I am a Jedi

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Star Wars.  I saw the first movie when I was about 8 years old.  My friends and I were the first to collect all the toys that were to become such a ubiquitous part of the Star Wars brand.  We drew pictures of X-wings and Tie Fighters, and dressed up as Luke, Leia, and Darth Vader for Halloween.

I think it was for my friend's birthday party that his dad somehow got hold of a copy of a scene from the movie that we were able to watch in their living room on a projector - like home movies.  I'm not sure the clip even had sound.  But I remember being fascinated that something of a big screen movie would be able to be brought into someone's home like that.  Of course, this was before the advent of VCRs and even cable TV.

Star Wars is part of my childhood that I cannot let go of.  It feeds my imagination.  It reminds me of the value of play.  I live out through the story my own inner struggle with good and evil.

I still have Star Wars toys around me...mostly in my office because my wife thinks I'm kinda nuts.  Lego models and a few figurines hang out on my shelves, and make great conversation starters.  I even have an R2-D2 that beeps and squeals and plays messages from princesses in peril.  Kids, especially, love to come into my office and play with my toys.  It’s a great way for them to be able to feel welcome in my space.

Recently I got a note from a member of the church whose 4 year old nephew, Louis, is a big Star Wars fan (because, of course, his parents, like me, are fans).  The note said, “Louis thinks you’re a Jedi because you have lots of Star Wars stuff and you wear a robe!”

I was thrilled!  In my dreams I am a Jedi – a warrior and protector, a defender of all that is good, but also a custodian of the sacred mysteries and an interpreter of ancient prophesy.  I’d been compared to Jesus before - because of the white robe and being up in front at church and all…but to be elevated to Jedi status seemed an even greater veneration.

Actually, I think there are many who think that because I’m a pastor, I really am like a Jedi.  They think that if I pray, God listens better.  They think that if I lay a hand on them and bless them, then it’s more real – indeed, for some, it is only through one such as me that a valid blessing can come.  Pastors, Priests, others who have devoted themselves to some level of religious activity – or (to a certain chagrin in my mind) those who go on line and get a certificate of ordination – we seem to garner a certain authority and prestige.

About the same time that the note conferring Jedi status on me came, I also got an email from a parishioner asking that I might bless a certain object that she had received for Christmas.  It was a pen made with wood that had come from the olive trees that grow in and around Bethlehem and was hand crafted by a special friend.  The giver of the gift had specifically asked that she acquire a blessing for the pen so that it could protect her and keep her safe.

Despite my newly discovered Jedi powers and my direct connection with God, I had to tell her that my ability to bestow a blessing on the pen was no more or less potent than any other person’s.  In fact, as far as I am concerned, there is no blessing that the pen itself can contain – but the opportunity to pray for each other and God’s care for all of us, is certainly valid.  The pen can then serve as a reminder of that blessing.  Regardless, as a pastor I have neither the capacity nor any special power or unique ability that avails me to bless anything be it object, person, or otherwise.

And this is a good thing.  Because it means that we are all the same in the mind of God.  There isn’t a super class of religious people who are better than others.  There is just us – all of us – the regular people, the good people, the people who have messed up in life, the people who are grumpy sometimes, the rich, the poor, men women, kids, gay, homeless, gifted, sick, whatever. Regardless of my job and my position as pastor, I am just a normal person.

So we sat in my office – surrounded by Star Wars toys – and I said a prayer for blessing and protection and peace for this person.  I held her pen in my hand as I prayed, and in my mind it began to take on the glow of a different kind of slender object – one that offers protection to many in a galaxy far, far away.

I’d like to hold out hope that somehow I could possibly be a Jedi.  But maybe we are all Jedis.  Indeed, as Obi-Wan would say, the force flows through all of us – surrounding us, penetrating us, and binding us together.  So I will look for ways to share whatever it is that God is doing in and around us.  I will bless you and I invite you to bless me and others with God’s grace.

May the force be with you.