{"id":2586,"date":"2023-05-04T07:17:01","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T11:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=2586"},"modified":"2023-05-04T07:17:46","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T11:17:46","slug":"may-the-fourth-be-with-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/04\/may-the-fourth-be-with-you\/","title":{"rendered":"May the Fourth Be With You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to this reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>.
 
Do some people take Star Wars<\/em> a little too seriously?
 
Let\u2019s put it this way:  It\u2019s astonishing how many fans of the pop culture phenomenon, when asked on a form if they would prefer to declare a religious affiliation, write \u201cJedi.\u201d 
 
May 4 is the unofficial national holiday for devotees of the space opera that director George Lucas launched with the original Star Wars<\/em> movie in 1977.  \u201cMay the Fourth be with you,\u201d it must be admitted, is undoubtedly the best pun on the calendar every year \u2013 considerably better than tomorrow\u2019s \u201crevenge of the Fifth.\u201d  If those words didn\u2019t immediately make you think of the Sith, the cult of the Dark Side in the Star<\/em> Wars<\/em> mythology, it means you probably have a lot of screen time ahead of you in order to get caught up.
 
Lucas never concealed the fact that his grand epic was more than just entertainment.
 
He delved deeply into various global religious traditions in order to help his viewers embrace new ways of envisioning the cosmos.  He told an interviewer, \u201cI wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the mystery.\u201d  The mystery of life, that is.  And the mysteries of meaning, purpose, Good, and Evil. 
 
Lucas borrowed generously from Buddhism.  One writer has even described Star Wars<\/em> as \u201cZen with lightsabers.\u201d  He embraced the notion of the \u201cyin and the yang,\u201d as well as Taoism\u2019s never-ending quest for balance as we seek to follow the Tao, or Way, through this world.  The nine feature films and many back-story episodes that comprise the Star Wars<\/em> saga include echoes of Zoroastrianism (Dark vs. Light) as well as Brahman Hinduism. 
 
Then there are the Messianic associations with Anakin Skywalker, who is mysteriously born of a virgin and declared to be the Chosen One \u2013 the long-prophesied figure who will bring balance and peace to the galaxy.  Unlike Jesus, however, Anakin yields to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader \u2013 definitely not a positive development, seeing he was recently voted the most notorious movie villain of all time. 
 
And what of Lucas himself?  He was once described as a \u201cBuddhist-Methodist.\u201d  In 1999 he told Time<\/em> magazine, \u201cLet\u2019s say I\u2019m spiritual.\u201d
 
The central metaphysical component of Star Wars<\/em> is the Force.  As the Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi puts it, in what amounts to Galactic Theology 101: \u201cThe Force is what gives a Jedi his power.  It\u2019s an energy field created by all living things.  It surrounds us and penetrates us.  It binds the galaxy together.\u201d
 
As a pervasive field of energy, the Force is everywhere.  Yet it\u2019s also subtle.  A majority of the Star Wars<\/em> characters seem to have no clue it even exists.  A few beings, however \u2013 genetically blessed with an innate sensitivity to the Force \u2013 are able to harness its extraordinary power. 
 
Yoda, for instance, can levitate a starfighter out of a swamp just by using his mind to harness the Force\u2019s boundless energy.  Jedis use the Force for good, while Siths employ the same Force to create havoc.  The Force can help direct your next steps, provide glimpses of future events, and even cloud the minds of law enforcement officials: \u201cThese are not the droids you\u2019re looking for.\u201d  As a general rule, Jedi mind tricks will not work the next time you\u2019re pulled over for speeding.
 
While the Force has a \u201cwill\u201d \u2013 at times seeming to influence where galactic history is heading \u2013 it\u2019s not what we would call a personal Being.  The Force, in other words, is not God.  It\u2019s an energy field.  The power of the Force can be used to bless and to curse, to build up and to tear down.  It all depends on the one who is accessing it.    
 
Which brings us back to those familiar words: \u201cMay the Force be with you.\u201d  As the science fiction columnist Emmet Asher-Perrin inquires, \u201cThe next time you say \u2018may the Force be with you\u201d to a friend, you might want to ask \u2013 what exactly are you wishing for them?\u201d
 
Is proximity to the Force a good thing or a bad thing?  Is it both?  Or maybe neither?  And in what sense can the Force be \u201cwith\u201d us? 
 
