Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
If confession is good for the soul,
then I am going to have a VERY good day.
I do have a confession to make.
I have kept a secret for many, many years.
I reveal this at the risk that some of you will never see me the same way again………….
Here goes.
I have never seen Star Wars.
Never.
That would be Stars Wars of 1977
or any of the gazillion sequels and prequels that followed.
I have been invited to go see the newest film on Christmas Day
and I was forced to admit that if I went,
I would have NO idea what was going on.
It’s not that I don’t know the character names.
It would be impossible not to.
But for all I know……..
R2-D2 is a type of motor oil,
Yoda is an exercise class at my local gym,
Jabba the Hut sounds like the sports bar I went to while in Hawaii,
and Chewbacca could be the tobacco my uncle used to chomp on.
If I played Jeopardy with Star Wars as a category,
Luke Skywalker would be a cousin to Buzz Light year for $200
and Obi Wan Kenobi would be a dish I recently had at my favorite Chinese restaurant for $500.
Darth Vader sounds like a few dates that I have gone on,
Hans solo reminds me of a piano etude I once learned,
and Princess Leia…….
well, I just don’t have time for princesses.
It’s not that I didn’t try.
When I was a sophomore in college in 1977,
I went to see this big blockbuster that everyone had been talking about for months.
I was asleep before I finished my raisinets.
What a waste of $2.50
Yes, that was the cost of a movie in 1977.
The raisinets however, were a bargain at 25 cents.
It didn’t end there.
The next week, I went back to see the movie with another set of friends.
I didn’t make it a third of the way through my bucket of popcorn.
And I love pop corn.
The only stars I saw were in my dreams.
It’s not that I am anti sci-fi.
I liked Star Trek.
and E.T. was awesome.
But then again
I had no patience for The Terminator,
The Matrix, and forgive me folks……..
Jurassic Park.
As for Avatar,
well you might as well just stick a knife in my neck.
I have tried to fake my way through conversations that hint of Star Wars.
I have offered the peace of Christ in church
by saying “May the Force Be With You.”
I know that Luke has a surprise daddy,
but I couldn’t tell you who it is,
pending a paternity test.
And I know that Princess Leia
must have had a bad trip to the hair salon.
Other than that,
I am clueless,
completely clueless.
But I did look up some quotes and found them very inspirational.
“Do or do not. There is no try” sounds like something
I would say in a piano lesson.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this”
Well, anybody who has ever taken a test in school
has said this at one time or another.
Then, there are quotes that all ring of Biblical truth.
“I find your lack or faith disturbing”
(O ye of little faith Matt 8:26)
“I am your father”
(How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God. 1 John 3:1)
“Your eyes can deceive you. Do not trust them.”
(And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. Matt. 5:29)
“It’s against my programming to impersonate a Deity”
(For many will come in my name, saying ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. Matt 24:5)
It sounds like Star Wars contains elements of Biblical truth
mixed with a lot of fiction.
Good versus evil,
the present state of evil in this world,
supernatural power derived from “The force,”
life after death.
In this day and age,
I believe there are many whose theology
is shaped more by popular culture than by what God says in His Word.
As Christmas approaches,
I continue to marvel that God would choose to become like us
to show us how to become like Him.
I marvel that His coming was for the shepherdly poor,
as well as for those of kingly high status.
I marvel that God created the tree
from which both a manger and a cross would be built.
And I marvel that receiving Him for who He is,
is the peace, joy, and hope in which I live.
Faith rather than fiction.
Eternity over entertainment.
Blessing more than box office success.
This weekend, I am going to watch Star Wars, the original
to prep myself for my Christmas Day excursion.
To avoid falling asleep for a third time,
I plan to drink 3 Red Bulls,
run in place during the entire movie,
and set my alarm to go off every five minutes.
May the force be with me.
But more importantly,
May the Spirit of Christ be with you
as you prepare your heart to receive Him once again.
“These things I have spoken to you,
that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation,
but take courage,
I have overcome the world.”
John 17:33
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