Parts from Encanto

There’s a new Disney movie that came out recently that I have come to thoroughly enjoy. It’s called Encanto. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage you to check it out, but make sure you watch it at least twice before you make a judgement on it because it took a while to grow on me.
And though the songs are catchy and the characters are enjoyable and the storyline is engaging, it’s really elements of the Colombian culture that stick out to me as most engrossing. And part of that comes across through the musical styles and the character dynamics, but what I find most important from this movie is the relational dynamics.
And that’s because of the Madrigal family itself that the story centers around, for sure. There’s a very strong bond each member of the family embraces, even the one that seems to have abandoned his family. But it’s the love for community that really is the centerpiece of this story.
And we see that in the way the Madrigals use their gifts to help and take care of their community. And I think that’s such a Christian idea, too. Each person, especially each Christian, is given gifts and talents by God that are designed to be used for helping and uplifting the other parts of God’s community.
Paul uses the language of body parts. He writes that each part is special and important and that no part of the body is more important than any other, even if it looks that way from a human point of view. And then he writes in 1 Corinthians 12.25-26, “In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.” (NIRV)
That’s the story of the community in Encanto. Though the Madrigal family tries to use their gifts and powers to help and care for their community, they fail to realize and recognize that it isn’t just about them doing for others but that others can do for them as well. And that community around them may not be able to reciprocate in the exact same way, they can support and care for them well in other ways.
And that’s the nature of our lives, too. Sometimes we don’t believe or trust in the gifts and talents we have that can help our community, so we don’t use them. Or we see others with gifts we think as better than ours, so we shy away. But each one of us has a part to play in our community, in our churches and beyond. I pray that we all can step up and use whatever God has given us to build each other up. God bless.