Observers have long noted that faithful Catholics almost can\u2019t help themselves when they hear, \u201cMay the Force be with you.\u201d  For generations they\u2019ve heard their priest say, \u201cThe Lord be with you,\u201d after which they respond, \u201cAnd also with you.\u201d  They love the joke about the priest who starts tapping on a malfunctioning microphone and asks, \u201cIs this thing on?\u201d After fussing for a few moments he says, \u201cSomething is wrong with this mic!\u201d  To which the congregation responds, \u201cAnd also with you!\u201d
 
What do followers of Jesus mean when they say, \u201cThe Lord be with you\u201d? 
 
We can be sure this is not a way of saying, \u201cWell, you know, sometimes God is with you, and sometimes he\u2019s not, so I hope this turns out to be one of the good times.\u201d 
 
Instead, those words are more like a wake-up call \u2013 a reminder that even though in our spiritual inattentiveness we often lose track of his presence, he is always with us.  \u201cThe Lord be with you\u201d is not a sincere wish that God might come through this time, but a stirring call for us to remember that we are in fact never alone. 
 
When exactly is God with you? 
 
God is with you when you stare at the ceiling in the middle of the night and wonder if your life has turned out the way it should.  God is with you as you wait to hear from the doctor in the ER.  God is with you as you try to figure out how you will pay your mortgage this month.  God is with you as you weep over the addiction you cannot beat.  God is with you as you wonder if you can ever be reconciled to one of your kids.  God is with you in the meeting you dread because you know your job might be on the line.  God is with you when you feel utterly alone \u2013 when others have said, \u201cI no longer want to be with you.\u201d

Bible scholars have long noted that there is a \u201cwith\u201d at both the beginning and the end of the gospel of Matthew.  Jesus comes into the world as Immanuel, \u201cGod With Us\u201d (Matthew 1:23).  And he departs the company of his disciples with the words, \u201cAnd surely I am with<\/em> you always, to the very end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:20).
 
He is the With-Us God.  He is a Force like no other. 
 
And we can be with him \u2013 not a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but right here and right now. To listen to this reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>.
 
Do some people take Star Wars<\/em> a little too seriously?
 
Let\u2019s put it this way:  It\u2019s astonishing how many fans of the pop culture phenomenon, when asked on a form if they would prefer to declare a religious affiliation, write \u201cJedi.\u201d 
 
May 4 is the unofficial national holiday for devotees of the space opera that director George Lucas launched with the original Star Wars<\/em> movie in 1977.  \u201cMay the Fourth be with you,\u201d it must be admitted, is undoubtedly the best pun on the calendar every year \u2013 considerably better than tomorrow\u2019s \u201crevenge of the Fifth.\u201d  If those words didn\u2019t immediately make you think of the Sith, the cult of the Dark Side in the Star<\/em> Wars<\/em> mythology, it means you probably have a lot of screen time ahead of you in order to get caught up.
 
Lucas never concealed the fact that his grand epic was more than just entertainment.
 
He delved deeply into various global religious traditions in order to help his viewers embrace new ways of envisioning the cosmos.  He told an interviewer, \u201cI wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the mystery.\u201d  The mystery of life, that is.  And the mysteries of meaning, purpose, Good, and Evil. 
 
Lucas borrowed generously from Buddhism.  One writer has even described Star Wars<\/em> as \u201cZen with lightsabers.\u201d  He embraced the notion of the \u201cyin and the yang,\u201d as well as Taoism\u2019s never-ending quest for balance as we seek to follow the Tao, or Way, through this world.  The nine feature films and many back-story episodes that comprise the Star Wars<\/em> saga include echoes of Zoroastrianism (Dark vs. Light) as well as Brahman Hinduism. 
 
Then there are the Messianic associations with Anakin Skywalker, who is mysteriously born of a virgin and declared to be the Chosen One \u2013 the long-prophesied figure who will bring balance and peace to the galaxy.  Unlike Jesus, however, Anakin yields to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader \u2013 definitely not a positive development, seeing he was recently voted the most notorious movie villain of all time. 
 
