Friday, July 07, 2006

“Fear Is A Path To The Dark Side”

Did you rush out this summer to see the final installment of Star Wars? If you are like me you not only saw the movie, but you hurried to the store to buy it the day it came out on DVD. If you are not a fan, let me explain. Even though this one is named Star Wars III, it is the final episode in a six part drama that has been told in two trilogies with the first half last and the last half first. Confused? So were my kids! It is basically a futuristic drama set in space between the forces of good and evil.
During this particular movie, Anakin sits down with Yoda (the little green Jedi master) and tells him about his terrible nightmares. Anakin is scared. He is scared to lose the love of his life (his wife Padme) and will do anything to keep her alive, and that anything includes turning to evil and becoming a killer.
In this third movie, there is a sense of victory for the bad guys. It seems that good has been squashed and there is no hope for the future as the good guys, the Jedi, are all but destroyed. But there is more to the story. We know that in the end, Anakin Skywalker, who becomes Darth Vader, will indeed rise up to destroy the evil Emperor and bring the galaxy back to the side of the good. In the end, the plot for the entire Star Wars series is a wonderful story of redemption and triumph. So many times we, like Anakin, find ourselves scared. We are scared of what the future holds for us and those we love. You may find yourself frightened about such things as career choices, marriage, children, school, finances, growing old, or death. These fears swirl around in our brains and cause us unrest. But those things whether we can control them or not are real. I think control is the key. We have too often thought of ourselves as “in control”, when in fact we have little or no control about so much of life. Faith and trust in God allow us to let go of those things and be freed from the burden of worry, in this life as well as our concern about eternal life. Check out the messages found in the Gospel of Mark 4:35 -41; 5:1-20; and 5:21-43. The elements obey Jesus, evil crumbles before Jesus, and ultimately Jesus has the power to overcome death. Let us not worry and fret in our effort to control life, but let us trust and obey God, so that when uncontrollable events occur, and they will… We will be able to stand firm in our faith in God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) who has ultimate control of this and every galaxy, even one far, far, away.

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