The Jedi and the Messianic Hope

This post first appeared at the amazing Coffee With Kenobi.

This is my Christmas post.  Trust me for a bit on that.

Allow yourself to rise up.  Meditate on what it means, or the process by which, you can become greater than you have ever thought you could be.  Leave behind ideas of materialism, or even what pop culture offers as spiritualism.  Identify not with the crude matter, but give great psychological effort to becoming one with the Force, that the Force may become one with you.  If we can find clarity enough to look inside of our own souls we will find that there is a secret hope there, implanted by the Creator.  While the Jedi hoped for the Chosen One, we have a hope for the messianic.

The Hope of the Jedi was the Chosen One of the Prophecy.  Mace Windu did not speak broadly, but specifically.  Of all of the prophecies that the masters of the Force had uttered, this was THE ONE.  And it called for one knight who would rise up and bring balance, securing peace and tranquility for all.  True, George Lucas maintains that Anakin was the Chosen One, but that bothers me.  It affronts my desire and need for the redeeming messiah figure (which, I have said, is innate to humankind).  The messiah of the prophecy must fulfill the prophecy and cannot fail.

The Cave of Wonders and Rebirth

This article was originally published at www.coffeewithkenobi.com 

There is nothing you know that can’t be known.  Eternity has invaded and fulfilled creation with its fullness.  Everything we learn is only that which has been passed on from some masters who found intimate and profound connection to the source of knowledge.  And this lesson is at the core of what Master Yoda has been trying to pass on to us younglings and padawans since 1980 or so.  Never stop educating yourself.  Never stop going to the source of goodness and growth and finding the lessons found in that long sought after place, for they are the beginning of eternal 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.

From Tatooine to the Force; From Earth to Heaven

Last Thursday was 40 days since Pascha, called Easter by most of our neighbors in the English speaking world.  On the 40th day, we celebrate the Ascension of Christ, from earth to Heaven.  Here is the account in the Acts of the Apostles.

     The work that Jesus had to do was completed, and it was time for the next step in salvation history.  When it was finished, as he had mentioned on the cross, he ascended back to sit at the right hand of the Father.  He went back from whence he came.  This was done for many reasons, among them being the salvation of all humankind.

Standing at the Feet of Your Master

Bring up these images in your head:  Anakin standing before the Jedi Council.  Luke standing before the Emperor on Death Star II.  The icon of the Samaritan Woman at the Well (this is the image included here, in case you don't know it). 

Fr Andrew 

My dear friend, Fr Andrew, was giving a lecture one time and noted that in the classical era, the teacher would sit and the people would stand to hear his words.  How much things have changed.  If a student stands in class now, you can bet his afternoon dance card will be full.  When I give a sermon, I stand at the front of the congregation and watch everyone else take a rest.  My parish is good, but in other places I see people go right for the bulletin, the bottom of the purse for the much-needed linty hard candy, or just plain doze off.  The sermon is there for illumination and to make clear the words of the Gospel lesson to today's challenges. 

Seduced by Idols of Our Own Design

It is easy to be seduced by anything. Sometimes seduction can come from something neutral or good.  When the Jedi became too secure in their power, it stultified and became the object of their veneration.  The Force is theoretically neutral.  Neither good nor bad.  And they came to worship the good side, the Light Side, to their own detriment.  By the time of Order 66 they were not fully in step with the Force because they had made it over in their own image.

            When we worship something, we give it utmost value and control over our lives.  When we worship ourselves or the next American Idol, they become our gods and drive us to their ultimate inherent end.  If I were to worship me, as Mrs Darth Father says, I would be 400 pounds, covered in Dorito dust, suffering from Nintendo thumb and living in my mother's basement.  Since my mom lives in a second floor condo, I have to reevaluate this option.  My god would be gross.