ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ! CHRIST IS RISEN!
~ By Andrew Estocin
Popular culture is going crazy for Star Wars! Count me among the millions….
How does an Orthodox Christian respond to Star Wars? That is an easy answer. One of the most progressive beliefs that the Orthodox Church holds is that we can learn from the wisdom of the world even when it is not specifically Orthodox.
St. Basil the Great reminds us that we can engage secular culture and extract truth from it. The fourth century Father of the Church writes:
So we, if wise, shall take from heathen books whatever befits us and is allied to the truth, and shall pass over the rest. And just as in culling roses we avoid the thorns, from such writings as these we will gather everything useful, and guard against the noxious. (Advice to Young Men on the Right Use of Greek Literature)
Can Orthodox Christians follow St. Basil’s words and take “whatever befits us and is allied to the truth” from the Star Wars movies? You bet! As Fr. Thomas Hopko wrote, “God is not a prisoner of His Own Church!” Therefore, to find what is good and true in Star Wars, all we need to do is to strive to see the world through the eyes of the Church and practice some common sense discernment.
This leads one to a valuable lesson in Orthodox discernment from Star Wars.
For Orthodox Christians life is about “The Phos” (τὸ φῶς) (The Light) not “The Force”.
The world of Star Wars revolves around a mysterious energy field called The Force. Jedi Master Yoda describes the Force as a type of secret knowledge and impersonal power that controls the world and guides human destiny. The Force rejects the material world for things immaterial.
What might St. Basil say about Yoda’s description of The Force? I am confident that St. Basil would love the character of Yoda but he could chuckle and say that the idea of “The Force” is something the Church has addressed and corrected in the 4th century. Maybe he might even say that he is surprised this ancient error is still around in the year 2015!
St. Basil would say The Force is just the error of Gnosticism dressed up in new and fancy clothes. What is Gnosticism and why should Orthodox Christians care about it?
Gnosticism is an ancient error that some early Christians mistakenly embraced. In the words of Robert Barron: “Gnosticism was, and is, a multi-headed beast, but one of its major tenets is that matter is a fallen, inferior form of being, produced by a low-level deity. The soul is trapped in matter, and the whole point of the spiritual life is to acquire the gnosis (secret knowledge) requisite to facilitate an escape of the soul from the body.”
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a form of secret knowledge or power but Love and Truth for all human beings and creation.
In this light, Orthodox Christianity has always held that matter and creation are always good. Orthodox Christianity strives to reveal the holiness of the material world not reject it. Everything in the Church today from icons and incense to the sacraments revolves around this. All of this is accomplished through the The Phos who is Jesus Christ.
Consider the following words from the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made, in him was life, and that life was the light (The Phos – τὸ φῶς) of all mankind.” (John 1:1-5)
Therefore, The Phos is not some secret knowledge or energy field we control. It is the uncreated Word of God and second person of the Holy Trinity who came into creation by becoming human.
The Phos is the person Jesus Christ who humbly took on our material and created nature so that we can share in His Divine life.
For Orthodox Christians, God is a person whose love and life teaches us what it means to be human through humility, sacrifice and love. God is The Phos who sanctifies everything in His creation by humbling himself and bearing our burdens.
Think about it. “The Force” is a power to be wielded while The Phos is the Love of a Divine Person that turns the world upside down through humility and powerlessness.
So next time you hear the phrase “May the Force Be with You!” think about the The Phos that is Jesus Christ. He makes everything in the world good as well as new. He asks us to treat our bodies and the created world as holy He asks us to honor everything He has created and respect its inherent design. He asks us not to learn a secret knowledge but to share His Love and Truth with everyone without exception or exclusion.
Jesus Christ is the real Phos that is the Light of world and the Orthodox Church that has been teaching His way and reflect- ing His uncreated Light for over 2,000 years.
Andrew Estocin is a life-long Orthodox Christian who received his theology degree from Fordham University. His writings are featured regularly on the Orthodox Christian Network where a previous longer version of this article appeared. He is a parishioner at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Albuquerque, N.M.
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