When people are named to ask the best movie villain of all time, Darth Vader routinely makes that list. For quite a few years Vader was actually at the top of the list. He has now moved down to number three. But Vader seems a little different from Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates, who are number one and two, because as we have seen is that Vader does not seem to be mentally unstable, like those two. Now I am not arguing that he is hero. He is not, for example, Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, who is number one on the list of best movie heroes. He seems more like Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or Mr. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life, number 5 and 6 on the list, in that rather than having a mental illness, they are just mean and nasty, although perhaps that’s even worse. Because at least with those with mental issues we can give some reasoning for their behavior. And yet we are probably right to ask whether, as our metaphor, Vader’s behavior moves him beyond the grace of God? Does forgiveness apply to Vader, or has he, and others like him, moved beyond what we can forgive, or that God can forgive? Is redemption possible? And so that is the topic that we turn to as we look at what the was the conclusion to the original Star Wars trilogy Return of the Jedi, which happens to be my favorite film.
Return was released in 1983, and so this year is the 40th anniversary, and the reason we are doing this series now. Originally it was entitled Revenge of the Jedi. Does anyone know why they changed it to return? Because Jedi don’t seek revenge, revenge is something sought by those who follow the dark side, thus Revenge of the Sith. But, Return has the empire working on rebuilding a new death star. Han Solo is encased in carbonite and shipped off to Jabba the Hutt, who is Godfather like head of a crime syndicate, which leads Leia, Luke and Chewbacca on a rescue mission. Leia kills Jabba, before most of them fly off the moon of Endor, where they encounter a teddy-bear like group of inhabitants known as Ewoks, who will help the rebels battle the empire. Meanwhile, Luke goes back to receive more training with Yoda, who dies, but not before telling Luke that Leia is actually his sister and that to truly become a Jedi that he must confront Darth Vader. Luke eventually joins them all on Endor, voluntarily surrendering to the imperial troops so he can meet with Vader, who takes him to the emperor. Vader and Luke again engage in a lightsaber duel, but Luke puts his weapon away because he will not kill his father and so the emperor then seeks to kill Luke, but that’s jumping too far ahead.
But I do want to address one side issue before getting to
the main point, and that is the outfit that Leia is made to wear when she is a
prisoner in Jabba’s palace, usually referred to as the gold bikini. Now we
already talked about the lack of diversity in the original films, which does
improve over time. But we could also address the issue of gender inclusion. In
the original film, there are only two women, including Leia. In fact, there are
only three women, besides for Leia who have any lines of dialogue, not counting
singers, in all 3 original films. Their dialogue time totals 1 min, 3 seconds,
against 386 minutes of run time. Now one of those women in Mon Mothma, who is
the leader of the rebel alliance, so there is leadership being demonstrated by
women, but it’s still not overwhelming. But I think I can make some arguments
for female empowerment even without greater representation. First is that Leia
basically rescues herself in the first film, she is not the princess who needs
to be saved, she can take charge of herself. But is the gold bikini scene
merely another objectification of women? The answer, is yes, and that’s the
very point. Jabba sees Leia as nothing more than an object, something to be
used for his own pleasure, and this is true not just with Leia, but with others
in the palace as well. As we talked about last week, Jabba sees others as a
means to his own end, rather than seeing them as ends in themselves. And so,
this objectification is an object lesson, although not everyone is going to see
that. But I think this becomes clear because it is Leia who ends up killing
Jabba with the very chain that is used to keep her in her place, or Jabba’s
chains of imprisonment become the means of Leia’s victory. She is not merely a
victim, she has her own agency, which she uses. That’s off topic a little, but
an important issue to point out, and if you are going further in watching the
newer films I would encourage you to pay attention to the ever increasing
diversity in race, gender and species, but that leads us to today’s key point.
In the gospel passage from this morning, as Jesus enters
into Jericho, a crowd gathers around and so Zacchaeus, who was a wee little man
and a wee little man was he, (that’s an old Sunday school song), climbs up a
sycamore tree in order to be able to see Jesus. This is quite the unseemly
thing for a grown man to do in this culture, as was running. But when Jesus
sees him he calls Zacchaeus down and tells him that he is going to stay at his
house, which causes the people to begin to grumble. And they do so because of
the first piece of information we are told which is that he is the chief tax
collector and that he is rich, which means he is a very good tax collector. Now
I’m sure that some of you don’t like taxes, but if you met someone from the IRS
or the NM department of Taxation and Revenue, I doubt that any of you are
instantly going to hate them let alone try and kill them, and yet that’s what
happened with Roman tax collectors, especially those who were Jewish. Because
they were seen as collaborators with the Romans and therefore traitors to their
people.
It wasn’t that taxes were set by the Roman senate and then
shopkeepers applied the tax, or employers withheld tax, as we are used to.
Instead taxes were put out to bid, and whoever said they would collect the most
amount of money would win the bid and then they had to be able to deliver what
they had promised to Rome, or pay the price. But to then make any money, to
make a profit, they had to be able to collect above and beyond what they had
promised. And so, they would lie, cheat, steal or whatever else it took not
only to gain what they needed to pay the Romans, but also to make their money,
and since Zacchaeus is rich, we know that he is really good at that. And the
fact that everyone grumbles about him shows just how much he was disliked. Now
I don’t think that there is a straight comparison between Zacchaeus and Vader,
but they are probably both liked about as much and perhaps feared about as
much. And so, Jesus seeking not just to go to the man’s house, but to offer
salvation is even more shocking. And even though Zacchaeus says he will give ½
of what he has to the poor, and if he has defrauded anyone he will give four
times as much back in return, everyone knows that’s not possible, because he
has defrauded nearly everyone. He doesn’t have enough money to be able to do
it.
