against the group. The heroes were not thinking strait and needed a place to rest, recover, and regroup. The place they end up going is to the home of Hawkeye located in some remote place in the country. None of the other Avengers knew that he was married, let alone had two young children and one on the way. The scene is sweet as the Avengers walk through the front door and witness Hawkeye embrace his wife and children. The screen writer plays the scene in a wonderful way that exalts the value of family; rare indeed to see from Marvel.
The interesting thing for me to notice while I watched the movie was how uncomfortable some of the super-heroes were by this scene. It was not played out like the heroes thought it was wrong, but rather felt unworthy to enter such a sanctuary of love. Thor leaves nearly as soon as he arrives. Captain America stands at the entrance of the door, turns, looks over his shoulder, and appears to recall the love he once had years earlier . Banner (Hulk) and the Black Widow later reflect upon Hawkeye’s family as something they respected and desired to have, but knew it was an impossibility; interesting stuff indeed.
The family is an institution created by God to reflect the triune union of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Just like some people are drawn towards the beauty of the Lord, some are drawn far from him. The family, as God’s reflection, has this same result upon the watching single world. Some single people will take only a quick glance and then leave, never to return to the community of the family. Some linger for a moment outside the door, and then angrily pursue some other endeavor because the family is out of their reach for one reason or another. Some will long for the sanctuary of the family, but will not enter because of unwillingness to lay down selfish independence. And then some will spend their lives seeking to build the kingdom of God by reflecting the gospel through their family.
In a twitter post, the Marvel screen writer noted that his co-writer was an avid feminist. This Marvel movie was a lesser display of that fact in a refreshing way. True womanhood is seen in the strength the mother displays when she holds her family together with the love of Christ!
Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful women who defy the independent and autonomous culture which seeks to rip your true dignity and strength away. Keep your eyes on our triune God. His nature is reflected in your family whether you are aware of it or not.
Blessings,
Scott
Leading Family Devotions 
Word to the wise: I think the real title is the “Age of Eeltron”, or “Age of Aisletron”?
Seems actually to be Ultron. Not sure about Eeltron or Aisleton; thanks for the correction. I changed it on the blog.