Pineridge Blog

Happy Star Wars Day, May the Fourth be with you!

The picture that I posted is from a bootleg of a bootleg of the Revenge of the Sith, the third and final (or so we thought) episode in the original series of movies.  This is what happens when you translate an English movie into Chinese subtitles and then back into English subtitles.

I couldn’t find the original line, but my guess is that it had something to do with “elders”, in this case of the elders of the Council not being please with young Anikan Skywalker, a.k.a., Darth Vader.  Presbyterian comes from the Greek word that means “elder.”

Presbyterians are unique in all the world, because elders are not only elected by a local church, but then they are ordained.  They truly become elders in a special worship service as they are recognized as having been called by God to serve not just as political leaders but more so as spiritual leaders in the church.

What it really means to have elders is that we believe we are stronger together than we are alone.  No one has the whole truth, but we come together each sharing our truth and trusting the Spirit who is “the way, the truth, and the life” calls us forward together to a deeper truth.

Now that I think about it, maybe there really isn’t too much difference between Star Wars and the Presbyterian Church.  Not that we Presbyterians carry light sabers or fly around in space ships, but that at the heart of our belief is a deep trust in an unseen “force” that is leading us and guiding us.  This force is the Spirit of the Living God who calls women and men to come together in the name of life, love and trust in God to be the church in and to the world.

So on this Star Wars Day and always, “May the force be with you!”

Peace+,
Jim