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Jesus
said, “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father
will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind
you of all that I
told you. Peace I
leave with you: my peace
I give to you. Not
as the world gives do
I give it to you. Do
not let your hearts
be troubled or afraid. You
heard me tell
you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If
you loved me, you would
rejoice that I am
going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I
have told you this before it
happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer
speak much with you, for the
ruler of the world is coming. He
has no
power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that
I do
just as the Father has commanded me.”
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Yoda, the Jedi
instructor, tells his student Luke
Skywalker during this session of “The Empire Strikes
Back” that the essence of
being a Jedi knight is to remain at peace. In fact, it is the only
way to distinguish the good
side of The Force
from the dark side. Although
Luke does
not completely finish his training, he is able to comprehend somewhat
the peace
that he must have if he is to help those who are depending on him.
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The
guide to understanding the movie “The Empire Strikes
Back,” in fact, the
complete first “Star Wars Trilogy” may lie in an
understanding of The Force
that governs people. During
the movie
“Star Wars,” it was clear that Obi-Wan Kenobi had
chosen Luke Skywalker to be
the Jedi knight who would lead the good by the power of The
Force. During both movies, we
have heard of The
Force. We have seen
its power. We have
heard it described in general as an
energy field coming from every living creature. But we have not
been able to study it specifically. As Christians, we have
automatically assumed
that The Force was God. Rightly
so, and
as we study it during this session of “The Empire Strikes
Back,” we learn that peace is an essential lesson of The Force,
indeed
a lesson of
God.
Jesus Christ knew the lesson of God, and therefore, he knew much about The Force, although he did not call it by that name. He identified it as he spoke to his disciples immediately before his death. “Peace I leave with you,” he said, “my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Peace was what Jesus wanted to leave as a gift for humankind. One must conclude that it is one of the cornerstones of his doctrine. Perhaps more than anything else as Christians, we must work for the peace that Yoda wanted for Luke and all Jedi knights. The Force for Christians may be nothing more than the calm that comes from the sincere belief that God is always working for us. |
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THOUGHT
What must occur first before there is Christian peace? PRAYER Good
and gracious God, one of your Son’s primary doctrines was
that
peace should permeate our world. We
also
want peace, but too often it is on our own terms, and therefore it
becomes a
selfish desire, diminishing it. Help
us
truly work for the peace that you want for us. Be
with us, we pray.
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©2007 Capuchin
Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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