And what of Lucas himself?  He was once described as a \u201cBuddhist-Methodist.\u201d  In 1999 he told Time<\/em> magazine, \u201cLet\u2019s say I\u2019m spiritual.\u201d
 
The central metaphysical component of Star Wars<\/em> is the Force.  As the Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi puts it, in what amounts to Galactic Theology 101: \u201cThe Force is what gives a Jedi his power.  It\u2019s an energy field created by all living things.  It surrounds us and penetrates us.  It binds the galaxy together.\u201d
 
As a pervasive field of energy, the Force is everywhere.  Yet it\u2019s also subtle.  A majority of the Star Wars<\/em> characters seem to have no clue it even exists.  A few beings, however \u2013 genetically blessed with an innate sensitivity to the Force \u2013 are able to harness its extraordinary power. 
 
Yoda, for instance, can levitate a starfighter out of a swamp just by using his mind to harness the Force\u2019s boundless energy.  Jedis use the Force for good, while Siths employ the same Force to create havoc.  The Force can help direct your next steps, provide glimpses of future events, and even cloud the minds of law enforcement officials: \u201cThese are not the droids you\u2019re looking for.\u201d  As a general rule, Jedi mind tricks will not work the next time you\u2019re pulled over for speeding.
 
While the Force has a \u201cwill\u201d \u2013 at times seeming to influence where galactic history is heading \u2013 it\u2019s not what we would call a personal Being.  The Force, in other words, is not God.  It\u2019s an energy field.  The power of the Force can be used to bless and to curse, to build up and to tear down.  It all depends on the one who is accessing it.    
 
Which brings us back to those familiar words: \u201cMay the Force be with you.\u201d  As the science fiction columnist Emmet Asher-Perrin inquires, \u201cThe next time you say \u2018may the Force be with you\u201d to a friend, you might want to ask \u2013 what exactly are you wishing for them?\u201d
 
Is proximity to the Force a good thing or a bad thing?  Is it both?  Or maybe neither?  And in what sense can the Force be \u201cwith\u201d us? 
 
Observers have long noted that faithful Catholics almost can\u2019t help themselves when they hear, \u201cMay the Force be with you.\u201d  For generations they\u2019ve heard their priest say, \u201cThe Lord be with you,\u201d after which they respond, \u201cAnd also with you.\u201d  They love the joke about the priest who starts tapping on a malfunctioning microphone and asks, \u201cIs this thing on?\u201d After fussing for a few moments he says, \u201cSomething is wrong with this mic!\u201d  To which the congregation responds, \u201cAnd also with you!\u201d
 
What do followers of Jesus mean when they say, \u201cThe Lord be with you\u201d? 
 
We can be sure this is not a way of saying, \u201cWell, you know, sometimes God is with you, and sometimes he\u2019s not, so I hope this turns out to be one of the good times.\u201d 
 
Instead, those words are more like a wake-up call \u2013 a reminder that even though in our spiritual inattentiveness we often lose track of his presence, he is always with us.  \u201cThe Lord be with you\u201d is not a sincere wish that God might come through this time, but a stirring call for us to remember that we are in fact never alone. 
 
When exactly is God with you? 
 
God is with you when you stare at the ceiling in the middle of the night and wonder if your life has turned out the way it should.  God is with you as you wait to hear from the doctor in the ER.  God is with you as you try to figure out how you will pay your mortgage this month.  God is with you as you weep over the addiction you cannot beat.  God is with you as you wonder if you can ever be reconciled to one of your kids.  God is with you in the meeting you dread because you know your job might be on the line.  God is with you when you feel utterly alone \u2013 when others have said, \u201cI no longer want to be with you.\u201d

Bible scholars have long noted that there is a \u201cwith\u201d at both the beginning and the end of the gospel of Matthew.  Jesus comes into the world as Immanuel, \u201cGod With Us\u201d (Matthew 1:23).  And he departs the company of his disciples with the words, \u201cAnd surely I am with<\/em> you always, to the very end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:20).
 
He is the With-Us God.  He is a Force like no other. 
 
And we can be with him \u2013 not a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but right here and right now. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. Do some people take Star Wars a little too seriously? Let\u2019s put it this way:  It\u2019s astonishing how many fans of the pop culture phenomenon, when asked on a form if they would prefer to declare a religious affiliation, write \u201cJedi.\u201d  May 4 is the unofficial national holiday for devotees of the space opera… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[474],"class_list":["post-2586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-god-with-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2586"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2589,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586\/revisions\/2589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}