Sunday, October 23, 2022
Sunday Reflection: Balance
I watched all of the Star Wars movies, though I was never a hard-core fan. Some of the acting was just terrible, and all the light-saber fighting got pretty tiresome after a while.
The most interesting part of it, though, was the theology. A few of the theological points, about balance and fear.
On fear, Yoda tells Anakin Skywalker "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." It's true. And out politics have become much too rooted in fear. I see it in my own field, as those running for office are stoking the fear of crime for political gain even as crime is going down (at least here in Minneapolis). And that fear, as intended, does lead to hate-- and too often, racial hatred. And yes, that leads to suffering. Nothing good comes of it, and it does nothing to actually solve the problem of crime. Jesus said "Fear not," and that is pretty good advice.
The idea of "balance" is at the center of the Star Wars theology; bad things happen when there is an imbalance in "the force." I think about that a lot, though it is not a central part of Christian theology. It is a part of many religions and philosophies, though--think of the ying-yang. It does appear in a passage of the Bible that speaks to me, though: Micah 6:8 tells us to seek justice, show mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Justice and mercy are in tension within my world; the key is to humbly seek balance between them.
For what it is worth, Jar-Jar Binks plays no role in my thinking, ever.