Additionally, it appears that Zacchaeus is making this
gesture, not only to appease the crowd, but more importantly to appease Jesus.
To make himself worthy of having Jesus as a guest. And so, Jesus’ response that
salvation has come to Zacchaeus’ house that day has nothing to do with this act
of generosity, but because of who he is. He is a son of Abraham, therefore an
heir to the promise, and he was once lost but now is found. Zacchaeus’
salvation is given because God freely gives and seeks to have everyone return
to the fold, and so that grace is poured out without cost, because if there was
something we could do to earn it, then we would brag about it, as Paul says.
But it does require Zacchaeus to recognize he is on the wrong path and take the
steps to move back to the path of righteousness. While the story doesn’t say
it, I think it’s implied that had Zacchaeus kept doing what he had been doing,
if he hadn’t agreed to make a change in life and practices, that Jesus would
not have made the proclamation he did. It would not have changed how God viewed
Zacchaeus, he would still have been a son of Abraham, he would still have been
a recipient of God’s grace, because he himself would not have been able to
receive that grace.
And we see a similar thing with Darth Vader. After Luke
surrenders in order to confront Vader and the emperor, Luke tells Vader, his
father, that he sense that there is still good in him, and Vader says “it’s too
late for me.” That’s not a denial of the goodness, just that he thinks there is
a sort of timeline for grace, that past a certain point, or once you have done
too many bad things, like blow up a planet perhaps, that you are lost. But
that’s not how God’s grace or God’s love or God’s forgiveness work. No matter
how long you have been on a particular path, no matter what you have done in
your life, God’s grace is still there for us. Additionally, what God says is
that we are always so much more than the worst thing, or worst things, that we
have ever done. Jesus says that we will
be forgiven all our sins, and in the passage from Romans we heard today Paul
says that there is nothing in all of creation that can separate us from God’s
love. Do you believe that? I mean truly believe it, that there is nothing you
can do to separate you from God’s love? Does it ground what you do and how you
live? Not so that you can do anything we want and get away with it, but to know
that when we truly repent, when we turn around, when we change our lives that
redemption is not only possible, but that grace and love are present?
That leads into the conclusion of Return of the Jedi. After Luke
surrenders Vader takes Luke to see the emperor while the rebels are fighting imperial
troops in space and on Endor, and Luke again engages in a battle with Vader.
(Video)
Now it’s one thing to talk about Vader’s redemption, of him
telling Luke that he was right and turning away from the dark side, which the
taking off of the helmet represents, as those who saw Revenge of the Sith may
remember that the last thing that happens for Anakin to become Vader is the
mask coming on, which we see from a first hand perspective. But do we really
want to forgive Vader? What about all those who force choked? What about
everyone on Alderaan, which he blew up? Can redemption really apply to him? Is
there really nothing that can separate him from God’s love? Because it’s much
easier to be grateful that God’s grace comes to us, but it’s much harder to
want to extend that to others, especially those whom we consider evil, or at
least those have done evil things. I mean I’ve heard the questions you’ve asked
me, what do with do with Putin? Hitler? Pol Pot? The serial killer they
recently arrested in New York? Can they ever truly be redeemed? Does God’s
love, can God’s love, possibly extend to them? And if yes, some want to wonder,
why? Don’t we want there to be at least some point that is a bridge too far?
And yet, Paul tells us, nothing in all of creation can separate us from God’s
love and if I am going to accept that for myself, then I have to be willing to
accept that for others.
And here’s how I deal with that idea: I leave it to God.
Last week I quoted Dr. King who said that hate was too great a burden to bear
and so he was going to live in love. And I think this is the same. Judgment is
too great a burden to bear, and so I’m going to leave that to God, and I’m
going to live in forgiveness and grace and love. That does not mean we cannot
name evil when it happens, that we cannot call out social injustice and work to
make correct it, because we are called to do that, but to also remember that
the good news for us is good news for others, and just as we have been washed
clean in the waters of baptism, like Amari this morning, so too does the water
of baptism cleanse others. And we have to remember that while it might seem
that evil and hate are powerful, that love wins. Just like the rebels win. And
I would rather settle on a love that I don’t understand than on judgment and
hate that I understand all too well. And what Jesus tells us is that the angels
in heaven rejoice for that one lost sheep who is returned to the fold, because the
son of man came to see out and save the lost.
When the original Star Wars trilogy began in 1977 and was completed with the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, we thought it was about the path and journey of Luke Skywalker. But, as it turned out, it wasn’t about Luke at all. Instead it was about the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker, the man who became Darth Vader. The good news for us, the good news for the world, the lost and the found, is that God did not withhold even God’s own son from us because there is nothing which can separate us from the love of God. When we seek forgiveness, forgiveness will be given, to you, to me, to everyone, even Darth Vader, that redemption and salvation are possible, and in that we should give thanks. I pray that it will be so my brothers and sisters. Amen.
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