THE WISDOM OF THE CHRISTIAN JEDI 5/21/2005
EPHESIANS 6:10-20
Long ago in a Galaxy far far away…. And with those words we are whisked off to a fictional Galaxy where the noble Jedi Knights fight the evil of the Dark Side in an effort to overcome that evil and champion Peace and Justice.
I love Star Wars. I am so sad (bummed) that Revenge of the Sith is the final movie. I would have liked the saga to keep going on and on and on. It’s a great story. But I’ve got news for you – Its not fiction. Oh I don’t mean that Yoda, ObiWanKanobi, Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Padme or Princess Leia really exist in that galaxy far, far away;
But, as we speak, there is a battle going on and it is the very same battle that takes place in Star Wars. It is the battle of the forces of good against the forces of the evil. We call that battle life and if we are to survive that battle, we need training as intense and weapons as advanced as any Jedi Knight.
For those of you who don’t know; the Jedi Knights of Star Wars fame, were an order of knights empowered and guided by The Force to protect the galaxy from evil. They were the guardians of peace and justice. That’s what they were called in fiction. In the world of today we call them Christians.
It isn’t a giant stretch to see the Parallels in the role of the Jedi, in that galaxy far far away, and the role of the Christian, in the world today. More and more, being Christian makes us different. Its even true here in Charlotte where we kind of assume that everybody is Christian. But the truth of the matter is, for a lot of people; the church is only a place for marrying and burying people. Christian values and teaching seem pretty irrelevant to a lot of people, or at least they are fairly low on the list of what is important.
I intentionally chose this topic for today, because I knew the latest Star Wars movie was going to be released last Thursday, so I figured folks would have to live under a rock not to, at least, have heard about Star Wars this week.
And also, because I especially wanted to talk to the graduates who are going out into the world and will be making more and more independent decisions and choices revolving around following the ways of The Force or being seduced by the Dark Side.
As you graduates venture out on your own, you will, more than ever, see the evil of the Dark Side. And without a clear understanding of your own faith and of Christian values and a commitment to Jesus Christ, you will be defenseless against the superhuman forces of evil in the heavens.”(Ephesians 6:12).
And I can hear the young people, students and graduates quietly saying – “Yada, Yada, Yada, heard this all before. The world’s not so bad. I can’t wait to get out in it and be on my own. I can handle it.”
I have news for you. Without Christ you can’t. Evil is sneaky and seductive. It creeps into our lives a little bit at a time and the next thing you know, you are up to your neck, to quote JarJar Binks, “in deep doo doo.” One stupid act like drinking and driving, cheating on an exam, burning up the campus or doing any kind of violence(even if you think it is a good cause, because there never is a good cause for violence) can hurt you in ways you can’t even begin to comprehend.
So where does that leave you graduates and where does it leave the rest of us? How are we to embrace The Force and avoid the seduction of the Dark Side? As we live in this world from day to day, how do we survive? Can we live at peace and still battle evil?
The answer is a resounding “Yes!”, but in order to do so, we must prepare. As Jedi’s needed to prepare, so do Christians. As the Jedi learned from the older Jedi Masters, so we must learn from those in the faith who have gone on before us.
As the Jedi had to study to understand The Force, and learn how to use a light saber, and many other means of defense. So must Christians learn how to put on and use the armor of God. And, as with the Jedi, our weapons are all defensive in nature, never are we to take the offence, the Bible is clear about no pre-emptive strikes, in fact violence is always the absolute last, last, last resort, even if we are hit first, remember that “turn the other cheek” thing that Jesus said.
So what are our Defensive weapons to be? They are recorded in Ephesians 6:
• the belt of truth,
• breast plate of righteousness (the chain mail of integrity)
• the shoes of the gospel of peace
• the shield of faith
• the helmet of salvation
• for sword (light Saber) the word of God
This, says St. Paul, is what is needed to withstand the forces of evil – this is what we need to survive as Christians in the world.
Knowing that we need these things, let’s take a look at them, one at a time. The belt of truth – If ever there was something that we need to withstand the forces of evil, it is truth. Evil can be so deceptive. Something may sound good, or look like fun, but underneath it can be as menacing as anything on the Dark Side. So how do we find the truth? By studying the truth of scripture, applying the insights of years of church tradition, looking to our personal experience, and then drawing on the intelligent reason God has given us, to understand how all of these things to remain relevant in this ever-changing world in which we live. This is the United Methodist Quadrilateral – Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason. This is a uniquely UM tool for helping us understand and apply to our lives insights encountered as God reveals more and more about Himself and our existence to us day by day. (To see thee more Clearly, Love thee more dearly, Follow thee more nearly- Day By Day). We need to gather in church, in Sunday School, in Small Groups, in Bible Studies, prayer groups; all of these for support, encouragement, and understanding; We need to find ways to keep in touch with our beliefs and grow in our knowledge and love of God! Its hard to stand firm if we don’t know what we are standing firm in. We really need that belt of truth. Interesting choice of imagery. Obviously Paul thought it was very important, because if we don’t wear a belt it could be very embarrassing to be caught with our pants down.
One Sunday a young man gave his testimony. He had a job in a government agency. He said he continually comes to church to remind himself that Christians do not lie. He said he has to be reminded of that, because every day at his job he is surrounded by lies and its so hard to resist not becoming part of the system of lies. So he comes each Sunday in hopes of renewing his speech so he will not lie on the job. It may not contribute to job advancement, but he says he would rather be a Christian. To fight evil and perpetuate peace, we all need to put on that belt of truth.
We also need “the breastplate of righteousness, or as some translations put it, the chain mail of integrity.” This one is particularly important, because the breastplate covers our heart. It is so easy in the world to let evil harden our heart against the injustice and pain and abuse in this world. It’s so easy to turn our backs and say, “that’s not my problem. They should take care of themselves. I can’t help everyone, so I won’t help anyone.” But as Christians we are called to serve and to help when and where we can. We battle the forces of evil by working for justice. Where there is injustice, people are much more open to the power of evil. Saddam Hussein of Iraq experienced oppressive treatment and an impoverished youth under British occupation, Hitler experienced ridicule and mistreatment as a child. No way am I trying to make excuses for these tyrants, we all have free will and choose to follow the way of The Force(God) or the Dark Side(Evil) – but the point is, that where there is oppression and injustice, people are most open to being used by the powers of evil.
If we do our part to confront injustice, we will be eliminating the ground where evil can grow.
During WWII, as thousands and thousands of Jews were killed in the Holocaust, there were those who stood against such evil. A French pastor and his wife hid 5000 Jews in their town. They were asked, “ How do you do something like that?” And they answered “How do you NOT do something like that?” They stood firm in their faith against evil forces because of the breastplate of righteousness (integrity). They knew what was the right thing to do and they did it!
And then we must wear the shoes of gospel of peace. It sounds strange to say that we fight evil with peace, but this is not your typical fight. If we stoop to hatred and evil means to fight evil, we have already lost the fight. We have to work for peace among all people, for peace among Christians and non-Christian alike. And isn’t it interesting that Paul chose the gospel of peace to be represented as “shoes.” We wear our shoes wherever we go. Even if we don’t have our shield or helmet or our sword, we usually have on our shoes. I think he used this image intentionally because he wants to remind us to take peace wherever we go.
The next thing Paul says we need is the shield of faith. Faith allows us to withstand whatever comes out way. It may not save our physical body, but it will save our eternal souls and ultimately advance the kingdom of God.
Faith kept Jesus focused on his ultimate purpose of salvation and the advancement of God’s kingdom. He knew the eternal consequences far out weighed the worldly consequences.
Faith keeps us focused as well. Faith might also cost us something of worldly significance(job, friends, family, popularity, maybe even our lives), but our sacrifice too will have eternal consequences. We too will save others, advance the kingdom, and receive a heavenly reward.
And finally we need the helmet of salvation and for sword, the Word of God. Now the idea of putting on the helmet of salvation may, at first, sound a little strange, but then we need to understand that salvation is a once and for all thing. We were saved, we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. BUT, salvation is not the end product, rather it is the beginning! We are not to embrace salvation and then just sit around and wait for Jesus to return. Embracing Salvation is the beginning of a growing relationship with Christ. That relationship must continually grow and be nurtured, or we will backslide and be lured to the Dark Side. Surrounding ourselves in that protective helmet of salvation, reminds us what it means to be saved and as such can keep us on the right path, and protect us from being lured to the “Dark Side.”
Going back to Jedi Knights, as Anakin Skywalker started out on the light Side of The Force, we know that eventually he went to the Dark Side. So it can happen with us. If we do not continually move forward in our relationship to Christ, we will fall backward, being lured more fully to the “Dark Side.” We need that helmet of salvation.
Finally, for sword the Word of God, this refers not only to the Bible, but also to the still small voice that God often uses when he talks to us directly. And how we read the Bible is always very important. We must read it and let God speak to us through it, rather then use it to “proof” one of our preconceived opinions about one thing or another.
Increasingly, in the world we live in, living, as a follower of Jesus can be a real battle. In this battle we need to be prepared. We must put on the armour which God provides. He gives it to us when we give our hearts to him, but we have to put it on for it to be effective. And then we must pray, pray, pray – without ceasing. With armor and prayer we will all continue to grow strong in the Lord. And as we do, we will be truly able to, as Paul said, “stand firm against the devices of the devil.” The duty of confronting the Dark Side with the Gospel of Peace is the responsibility of every Christian. My prayer is that we are all willing to take up the fight. And may The Force be with you.
AMEN
******Special Thanks to Dick Staub’s book The Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters (Jossey-Bass Publishers) for some of the inspiration for this sermon.
