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. 
In my priestly work, I travel around town quite a bit - going to the church, visiting parishioners and trying to find new ones.  My SUV is good, but far from reliable.  I wish that I had a tauntaun.  They are awesome, I imagine they are great companions, and loyal to the end.

Loyalty is a characteristic that many are looking for in friends these days, and yet it is hard to find.  In our lives, a few friends will be loyal to the bitter end.  A friend of mine posted this homage about someone to whom he is loyal:  “Were he to show up at my house tomorrow night with a body in his trunk, I would grab my shovel and let him explain (if he wanted) as we drove to the woods. I love you, guy.”  True loyalty.  I guess.  It comes from a deeper characteristic trait - integrity.  Integrity is doing what you say you will do when you say you will do it.  And in relationships, it is merely about satisfying the desires of the friend.  Integrity, reliability, compassion.  In times when we are called on to exhibit each of those qualities, we often fall down.  We fail to do the loyal thing.  Sometimes that is because we are bound up with pleasing ourselves, or out of laziness or some other self serving factor.  In imitation of Jesus’ loyalty to us, we ought to behave in a similar manner.  Think about it, how many times has each of us offended God?  How many times have we sinned and chosen to walk away from God?  How often do we selfishly choose ourselves over the one who loves us more than we love even ourselves?

Tauntauns are productive. Imagine living in a frozen waste land, hunting continually for enough food to survive the next evening.  It is difficult to survive on the planet Hoth.  Even the technologically enabled Rebellion had trouble adjusting their equipment to the frigid temperatures.  But on that planet, the Rebels found enough tauntauns to act as pack animals and to support them on their patrols.  Today, my little offspring are off from school for a snow day.  The mom and dad tauntauns never had that opportunity.  Their little spawns had to be with them at all times.  In their grazing of tundra plants or in the hunt, it can be assumed that they worked together for the safety and survival of the whole group.  Through their productivity and efforts, the tauntaun species made their mark on the galaxy far, far away.

They smelled bad.  Give me a moment, this will become a positive thing in a second.  Not only did they smell bad on the outside, but thanks to Han Solo, we know that they smell bad on the inside.  Perhaps there was some mold or fungus growing in their fur.  Regardless, even with Han’s statement, he never cringes or recoils from them.  It is as if the smell was a bit endearing.  I have a dog that smells.  On one of his feet you can smell soggy corn chips.  Our animals have their own distinctive smells, but it is only because they are doing their animal thing.  Through the comfort of their presence and unconditional love, we see the value of the non-sentient animals.  They serve us and we use them as they are intended.  We ought not abuse them, for that is a betrayal of the stewardship God gave us over the earth.  Sometimes their usefulness is emotional comfort, transportation or protection.  But in all things, it is their use to us that gives them immense value.  And that value is greater than any material good.  It is a usefulness to help us, and we need to treat the animal with the great respect and honor it deserves.  Han’s tauntaun, after having been a loyal servant until it succumbed to the cold, even gave his own body for the preservation of Luke Skywalker.  Remember that moment when Han uses Luke’s lightsaber to open the tauntaun’s belly?  Even in death, the tauntaun was continuing to be useful to its masters.  To see what I mean about the usefulness of a servant, we can actually look at a first century saint.  As we read in the books of Colossians and Philemon, St Onesimus was a slave who belonged to Philemon, an early Christian.  Eventually, Onesimus ran away and found St Paul during his imprisonment in Rome.  Paul, in turn, urged him to return to his master as an example for the Christian life.  He used Onesimus to speak about the freedom that a Christian finds in his life with Christ.  That is to say, every person is ultimately valuable and useful to the Lord.  In fact, the name Onesimus means useful.  Like Onesimus, we are all slaves to something worldly, and yet we can still find our true freedom in service to the Lord.  We are enslaved to sin, and this can seem like a roadblock to performing God’s will.  But beyond that, we also allow our earthly cares to get in the way of our service.  Our freedom is in our sacrifices - no outside force can take this from you. 

The tauntaun is awesome.  An example of loyalty and productivity; a member of a pack that cares for each other; useful to its masters because the masters are thankful in return.  In this never ending winter, when my gas powered vehicle is always sliding toward some ditch, I find myself wishing for the magnificent tauntaun and all that it symbolizes.