Help me Obie One Kenobi. You’re our only hope.
LESSON 1
As I said in the previous blog, pride and fear played a big part in the Star Wars sagas, but humility and hope were also strong and, in the end, won. The times when hope played a part began with humility. The humility led to peace, not anger. The peace gave way to love and in this scenario, when the door to fear was opened, it was firmly shut tight. The focus would not be on fear. Instead it would be focused on a righteous hope that was anchored in love. It would not be an I, I, I or me, me, me mentality. It was a mentality of we. The individual was never alone, not even when they were the only one physically present. They just understood this just as we understand being one in Jesus and in the Communion of Saints. They never thought of themselves as the bravest or most supreme. They were humble. They were part of something bigger. The odds against them were not dwelled on. The loss they could incur was not about themselves and how they would feel if they suffered the loss. It was completely other oriented.
Being mindful that they were never alone and part of something bigger, for the sake of those they loved, they would risk their lives while holding onto a hope anchored in love. As Saint Paul tells us in Romans 5:5, hope never disappoints when it is centered on God.
LESSON 2
When someone was trying to win someone over from the dark side, reason never worked. Force never made them change their ways either. While mercy and compassion were always present when winning someone over, it was also grounded in hope. The one filled with hope could see the conflict within the one who was in the dark and with love, they showed them hope that they would return to the side of good. With great love, they set up the hope. Perhaps deep down we never want to disappoint someone who melts our hearts with the hope they have in us…and hope never looks like the manipulation of a guilt trip.
It may have taken time, and hope may have even diminished a bit, but it always won because it never died. God-centered hope is that powerful.
LESSON 3
Nobody in the movie was perfect and neither are we. In one instance there was one who was grounded in humility, but fell and entered the door to fear. Just as in the person who leads with pride, actions based on fear of the humble person still cause devastating effects because we are one.
Our words and actions never only affect us. We are one in the Body of Christ and by our very lives, we are the prayer.
The difference between entering the door of fear when one was filled with pride and one was filled with humility was repentance.
With the strength of repentance, the humble one willingly receives help from God. Though they may fall, they are able to rise again, continue to grow and say yes when the door is open to help and make a difference. They are able to reject fear and act on hope. They can right their wrongs.
So much can be overcome with hope. While fear and despair are closely tied, so are courage and hope. Both bring about action, but only one truly has victory. We don’t have to be battling major battles in an actual battlefield to see how fear versus hope dictates our lives. We only have to become aware of the first inkling of a reaction to any loss or possible loss we may find surfacing in us.
With each of these 11 movies, the idea of fear versus hope grew stronger within me. The idea that love conquers all and hope never disappoints also became stronger. While I know that to be true, the question is, do I live that? I am excited to learn where I am in respect to hope so I can grow. I invite you to pray on it as well.
PRAYERFULLY PONDER THESE QUESTIONS
Meditate on Rom 5:1-5.
Do you ACT as the prayer of love and hope knowing how powerful they are?
Are you afraid of losing something? Do you exercise hope in the situation?
If you are afraid of loss, are you looking at self or being other-oriented? Can you be honest about it?
If you are in a situation that is the result of you acting out of fear, have you embraced the power of repentance?
Is there someone you have been trying to pull out of darkness? Are you using a combination of reason and anger or reason and love? Have you tried using hope and love? Do you think it’s worth at least trying?
Pray on these and talk to God about them.