Growing with the Saga, Childhood In Tact

Like many of you, on Thursday I went with my two boys to the theater. What a glorious evening! I was too young to see A New Hope in 1977, but I have vivid memories of seeing Return of the Jedi. I saw Phantom Menace with my new wife and uncle in 1999. Now, I took my own offspring to see this glory of a film.
At first, I was a little kid, stolen away to a movie by my doting aunt. For the second trilogy premiere I was a young man beginning my adult life just a few days after my wedding. Now as a grown man, I share the joys with the ones I am trying, with varying degrees of success, to raise.

The Force Awakens Review for Younglings

This is a letter that was written to a family with younglings that are quite interested in whether The Force Awakens is appropriate for them.  

I was very happy to be able to see the new movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night with my two boys who are ages 10 and 14.  Together, we watch a lot of Star Wars movies and cartoons because it is a good story with interesting characters and exciting battles.

            The new movie is just as exciting.  There are lots of new characters and aliens that make it really fun.  Rey, the young lady who seems to be the center of the movie, is a clever person that has lived on her own in the desert for many years.  She doesn’t complain about how harsh it is to live there, but she hopes for the day when she will be rescued.

Jedi Lessons from Skellig Michael

The last time we saw our Jedi Master, he was in triumphant celebration of the destruction of Death Star II. He was also in mourning for his newly-reclaimed father. His journey as a Jedi and as a man was headed in a unique direction after these events. In the poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Luke is conspicuously absent. We do not know why, but speculation abounds. We do know that Mark Hamill was seen filming at a remote location in Ireland. This location will become part of our enduring fandom consciousness, just as the desert of Tunisia, the glaciers of Norway or the redwoods of Northern California have. We are talking about Skellig Michael, an ancient island in Ireland that was once home to Christian monastics.

Book Review: May the Faith be With You: 180 Devotions That Are Out of This World

For many years, the Star Wars franchise has been involved in the publishing industry, giving kids and adults alike the chance to use their minds to create fabulous foreign lands.  Those writings have saturated our society, and I am thankful for that.  Now, the venerable Zonderkids, longtime purveyors of excellent materials for the development of Christian youth, has produced a lovely little book that explores the life of a student of the force.

            May the Faith Be with You is a devotional book that takes the biblical story of salvation and brings it alive for the young reader.  It is a book of beautiful simplicity.  The captivating cover calls us to attention, letting us know that the celestial story of our Lord can become one of our own.

Anakin’s Full Repentence

Years ago, there was an amazing English teacher in my high school that treated us students a bit differently – like people who could think analytically and judge the merits of ideas and experiences. I think I did some of my best academic work for him, and quite often, Mr Wentworth comes to mind when I am contemplating Anakin’s ultimate end (for now) on the Second Death Star. Mr Wentworth questioned how redemption was offered and possible for Anakin at the end of his life since most of his life had been in the service of darkness and evil. It is indeed a tough question. Does it give us the possibility of living a terribly immoral life and stealing a space in Heaven through a few words? If so, then where is the motivation for goodness in this world? I think the answer is much deeper and existential.

Returning to the Jedi Temple of our Heart

This post contains a spoiler for Marvel’s Star Wars: Darth Vader #2.

We gather together quite often to play in the Star Wars sandbox because it is familiar and comfortable to many of us. With the changing tides and seasons of our lives, there is a constant in these stories we love so much. Even though new stories are created and fresh characters come along, there is something that is always the same and familiar. We return again and again as younglings enthralled by the stories of those who have travelled the stars weaving their glorious tales.

An Unfinished Trilogy – Life, Redemption and Legacy

For all of George Lucas’ flip-floppery on whether there would ever be a sequel trilogy, the form of the story demands that a third installment be created.  It asks for it, it begs for it, and it demands it.  The Skywalker story is not complete.  From one point of view, we have Anakin’s rise, fall and redemption.  But we are missing the story of his legacy.  Every one of us will leave a legacy – a story that can only be told after our death.  So, from my point of view, we have Anakin’s life, his redemption and – and then, nothing.  The Skywalker baton was passed on to his son, but what he did with that legacy is a story as yet untold.  Life, redemption, legacy.  A trilogy that can be reflective of every life.

A Selfless Season of Communing with the Force

 

There has been awakening. Have you felt it? There is a stirring in every fangirl and fanboy. Something is about to change. I completely expect that our minds will be blown in ten short months when the screens explode with the next chapter in the Star Wars saga. The change will be something impossible to guess at this moment. It will be a surprise that makes us examine our own presuppositions – if only for the movie, but maybe even for our personal lives. We will be challenged to grow from the experience, after this excruciatingly long wait.

Tauntauns are Awesome

The third storm is hitting us in the Northeast.  They say that it is the third storm, but it feels like it has been snowing since Thanksgiving - or maybe even Labor Day.  I go outside, and I am hit with subzero temperatures and snow deeper than my boots.  But that is how it goes here in the Finger Lakes.  We knew what we signed up for when we moved here.  But I could use some help going about my daily business. 

Lando and the Value of Good Friends

Wow! What did we see last Monday night? Was Lando a temporary crewmember of the Ghost and aiding the Lothal Rebels? Amazing! And so as not to spoil it for those who are waiting for the complete series, the episode ended with the sure hope that Lando will make his way back on the galactic stage.