May 25, 1977, changed the cinematic world as we knew it with the release of Star Wars. You may remember the plot:
The Imperial Forces — under orders from cruel Darth Vader — hold Princess Leia hostage, in their efforts to quell the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, work together to rescue the beautiful princess, help the Rebel Alliance, and restore freedom and justice to the Galaxy.
There are many messages and overarching themes in the Star Wars franchise. While not intended to be overtly Christian there are similar themes such as good vs evil, the force being something bigger than yourself and the search for compassion and truth. George Lucas is quoted as saying “He (Lucas) claims that he “put the Force in the movie to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people–more a belief in God than a belief in any particular religious system.” John McDowell authored the book “The Gospels According to Star Wars-Hope, Faith and the Force. He writes that based on the above quote by Lucas that he “intends to encourage a generation of youth that has too little “interest in the mysteries of life” to begin asking questions about their existence.”
I am a purist when it comes to the Star Wars franchise. None of this #1 is now #4 and so on. I’ve always loved Mark Hamill and been a die-hard Luke Skywalker fan from my earliest years. You see, Luke Skywalker lives on Tatooine. He’s restless, not wanting to take over his uncle’s business. He knows there’s something bigger out there. I find this to be a relatable character in my life because I too, long for something bigger than myself. But unlike the magic of Hollywood, I’ve got something so much bigger and it’s real and radical because every life transformed by the power of Jesus is radical. We left off last week in the book of Acts as the birth of the early church begins to take shape. Rome is in power, and the Sanhedrin are rounding up people practicing this “new religion.” From the galaxy to the gospels and beyond…let’s look at a life transformed by Jesus in the book of Acts chapter 9 vs. 1-6.
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
This is the word of the Lord (thanks be to God).
Whew- that’s a lot to unpack. Let’s look at Saul. He was raised in Tarsus. He’s Jewish from the tribe of Benjamin. His father was a tentmaker and sent Saul to study in Jerusalem. After completing his studies, Saul returns to Tarsus for many years eventually his reputation as a leader traveled back down to Jerusalem and Saul heads there to be a rising star for the Sanhedrin. When Saul gets there imagine his surprise. He arrives in Jerusalem and people are not following the laws of the Old Testament. They are now claiming to be filled with the spirit (or the way) and following the ways of Jesus who claimed to be the son of God. Saul cannot wrap his head around Christianity. The difference between obeying the law vs faith and trust in Jesus Christ just doesn’t make sense. And when something doesn’t make sense often, we fear it, we want to eradicate it instead of trying to understand it. This was Saul. He spent his time looking for Christians, arresting them and often being part of their death. In Acts chapter 8 Stephen is the first Christian martyred for his belief in Jesus while in Jerusalem. This sent many Christians running from Jerusalem for fear of a similar fate. Saul decided it was his duty to round them up, bring them back to Jerusalem and face the consequences of their faith. Our text says that Saul set off on a 150 mile journey to track down any who belonged to “The way” (following Jesus).
Saul sets off on his journey to Damascus. It’s on the long road that he encounters Jesus. Not in a vision or a dream-but an actual encounter with the risen Lord. Saul has always believed in the God of Abraham, but this encounter was special, different, radical. Jesus stops Saul in his tracks and asks, “why are you persecuting me?” Jesus asks this because an attack on one is an attack on all. As Christians, we are grafted into the line of Christ and co-heirs to the Kingdom of heaven. We are the body of Christ on earth. Jesus paid the price because we are inadequate without him. We will never be able to “do” enough so we might as well surrender our lives to Christ. I don’t mean to make light of it. It’s not easy. And I certainly recognize the privilege we have in the United States to be able to openly practice our faith.
This brings us back to Star Wars Day. Did you know that the original film had to have a subtitle as the franchise expanded? Star Wars (now referred to as Star Wars 4) is called a New Hope. I think it’s so interesting that our bible story coincided with Star Wars Day because Saul’s radical transformation because of Jesus is nothing but A new hope. If you’re familiar with Saul’s journey you know that it doesn’t end on the road to Damascus. In fact, this radical encounter with Jesus turns Saul’s life completely upside down. You know that Saul becomes Paul and ends up being ride or die for Jesus. His #1 Fan and his New Testament letter campaign is epic! Saul now Paul will be shipwrecked, stoned, beaten and eventually die for the faith.
Earlier, Jenny read to us Psalm 30. A celebration of God’s deliverance a psalm that reads God is always faithful. The God of the Old Testament is the same God that sends his son to Earth to walk among his people. To take on human traits and give up his deity because he loves us so much. The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is so powerful and so radical that any encounter with him will change you. That is New Hope.
So, how to follow? How can I choose the radical path of Jesus Christ? I read an article by Thomas Tarrants- he’s the Director of Ministry at the CS Lewis Institute and published an article titled Following Jesus.
Tarrants states that when we “believe in the resurrection we are changed inwardly. To begin to express this outwardly, we can do two things. Obey and imitate. But this is not the sum of the matter. For obeying and imitating are not ends in themselves but are means to a greater end. That end or goal of discipleship is to become like Jesus himself: to think as he thought, to feel as he felt, to act as he acted, desire what he desired. As John puts it, “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6). Because Jesus is the image of God in human form (Col. 1:15. Heb. 1: as we become more and more like him, the image of God is increasingly restored in our lives.”
I asked some of the youth and young adults in our ministry at Orchard Park why we should follow Jesus, why do they follow Jesus? Why is this text of radical transformation relevant in 2025? Here are a few of their answers:
Because why not?
Jesus offers a vision of life filled with purpose and forgiveness and he is our amazing father
Jesus loves you no matter what. He doesn’t care what you did, he forgives you and he loves you. He leaves the 5,000 and he will fight for you even in the worst times. And he listens to you when sometimes no one else will.
We should follow Jesus because he has called us to. He has loved us with his whole heart, he has comforted us in our weakest times. The least we can do is follow him and try to live by his teachings.
Well, I’d say my family got me into church and I didn’t really understand what it meant to follow Jesus but as I grew a relationship with him, I realized how good he is and how I need to follow him and love him because he loves me like no other
from the start I followed Jesus because of my parents’ faith, but I wanted to know more than just my parents’ faith. and one night specifically I had thought of self-harm, but my friend dragged me to youth event, and it was exactly what I needed to hear and instead of hurting myself I prayed for God to take away my pain. so, I follow Jesus because he is always on time, and he might let me hit the water, but he will NEVER let me sink.
Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior brings an overwhelming sense of love, peace, confidence, and joy to your life. It becomes easier to drop worries and anxieties, because he is strong enough to carry them for you. Following Jesus shifts your entire mindset to enjoy what truly matters in life: Loving God and loving your neighbors.
There is beauty in a God creating a human experience to also experience it himself from start to finish.
From the death star to discipleship…. The lives of our future generations are in good hands with God. I can put my trust and faith in him and so can you. He’s radically transforming lives. He did it with Saul and he can do it with you too.
Amen
