“May the Force Be With You”

Third Sunday of Easter

May 4, 2025

“As long as there’s light we’ve got a chance.”

Acts 9:1-20

John 21:1a, 14-19

Children’s Message:

Show them a Darth Vader helmet. Do you know who this is? Yes, it’s Darth Vader. And before he was Darth Vader, his name was…Anakin Skywalker. Yes. So, is this character a good guy or a bad guy? He’s pretty much a bad guy through most of his Darth Vader phase, right? His anger and fear and desire for power corrupted him and turned him into this.

But no one is all bad, are they? No. Even Darth Vader turned out to have some good in him. He saved his son, Luke, even though it cost him his own life. That’s a pretty good guy kind of move.

Well, today we heard the story of Saul—also known as Paul. He was a pretty bad guy. He thought he was doing good things. He thought he was protecting his religion and protecting God. But he was arresting and killing anyone who was a follower of Jesus. Do you know what happened to him?

Jesus appeared to him. And Paul/Saul believed what Jesus said. He changed his mind. He became a follower of Jesus AND he started preaching all over the place. And in the end, he was killed because he wouldn’t stop telling people about Jesus.

Part of the reason I like the Star Wars movies is that there’s always another opportunity for someone to change—to be better, to do better. What do they always say in the movies? May the Force be with you. Well, we Lutherans also have a response, don’t we? Do you know what it is? And also with you.

So, I say, “May the Force be with you.” And also with you.

Let us pray. Dear God, thank you for showing us that it’s okay to be wrong and to change. Help us never stop growing and learning to be followers of Jesus. Amen.

Sermon

You didn’t think I’d let you get through a May 4th Sunday without a Star Wars reference, did you? I was serious about liking the element of redemption in the movies. Whether it’s Darth Vader or Kylo Ren, I love knowing that it’s never too late to change your mind. To do the right thing. To recognize truth, love, life, and hope. That no one is beyond redemption. No one is beyond hope.

Much like what Paul tells the Romans: “Nothing in all of creation can keep you from the love of God in Jesus Christ.” And there is nowhere you can go in all the universe that God is not already there, waiting for you with open arms.

One of the other elements, though, of the Star Wars universe is that change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There’s always someone there, believing in the person—offering them another way. For Darth Vader, that person was Luke, his son. He kept reminding his father that he believed there was still good in him—that Anakin wasn’t completely gone. For Kylo Ren, it was Rey. She, too, kept expressing her belief, her hope that somewhere, deep down, Ben was underneath all that power and fear and anger.

For Paul, that person was Ananias. An unwilling Ananias, to be sure. He, too, needed his heart opened to the possibility that light can enter darkness. He was afraid of Saul. He heard what had happened in Jerusalem. Saul was there when Stephen was stoned to death. Word had gone ahead of him that he would be coming to Damascus with authority to arrest all of Jesus’ followers—including Ananias.

I just imagine him sitting there when Christ appears to him. “Go to Straight Street. Saul is there praying. He had a vision of a man named Ananias who will come lay hands on him.” And Ananias says, “Surely, I’m not the only man named Ananias!” And despite all the fear and trepidation, Christ says, “Go anyway.” It reminds me of the conversation I had with my pastor about being ordained. When I said I didn’t want to because I was afraid of the people, he said, “That’s not a good enough reason.” Go anyway.

To be sure, humans are generally not fans of change. We’re not fans of being told we’re wrong. We’re not fans of getting pushback or being challenged. But it’s only through these experiences that we are transformed. Like a caterpillar transforming to a butterfly, the first step is to become mush. Only then can the butterfly be formed and emerge. The first step is to die. To let go of the things we think define us.

What is it that defines you? Vader and Kylo were defined by fear, hate, and anger. Saul was defined by holy righteousness and a mis-directed effort to protect the Almighty. Ananias was defined by his desire to lay low and survive. What defines you, and how do you die to those things that get in the way of transformation? To be sure, even those things will not keep you from God’s love or Christ’s redemption.

On Thursday, Justice in Action finally had an opportunity to ask County Attorney Pat Condon to change some of his part in the criminal justice system—in front of 1300 people. The negotiations were challenging—at least for me. And he declined nearly all of our requests. Some items would not have cost him a thing to implement. Others required that he trust his various counterparts in the system.

At the end of the day, we’re still left with a jail that is beyond capacity, filled with people struggling with mental health illness and a scarcity of options for help or hope. But, my friends, we are not a hopeless people. Our hope isn’t in systems or even people. Our hope isn’t in organizations or protests. Our hope remains in the God who fuels change at all levels of humanity. Our hope resides in the God who sparks transformation in the darkest hearts and in seemingly hopeless situations.

Our hope tells us, even when we are afraid, to ‘go anyway.’ Go into the world to tell others about the risen Christ. Go into the darkness, carrying the light of Christ. Go into places of fear and longing and anger and share the love of Christ that has always been theirs.

Go anyway. It’s our destiny. And may the Force be with you.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE