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May the Force Be With You
Joe Killian • Sep 29, 2016
I saw this tee shirt the other night and just had to take a picture.
I am a fan of Star Wars so it made me laugh. No I am not suggesting that we look to a Jedi Knight as our savior. However, I did find an interesting connection in this week's Gospel message about the tiny mustard seed.
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” Luke 17:5-10
The apostles have asked Jesus to increase their faith but His response probably wasn't what they expected. Jesus uses the analogy of the mustard seed to explain how powerful faith can be. Then He goes on to make it clear that faith is not simply a matter of belief but of action as well. Here is the key to Jesus' definition of faith, "When you have done all you have been commanded..."
We have to step out in faith and do what God has commanded in order for the Spirit of God to work through us. Our faith is in the power of God and it is that Power that does great things.
In Star Wars we see a similar kind of power in the Force. The saga details the faithful actions of Luke Skywalker and his tiny band of rebels who overcome the forces of the dark side and defeat the powerful Empire. Along with Yoda, Obi-wan Kenobi was Luke's mentor. His was the voice that Luke heard as he learned to use the Force. His voice guided Luke in his successful attack on the Death Star in the first movie.
You and I have our own Force in the Holy Spirit. Just as Luke did, we need to faithfully do all that we have been commanded, trusting in the Spirit to guide us and with Him accomplish great things!
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
