“May the Fourth be with you!”
To which the proper Lutheran response is . . . “And also with you!”
Yes, today is May the 4th. Which is significant for several reasons that bear noting here. First, of course, is the popular observance of May 4th as “Star Wars Day” due to a play on the words of the movies’ famous line, “May the Force be with you!” We’ll come back to that idea a little later in this post.
The second reason May the 4th is significant is that this year it is the first Thursday in May, which has been officially designated as the National Day of Prayer. While prayer has always been an important part of our lives and our national history, and celebrations at Thanksgiving have been times for special prayers of thankfulness, the designation of a specific national day of prayer has been a more recent development. It was first passed by Congress in 1952 that the President of the United States was to set aside an appropriate day each year, other than Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer. (To which I must ask, “Did my birth in August of 1951 provide the impetus for a national day of prayer?” And was it out of joy and thanks or out of alarm and fear?) Then, on May 8, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the bill which designated the observance to be the first Thursday in May each year. Ten years later, President Bill Clinton signed a new law which said, “The President shall issue each year a proclamation designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.” The national prayer committee was chaired for many years by Shirley Dobson, who passed the baton to Anne Graham Lotz in 2016. And so the National Day of Prayer continues to be observed locally in our church and around the nation – today.
It’s helpful to have set days and seasons to remind us to worship, pray, and recite the great works of God on our behalf: but we don’t need an official day or event to give us permission to pray for our nation and for all other things.
We don’t need an official day or event to give us permission to pray
We can and always should be in prayer, following Paul’s admonitions:
- 1 Timothy 2:1-4, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
- Philippians 4:6, “. . . do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
The third reason today is special is that it is Karen’s and my anniversary! Yes, 43 years ago today we stood in front of her pastor (and our assembled families and friends) and said, “I do.” Though, at the very moment I said it, my voice decided to crack and switch back to its pre-adolescent pitch. Then came the reception in the church basement, with a bounteous buffet prepared by the church ladies. Karen’s dad stood up and gave the dinner directions, indicating the head table was to follow me to the serving line, and then “if there was any food left,” everyone else could go. Nice. You might think he was joking . . . but everyone who knew me laughed!
Forty-three years! That’s hard to believe (especially if you look at Karen who has always looked so young). A number of years ago, I think about 10 years or so, I woke up one morning and the first thought in my mind was that Karen and I had been married over 30 years. I actually laughed at the thought, and immediately said to myself, “That’s impossible! If we were married 30 years ago, I would be over 50 years old!” Then as the fog cleared from my mind, I realized, “We are, and I am!”
What are the secrets of a long marriage? When we reach 50 years, I’ll let you know . . .
What are the secrets of a long marriage? When we reach 50 years, I’ll let you know . . . though I think four C’s may have something to do with it: Commitment to each other and to the marriage, shared faith in Christ, holding all things and situations in Common, and Comedy: being able to find humor in ourselves and in our situations. (“May the Four C’s be with you!”)
Which brings us back to the first topic: the Star Wars “Force.” I enjoyed the 2011 Volkswagen Super Bowl commercial in which a kid dressed like Darth Vader tries to control things in his house – toys, the dog, a washing machine, etc. – using the “Force.” Of course, nothing works until his dad gets home in the new VW. When the little Vader gestures at the car, his dad secretly starts the car from the house with his key fob, and the kid goes crazy. Finally! It worked!
Well, it didn’t really work, of course. Although I’m sure many people who saw the Star Wars movies have tried to make things happen by using “the Force,” (except me that is, ’cause I would never try such a thing – at least not more than once or twice maybe while humming John Williams’ theme music on the way out of the theater), the ideas about such a power are fictional. Concentrating one’s mind on something does not allow you to control it, though focusing on some task may help you to do it better.
Others have written more complete theological dissertations about the Force, but let me make just a few comments:
- Star Wars creator George Lucas introduced the term as a plot device, using it in the way magic is used in other kinds of science fiction and fantasy stories. People enjoy suspending reality, in a movie or in a magic show.
- He intended it to awaken spiritual interest in young people. Unfortunately, his spirituality was meant to be neutral when it came to the object of one’s faith (just believe something!). That doesn’t mean it was neutral, though; the Force teaches Buddhist concepts of the oneness of everything, of feeling rather than thinking, and of disengaging one’s rational mind.
- The phrase was deliberately intended to be similar to the Christian greeting: “The Lord be with you” (according to Chris Taylor in his book, How Star Wars Conquered the Universe). Substituting an impersonal force that derives its energy from the creation for the true Creator who holds all creation together by his own power, is not a good thing. Paul warned of this substitution in Romans 1:24-25, where he speaks of people who exchanged the worship of the Creator for worship of the creation – with terrible results. Though I can joke about “May the Fourth,” I would never seriously greet anyone with “May the Force be with you.”
- What is important in this life and the next is that the Lord, and not any other being or energy field, is with us. And the good news we have is that God is indeed with us by his grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus told us at his ascension to heaven, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) And God told us in Hebrew 13:5 (and elsewhere) that he will never leave us or forsake us. Not even death will separate us from the Lord: Paul wrote that to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord.
- The great news is that God’s being with us is not dependent on how much we can concentrate our mind or empty our mind, nor on what good thoughts we think, nor on what good deeds we do (not even destroying a Death Star), nor on how often we pray or go to church or give. God has called us to be his by his grace and mercy, because he LOVES us – (and that’s something no Force can do). And remember, God has no “dark side” (1 John 1:5).
What is important in this life and the next is that the Lord, and not any other being or energy field, is with us.
So, I guess the proper Lutheran response to “May the Force be with you” is not to say, “And also with you,” but to respond with the benediction which God himself instructed Moses’ brother Aaron to speak to the people, (Numbers:22-27) which goes like this:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Amen!
Read: 1 John 2:7-11