I watched a fascinating video last night about the great fictional hero, Luke Skywalker. One of the brilliant points reminded me of the famous quote by Muhammad ali "I don't have to be what you want me to be" for the vid explained everyone pressured him to kill his father; the dogmatic Yoda and Obi-Wan and the Emperor himself.
When both (all) sides put maximum pressure on you to commit patricide of someone you have hated all your life, what kind of moral character resists the act? In one scene:
After the decision to jump from Cloud City, he miraculously survived. Hanging upside down with one hand, he trusted his ability to reach out to his sister. In a remarkable turn of events, Luke risked his life and lost his hand to rescue Leia, she was now running for her life, heard his call and turned back to rescue the hero, risking her own life. Self sacrifice on top of self sacrifice. The Jesus way.
Getting back to the pressure to commit patricide, in the 3rd film, even the emperor joins the movement. Sure, the reasons are different but the effect on both Anakin and Luke are the same. No one cares about that! The teenager finds an alternative in the duel to the death. This alternative is motivated by the son's love for his father, (the reason he wanted to become a Jedi). Isn't this the motive Jesus had in his decision to self-sacrifice, love of his father?
After sparing his life, discarding his laser sword, Luke being tortured and electrocuted to death, appeals to his father. Anakin knows the emperor was enjoying torturing Luke, carefully controlling the amount of electricity exuded on our hero. However, the emperor announces, "And now you will die," meaning the full strength of deadly electricity is about to end his son before the father's eyes. It's now or never.
How does the father handle the moment of truth? How does he react to his son's self-sacrifice to save his life, the Jesus way? He repents and is redeemed through the Jesus way, the way of self-sacrifice. As he lays, dying, he sees his son for the first time with his own eyes.
To answer the question of what kind of moral character, the answer is righteous. Like Jesus and Ali, Luke decided not to be what anyone wanted him to be. The dogmatic light side users were wrong. The evil dark side users were wrong. Sacrificial love was right. A timeless lesson for us all. (They don't make stories like that any more).
When both (all) sides put maximum pressure on you to commit patricide of someone you have hated all your life, what kind of moral character resists the act? In one scene:
- Luke lost his hand,
- learned the man he hated all his life did not kill his father, that he is his father,
- that the men he trusted, Yoda and Obi-Wan, lied to him,
- he then decided to commit suicide rather than fall to the Dark Side.
After the decision to jump from Cloud City, he miraculously survived. Hanging upside down with one hand, he trusted his ability to reach out to his sister. In a remarkable turn of events, Luke risked his life and lost his hand to rescue Leia, she was now running for her life, heard his call and turned back to rescue the hero, risking her own life. Self sacrifice on top of self sacrifice. The Jesus way.
Getting back to the pressure to commit patricide, in the 3rd film, even the emperor joins the movement. Sure, the reasons are different but the effect on both Anakin and Luke are the same. No one cares about that! The teenager finds an alternative in the duel to the death. This alternative is motivated by the son's love for his father, (the reason he wanted to become a Jedi). Isn't this the motive Jesus had in his decision to self-sacrifice, love of his father?
After sparing his life, discarding his laser sword, Luke being tortured and electrocuted to death, appeals to his father. Anakin knows the emperor was enjoying torturing Luke, carefully controlling the amount of electricity exuded on our hero. However, the emperor announces, "And now you will die," meaning the full strength of deadly electricity is about to end his son before the father's eyes. It's now or never.
How does the father handle the moment of truth? How does he react to his son's self-sacrifice to save his life, the Jesus way? He repents and is redeemed through the Jesus way, the way of self-sacrifice. As he lays, dying, he sees his son for the first time with his own eyes.
To answer the question of what kind of moral character, the answer is righteous. Like Jesus and Ali, Luke decided not to be what anyone wanted him to be. The dogmatic light side users were wrong. The evil dark side users were wrong. Sacrificial love was right. A timeless lesson for us all. (They don't make stories like that any more).
