Star Wars™ Jesus: A Lesson in Faith

By Caleb Grimes
Winepress Publishing

CBN.com - When Luke pilots his X-wing down the trench of the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon is within seconds of launching its planet-destroying blast. Most of the other fighters have already been annihilated and Luke’s best friend has been gunned down, leaving Luke as the only Rebel Alliance pilot remaining in the trench. Darth Vader and two of his special wing men are closing in right behind Luke, the last hope of the Rebels.

What does Luke do at this critical moment? Does he become too distraught over the loss of his childhood friend Biggs to go on? No. Does he lose concentration with three very imposing TIE fighters bearing down on his X-wing, his death an imminent certainty? No.

Instead, he responds to the sound of Ben Kenobi’s voice inside his head.

Ben — “Use the Force, Luke. (Pause) Let go, Luke! (Longer Pause) Luke, trust me.” (Episode IV: A New Hope, George Lucas)

With the future of the universe dramatically hanging on this one moment, Luke turns off his navigational computer and targeting device that would allow him to fire a small proton torpedo into the extremely small, unprotected vent opening that was the Death Star's only weakness. This action is ludicrous, if not for the Force.

Han Solo and Chewbacca, aboard the Millennium Falcon, race in at the last moment before Vader pushes a trigger to kill Luke and fire a blast that sends Vader’s spacecraft spinning wildly off into deep space. Luke then is able to focus his energy on targeting the exhaust port manually, his eyes and hands guided by the Force. He hits the impossible target at the very last moment possible, and streaks away to escape the devastating blast as the Death Star explodes.

This is the single best demonstration of how to practice faith that I have ever seen.

Here's the interpretation: you are willing to do the work God draws you to do. Life’s distractions come at you fast and furious. The devil will do anything to distract you. You use all the technology that man is able to muster, all the knowledge, all the skills, and all the abilities. You use all the assets that are available to you, and still it is not enough. No matter how much technology we ever have, no matter how much we ever train or learn, we come to moments when we understand that a task is impossible. What must be done we cannot accomplished on our own. We ask for help from a higher power whom we hope is out there to somehow come to our aid in this moment of crisis.

Finally, we win, or reach the goal, or do the impossible. There is a great mystery in our doing great works, both large and small. What connects our “as best we can do” ends with the beginning of success is God. The work takes faith. The practice of faith is the reason why the journey is as important as the destination.

For example, our knowing God is a work that ironically we cannot do on our own. Neither science nor theology will ever prove the existence of God. It is good for science to continue. It is good for theology to continue. In fighting the first Death Star, it is better for Luke to use an X-wing fighter than a bicycle. The more scientific knowledge we obtain, then the more we know about the universe. The further we go in our study of God and what he says about himself and the more we observe him at work in our world, the more we know about God.

If God exists, then He certainly created the universe and mankind along with it. He knows the universe and knows every person that has ever lived. If God exists, he must want us to know more, more, and more about everything. Like Luke in the trench, however, our abilities will always be limited. We must use the Force to “practice being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Here is a more mundane example. You have TV, movies, games, a house, cars, music, religion, social groups, money, a job, sexual temptations, hobbies, personal hang-ups, injuries, careers, etc., that are all trying to distract you from loving your kids, your spouse, and yourself. All these distractions can also prevent you from knowing and loving God more deeply. How do you live?

We are all racing down that same trench on the surface of the Death Star with seconds to go before life blows the ones we love into astro dust. Darth Vader’s hand is on the trigger ready to blast us into nothingness. Our task is to launch a proton torpedo down a shaft that is six feet wide from a distance of a half mile even as we travel at hundreds of miles an hour in order to save our universe. There just ain’t no way, no how.

But God did not just wind some clock. He did not predetermine our fate then leave. Instead, along comes God’s personal and timely blessing. In Luke's case it came in the form of a renegade unbeliever, Han Solo, who directs a laser blast at Vader’s TIE fighter that sends the villain flying. Then the Holy Spirit is like Ben Kenobi who directs us to turn off the very last part of our technical world, the minutiae of a torpedo targeting system that symbolizes total faith in man. Then Ben says, “Use the Force, Luke.”

In like fashion God, says to us today,

Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge me, and I will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Han and Chewbacca fly in and blast Vader away. Han says, “You’re all clear, kid. Now blow this thing and we can all go home.” From out of nowhere, God’s extra providence and help clear obstacles, allowing us to once again concentrate on the target even as life and all its details start flying around us. We practice God’s presence just as Luke feels the Force in the X-wing before he targets the torpedo. He is—we are—supernaturally led. The one shot in a million happens! The super-evil monstrosity of the Death Star blows up just before it can destroy the Rebel base. The mighty Empire suffers a major defeat at the hands of a tiny, insignificant Rebel band.

What we learn is that it is good to take all the technology, all the skills, all the abilities that we have available to us, learn them, master them, then apply them to our task. We try as hard and as smart as we can to accomplish something, but it is never enough. There is always that impossible part of a work that cannot happen without God’s help, whether we know it, know him, or even believe in him.

Understanding this metaphor can help us understand that we are flawed. We will never create some science that disproves or proves God. We are never going to create some technological device that eliminates all suffering. We are not evolving into some master race that no longer sins. God’s help is always necessary, and our practice of faith—much like Luke using the Force in the Death Star’s trench—is always required.

Star Wars™ Jesus: Love Never Fails

By Caleb Grimes
Winepress Publishing

CBN.com -

“You have failed, your highness. I am a Jedi Knight, like my father before me.”

There is no person alive who does not have a weakness for one part of the dark side or the other. Whether it be power politics, spiritual or supernatural power, material wealth, or any number of obsessions from the Christian churches … we all want power of some sort, and many times we fall for the easy power that does not take faith to possess.

The way love wins takes faith. Luke is victorious at the end of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He marks a triumphant return by the Jedi Knights. He defeats Darth Vader and he throws down his lightsaber. He refuses to take what seems like success and murder Vader. Instead, Luke stubbornly refuses this minor victory in which he likely will end up as the lucrative second in command to the Emperor, which would be no victory at all. Instead he stands up tall to the Emperor, “You have failed, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.” Just as in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Luke gives up his life. Why would Luke do this?

It may seem a random connection, but Luke’s action shows that he has learned a lesson that in our world is exemplified in the parable of the vine and the branches, John 15. This is where God prunes the vines, as in he shapes his creation, and this might mean ending our lives or limiting our successes in order to prune us if we do not work for his glory.

In this passage, Jesus does not necessarily seem concerned with the length or quality of our life. We, on the other hand, tend to be rather concerned about both. We read these verses and we don’t want to be pruned. Our first instinct is to preserve and prolong life, at whatever cost. Jesus is concerned with the fruit of our lives. That is, how much do we love him and each other in whatever time we do have to live. It is good to fear God and his power over us. However, in this passage, I think fearing God is not the main lesson. I think the point here is to focus on living by the Spirit, like using the Force, to be fruitful.

In this moment when Vader is beaten down and the Emperor starts laughing and shows pleasure at Luke’s abilities to harness the Force, the symbol of Vader’s mechanical hand brings Luke back from the edge of rage. He suddenly comprehends that his own mechanical hand represents two very different and powerful forces. Luke’s mechanical hand is the direct result of the nature of the dark side.

In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Luke confronts a ghostly, dream-world Vader who was also himself. This hand, however, is actual, tangible evidence that he is just like his father, and he connects with the dark side. Second, the action of Luke slicing off his father’s hand reminds Luke that Vader cut off Luke’s hand … instead of taking his life. Vader showed Luke grace, therefore Luke decides to show grace back to his father. In his giving of grace, refusing the anger, fear, and aggression, Luke truly becomes a Jedi Knight.

Metaphorically, this is the fruitfulness that God wants out of us, as part of himself, as part of the vine. This is the ultimate image of overcoming evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

Perhaps Luke underestimates the light side. It is ironic, this truth: that Luke’s single act of sparing Vader turns the tables on the entire Star Wars™ universe. Before Luke is born, it was thought that Anakin Skywalker was to fulfill the prophesy and restore balance to the Force, which meant that he was to find the Sith Lord and kill him.

In the prequels, the Jedi masters do not at first understand what restoring the balance means, as they themselves are not even aware of a dark Sith Lord. In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Anakin has the opportunity to strike down the Emperor and fulfill his destiny. He fails and instead becomes evil. Luke’s sacrifice helps turn Anakin back to his original course, who with the last ounce of his life, thrusts the Emperor down the shaft to kill him.

Were there a God in this Star Wars™ universe, Vader’s action in this instance would be due to Luke living for God, and demonstrating evidence that the Holy Spirit is truly with him.