Daredevil – Part of the Body of Christ

In this post I will again focus primarily on my daughter Libby. I naturally draw the comparison between the superhero Daredevil and my daughter because of their shared disability. They are both blind. As I have learned more about Daredevil and as I have observed my daughter, I have seen similarities between them. I am thankful that the authors of Daredevil have done a good job portraying what life is like for a blind person. They have accurately portrayed many of the difficulties that Daredevil experiences.

When a person doesn’t experience the world in the way that many of us do, I can understand how that person could feel isolated and frustrated. My daughter Libby has been my example of what can happen when one sense is gone. Since she is blind, she has many struggles when it comes to experiencing the world around her. Especially with her sense of hearing, she freaks out when certain noises are present. She has learned to adapt but there was a time when those noises would lead to a complete screaming meltdown. My wife and I would have a very difficult time calming her down. At times, her screaming could go on for hours before she finally calmed down.

Until recently, many noises upset her. We had to be very careful about what we did at home or even where we took her in public. She was upset by the water faucet, the lawn mower, the garbage truck, DJs on the radio, sirens, announcements on PA systems, the microwave, and many other sounds. My wife and I became much more attuned to sounds so that we could be on alert for things that might upset our daughter. One year we tried to take her to a confirmation party for a church member. People were eating food in a garage and we took Libby inside. Within moments she was screaming and crying. The background noise of conversation completely overwhelmed her. We did our best to calm her down but we ended up having to leave the party.

In Daredevil stories, I have seen times when Daredevil is overwhelmed by sound. Too much noise can become such a sensory overload that he is unable to function. He has to get away from the noise. There have been times that he has been forced to run away from a battle because his sense of hearing was being overwhelmed and he couldn’t fight. He had to figure out what to do in order to overcome the noise. For my daughter, she is too young to understand how to overcome some of the noises she encounters.

A question for us as parents is: How do we include Libby in the family of Christian believers? As a pastor, I am a major part of the life of the congregation. As part of a pastor’s family, she will be well known in the congregations where I serve. I also think about Libby as an individual Christian. How is she going to fit in with other Christians and be a part of her congregation? As people we receive joy from inclusion in various groups. Inclusion in the family of believers brings some of the best joy that we can have this side of heaven. The fact that Libby was born blind could be extremely isolating. Her struggles separate her from others and it could be easy for her to withdraw from group settings. As her father, I look for ways for her to be included.
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Jesus wants all his people to be a part of his church and to support each other. In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul uses the picture of a body. Verse 27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Within the body we each have our own unique functions just like the parts of a body have their various functions. Another element is that we support each other. We share in the sorrows and the joys. We comfort each other. Verse 26 says, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” We work with each other through difficulties and we can also celebrate the joys.

It has been a blessing that we have found ways to include Libby in the life of the congregation. Yes there have been challenges but there have also been surprises and joys. Even during the times when she couldn’t handle noises, she always loved coming to worship services. She loved the music and she loved the structure of the service. She has now overcome her fear of confirmation parties and we have been able to take her to several. We even took her to a basketball game for our church’s school. We were quite nervous about that one. She was tense at first but after a while she would cheer when the crowd cheered. Someday I want to try activities for the youth of the church in which they wear blindfolds so that they can understand what life is like for Libby.

Daredevil isn’t focused as much on the Christian family emphasis that I am focused on with Libby. And yet, he is part of a community. He belongs to the family of superheroes. His special abilities compensate for his disability. In fact, many of the other superheroes have no idea that he is blind. Even though he is accepted by the other heroes, it is still easy for him to withdraw from other heroes and to isolate himself because of his disability. In spite of that, he recognizes that he needs the help of others.

My encouragement from all this is that we all need to make special efforts to be inclusive in the body of Christ. At times it takes creativity to figure out how to include certain kinds of people. Other times it takes patience when we see someone struggling to be part of the group. By doing our part, we spread the love of Christ. He wants all to be saved. May we continue to look for ways to help others to find their place in the body of Christ.