Rogue One, a new Star Wars story, plays on the theme of hope, and uses the word as an important fabric for the film. At a pivotal moment of the movie, a character states, "Rebellions are built on hope", and hope is what moves the characters to action, to sacrifice and to ultimate triumph over the forces of evil.
Why is hope so important for these films? When I saw the Star Wars films I did not necessarily think about the cost and the sacrifice that each character has made. Rogue One brings this sacrifice to the forefront. They are fighting against an Empire that seems to be everywhere and that is aided by an Emperor who is in tune with the dark side of the force. Despair can take a hold in the heart and in the mind very quickly… it can paralyze a person, take away their will to live, and, plant the seeds of fear, anger, hate and suffering. We see the characters in the original Star Wars films deal with this in more subtle ways. One of the most repeated conversations in the films is about odds. In a scene from Empire Strikes Back C3PO feels compeled to share some data: "Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1," to which Han Solo replies, "Never tell me the odds," implying a willingness and a hope to defy the most impossible of situations.
In the passage of Matthew, we find Jesus’ family in distress. After the Magi’s visit, Joseph is told in another dream to get out of Bethlehem, because Herod wants to harm the baby. The family manages to escape to Egypt, a different land with a different language, customs and people. But still, there is grief at home… in Herod’s psychotic mind, he must kill all the infant boys in Bethlehem. Families suffer and loose loved ones. Such is the reality of violence in the world. Some escape, some perish.
Matthew’s Christmas story is different than Luke’s. His Christmas is not pretty and sentimental. As R. Allan Culpeper states, in Matthew, tyrants kill children and families escape in the middle of the night. There are no shepherds that come to see the wonder, and no angel sings "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, goodwill" (Luke 2:14). In Luke, there is an explanation about Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem because of the census… but the interesting thing in the gospel of Matthew is that Joseph and Mary lived in Bethlehem when the child is born… so the explanation provided here is how the family ends up in Nazareth.
After leaving Egypt, Matthew states that the family cannot return to Bethlehem. Joseph heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, and he was afraid to go there. He has another dream and ends up going to a new place, Nazareth, and there he makes a new home. So this counts as a double exile. The family has to escape to Egypt, and then has to go to a new place, to an unfamiliar place where they have to start from zero.
All of these occurrences can certainly affect the spirit of any family. They might have felt discouraged, nervous, afraid, desperate, alone. The only thing that gives hope to this particular family is a provident God, that guides them so that Jesus will be able to become the Savior, the fulfillment of God’s promise and grace. There will always be violence. There will always be violent forces that seek to destroy life… but in the midst of all of this, God’s providence somehow manages to be a beacon of hope to humanity.
R. Allan Culpeper says that this story calls for us, as observers of Jesus’ birth to renew our hopes. Sometimes the reasons to believe in God’s love and providence will not be apparent. But if we look intently, if we seek God’s sings of love in the birth, the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus, Matthew believes that we will find the strength to have new hope each day. The gospel challenges us to see the things that are possible, to affirm that even if there is violence, and war, and darkness, God is still working, even in the midst of the worst things. We might not be able to celebrate a lot of things this year… but the one thing that we can celebrate, is God’s love, and God’s promise and call for peace. In this, we might find a renewed hope.
Going back to Rogue One… the last word spoken by a character is precisely “Hope”. This will be the word that will move everything else along, that will still be present somehow in all of the films. This is the word that challenges us in a new year that will bring a new administration, policies, and probably new ways of doing things. Whether we agree with them or not, the church and Christians everywhere in the world are challenged by Matthew’s Christmas story to hope… to depend on God’s providence, to find assurance that God is still at work, even if we don’t understand it or see it… and to somehow share that sense of hope with others. May God give us the strength and the guidance that was given to Joseph and Mary to do so.
And to channel a little bit more of Star Wars... "May the hope of God be with you... always."
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