Several years ago I saw a book in the
bookstore that I knew at the time I just had to have, Christian
Wisdom of the Jedi Masters by
Dick Staub. Not being able to afford it at the time, I read through
the first chapter which had been made available at the time and it
sounded great. I thought this is something I really need to check
out. It was in this book that I first read the idea that “our
generation has no Yodas” referring to those of us in the Church. It
was around this time that I also came across another book, The
Dharma of Star Wars by Matthew
Bortolin which used ideas and concepts from the Jedi in Star Wars to
present Buddhist teaching and ideas. Being both a religious studies
nerd and a Star Wars geek I naturally bought both when I had the
chance.
I
began reading the book by Staub with relish hoping to really find
some good wisdom and “Jedi-up” my own faith and practice. But as
I got further into it, the more disappointed I became. The book
itself made reference to different sayings and characters from Star
Wars and had a few quotes from a few spiritual authors, but in
general it became apparent that the author really didn't know what
“Jedi Christianity” was supposed to look like either. He
presented the same basics of Christian faith and practice which are
taught over and over in most evangelical churches every Sunday, and
didn't himself seem to understand the more meaty truths which those
spiritual authors were trying to convey. It seemed like he promised
the world, but didn't know how to deliver it. Needless to say, I was
so disappointed with the book that after the first few chapters, I
skimmed through it to see if it went anywhere. Finding that it
didn't, I couldn't bring myself to continue it.
The
problem wasn't with Staub's intentions in writing the book. And I
understand his statement when he says that “this generation has no
Yodas.” But in seeking to
bring us the wisdom of Christianity's own Jedi masters, he himself
didn't understand how to use or interpret the wisdom they had to
impart and so he fell back to the ground which was familiar and which
he knew he could safely talk about. As I have written about before,
this isn't uncommon among pastors of any denomination.
In
modern American culture, to
be a “Jedi Master” at something is along the same lines as what
the term “Kung Fu” means to the Chinese. It means to study and
practice your chosen discipline so much that you achieve a mastery or
proficiency at it that goes beyond the normal every day that others
get by with.
In the
Christian faith, there have been true Jedi Masters who have walked
the path of Jesus Christ so closely that Jesus was nearly impossible
to miss in everything they did and said. I, and probably you, can
think of several right off the top of my head; St. Paul the Apostle,
St. Peter the Apostle, St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Theresa of
Calcutta, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. John of the Cross, Hudson
Taylor, and Watchman Nee just to name a few. Many of these Masters
left writings behind, some intentionally and some unintentionally,
for others to learn from and imitate them just as they also imitated
Christ.
Becoming
a Jedi Christian begins along the same lines that Yoda expressed to
his apprentices. It requires the deepest of commitments and the most
serous mind. It requires that you not only read what Jesus taught,
but also that you follow
it. Like the Jedi, it requires that you let go of those attachments
which cause you to fear losing them and as a result keep you from the
love He commands and calls us to, because fear leads to hate and hate
to the suffering of those who don't know Him. Like the Jedi, it
requires that you not rely on yourself as much as you rely on the One
who binds us, penetrates us, and holds the galaxy together. The Jedi
Masters of Christianity gave up everything that weighed them down so
that they could gain Christ, the only goal that was of any real
importance to them. All, like the Master, were persecuted, some by
fellow “Christians”, most were physically beaten, many were
tortured, and many were tortured to death. But in there lives,
however long or short they were, they wielded such a power through
the Grace of God that lives were changed and the world would never be
the same.
In
Christian, well... mostly Catholic parlance we call these Jedi
Masters “Saints” because we can look at their lives and writings
and see Jesus loud and clear in them. All too often we tend to hold
them up on pedestals and think, “oh, that's only for the very
special. I can't do that.” The truth however is that we all, every
person who professes to follow Jesus Christ, are called to be
“Saints.” Jedi Christianity isn't for just the occasional super
Christian, it's meant for all of us to walk in their footsteps
because they walked in His.
The
reason why there are no Yodas in our generation is because these Jedi
Masters have been ignored for far too long or placed on the “too
holy for you” shelf for far too long, much like Jesus Christ
Himself. The radical way in which they abandoned the world to follow
Christ is all but scandalous is many if not most churches, and it
terrifies pastors because it calls them to leave behind their own
comfortable middle class lives to engage in something that will be
ridiculed and demonized.
I
don't know if the Lord will grant me the Grace to truly be able to
follow in their footsteps, but
the more I get to know Him and experience Him the
more I realize that this is the goal I want more than anything else.
I may never reach “Yoda” status, and I might spend the rest of my
life as a “Padawan” just trying to figure out which end of the
lightsaber you don't point towards you. But I have come to realize
that for me, nothing else will do, and no other goal is worth
anything except for this, not for my own glory, but so that I might
gain everything God wants me to gain in His Son Jesus Christ. Will
this mean hardship? Yes. Will this mean taking actions that make
absolutely no sense from the world's point of view? Yes. Will this
mean possibly following both them and Him in suffering the way they
did? Probably, and it terrifies me at the prospect. But beyond that
fear lies God who is perfect love and who casts out all fear through
faith in Him. Beyond that fear lies knowledge of the power of His
Grace and love against which nothing can stand. Beyond that fear lies
His Eternal Life and Kingdom, union with Him through His Son Jesus
Christ. There can be no greater goal than the one which God laid down
for us through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
There
may be no Yodas now, but it doesn't have to stay that way. All it
takes is someone willing to bet the whole of their lives on a sure
thing.
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