May the Forth

To me, there has never been a time without Star Wars. It had already come out when I was born, and The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were not far behind. I remember some of the first movies my family taped off the air with our VHS recorder were the Star Wars trilogy. What I wanted for my 16th birthday was this:

 

The VHS boxed set, very cool for 1995.

So today, Star Wars day, May the Forth, I was reflecting on what about what make this series a classic with a huge and growing fan base. We’ve got a basic hero vs. villain storyline, great gurus and friends, exciting battles, a pretty girl (who sure ain’t no damsel in distress), spaceships, ewoks, and did I mention Harrison Ford? (wistful sigh) That is all great set up, George Lucas is a genius no doubt.

But I think, at least for me, the genius and lasting imprint is in what I have learned and how it’s effected my worldview/theology.

~ “Do or do not, there is no try.” Great quote and the basis of my first talk here at ministerial school. Now I am not absolutist enough to say that try should be eradicated from the vocabulary, there are places it is useful, but I don’t TRY to play golf, I just play golf. Now, I don’t do it very well by Tiger Woods standards, but I’m doing it, not trying.

~ The need for balance of the force. There seems to be a compulsion in our society to dig around in the ‘bad’ things and also a desire to ‘see the good’ in everything. When we watch the whole series, we see the line of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is fuzzy and complicated. This is just as true for my own experience and bringing balance to the forces in my life, to be mindful of the things that bring joy and peace to balance the ‘necessary evils’ of existence.

~ May the Force be with you. My understanding of the force is that it is everywhere, neutral, able to spring forth into whatever form it is called on to be. When we say my the force be with you, we cannot be compelling the force to ride sidesaddle with whomever you said it to, because it already is. It really is an affirmation or reminder of the truth that is, the force is with you, Period. It’s with everyone really, just often not utilized because of lack of knowledge or skill. But it’s still there, just like my understanding of God.

~ We all need masters to push our buttons and hone our skills. Teachers, friends, children, the jerk who is writing a check in the fast lane at the supermarket all serve to be our Yoda/Obi Wan. Do we heed the lessons? I hope so. Can we ever stop learning? I hope not.

~ There is a dark side within each of us but it is not irredeemable. The past got us here, but it is certainly not the final answer.

So there is my little ode to Star Wars. What have you learned from the series?

May the Force always be with you
Ra