This Thursday, May 4, is “Star Wars” Day — May the Fourth be with you! Around the world, fans will gather to watch movies, play video games and eat cookies in the shape of Yoda. There are also huge gatherings in cities where people dress up as characters and talk in the accents.
Of course, the famous Star Wars catchphrase is “May the Force be with you.” This phrase might be derived from the Christian greeting “May the Lord be with you.” There is a book titled “The Gospel According to Star Wars” that argues Christian themes are essential to the message of these movies.
But George Lucas, the revered filmmaker, has described himself as a “Methodist Buddhist,” a nod toward the faith of his childhood and his adult exploration of another religion. As someone who has likewise studied Buddhism, it does seem to me that the Jedi exhibit Buddhist principles such as mindfulness, compassion and a belief in the interdependence of all things. Yoda can sound like a Zen teacher: “Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is.”
Yet, might the same ideas be thought of as reflective of Christian teachings? Not the ludicrous “Jesus, Guns, Babies” political mantra being preached in some parts of Georgia, but the rich theology of an ancient world religion. To quote Yoda once again: “My ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Its energy surrounds us and binds us.” This “it” may be called the Force or God, may be thought of as Jesus, Buddha, Allah or many others.
At the same time, uniqueness is important. Not to assert superiority of one faith over another — “Judge not,” another Zen-like teacher once said — but something that is abstract is better understood through a story. That is one of the reasons “Star Wars” is so popular; it is a different world, yet teaches us about our experience.
I have a T-shirt with a picture of a certain green guy, wrinkled with age, and the words “Yoda Best Dad Ever.” (I like a pun on May 4 and any day of the year.) But I’m not a huge “Star Wars” fan; I haven’t even seen all the movies.
So, when a fellow parent at my children’s school saw my T-shirt and launched into an impersonation of some character, assuming he and I were on the same page, I was quite lost — confused, I was! Still, it was fun to listen to him. Whether “Star Wars” fans or people of different faiths, we can learn a lot from each other.
Finally, our boys ran over to us. They were ready to leave school.
“Come on, Dad,” the other child complained, “you talk too much!”
My son nodded sympathetically, “Is your dad a preacher too?”
Funny, he is!
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church. His newly-published book is a collection of his columns for the Chatham News + Record titled “Hope Matters: Churchless Sermons.”