Sermon for May 4, 2025: Built on Hope based upon Acts 9:1-20

Acts 9:1-20 The Conversion of Saul (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition)

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 

Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 

He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 

Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul.

At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” 

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 

So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

---

     Can you finish this sentence: May the Force.... be with you! What movie universe is that line from? Yes! Star Wars. That is one of the most well-known lines in the first three set of Star Wars movies that came out starting in 1977. Did you know that people loved those three movies so much that they ended up creating not just a bunch more movies, but also tv shows, video games, and tons of books. Some are written by the original writer, George Lucas. But many aren’t! He said once “[t]hese were not stories that I was destined to tell. Instead, they would spring from the imagination of other writers, inspired by the glimpse of a galaxy that Star Wars provided.” I imagine that it must feel pretty good to write a story that so many people love that they want to keep writing, reading, and watching more about the world you created. And, they come to know the world so well that they work to create more of it with you.

     Now, I’ve seen a lot of Star Wars movies and tv shows. I also married someone who really loves Star Wars. Here’s some lessons I’ve learned from Star Wars:

1. Just because someone is cute and cuddly looking, it doesn’t mean that they can’t eat you. (see Ewok: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ewok)
2. Just because someone speaks in a way that is different than lots of people around them, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t wise. In fact, they can be a very good teacher. (see Yoda: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Yoda)
3. Sometimes people who have done many good things can also make big mistakes with consequences that harm people. It is important for them to take accountability for those actions. (See Luke Skywalker especially in The Rise of Skywalker: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Luke_Skywalker and Sol from The Acolyte: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sol)
4. Good leaders are willing to make sacrifices, even really big ones, to save the people they care about. (See Admiral Holdo: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Amilyn_Holdo)
5. Just because you are taught to hurt people from the time you are little, that doesn’t mean you have to keep hurting people. You can listen to that small voice in your heart telling you to stop. (See Finn: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Finn)
6. It is better to be inspired by love than hate. The world you build will be stronger for it. (See Rose Tico: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rose_Tico)

     The fans of Star Wars get pretty creative, too. They hold conventions where some of them dress up in home-made, elaborate costumes that they spend hours and hours crafting. They write stories that they share among each other and make their own art inspired by the whole Star Wars universe. They even decided that May the 4th, because it sounds like “may the force” could be a good day for fans everywhere to celebrate this world that they love. Since I know some preachers who planned to bring in a little Star Wars into their services, I decided to try to, too.

     So many of the fans are inspired by what they love. But, a lot of them also get really angry about choices that the writers and directors in more recent Star Wars movies and shows have made. And, a lot of them get mad about how other fans respond to Star Wars. They go online and say mean and cruel things about writers, directors, actors, and other fans. I am most disturbed by how frequently the critiques come from fans who don’t like that there are more women characters and characters played by people of color in the newer movies and shows. Some actors who have played characters in Star Wars movies and shows have shared that their own health has been impacted by the racist and sexist bullying they’ve received from angry fans. Oftentimes, their bosses don’t even stand up for them to try and stop the harassment. Other actors who have been harassed will, and sometimes actors who haven’t been targeted will, too. But, it can make it really hard to enjoy your job when thousands of people are being so cruel to you, and working together to make your life harder.

     When on-line discussions of Star Wars get really cruel, fans target other fans, too. They can intentionally try to hurt them because they have the gall to like something that the meanest fans don’t believe belongs in Star Wars.  Women, LGBTQ people, and people of color in fan spaces are often targets organized campaigns of cruelty. I myself don’t participate in some fan stuff that should be fun because I’ve seen people who claim to love this story about an underdog rebellion fighting an evil empire turn around and act just like the villains in the movie. It feels a lot to me like churches that say they want to follow Jesus and, then go be cruel to poor people, immigrants, and women, and celebrate people being imprisoned. Of course, some people might not trust Christians if the loudest ones they hear are awful. Of course, some people are wary of Star Wars fans when they’ve seen some of them behave so badly.

     Today’s scripture is a story about someone who cares deeply about his faith. He’s passionate in a way that is familiar, isn’t it? He is sure he understands something the right way and is prepared to go after people who understand it the wrong way. And, he will use everything he has, which includes the privileges of Roman citizenship and his intense education in his religious traditions, to help punish people whom he is sure believe the wrong thing. Amy Ogden, in her commentary on Saul’s conversion, points out that he’s not just a persecutor for persecution’s sake. He is targeting people who believe fundamentally misunderstand their shared traditions. The choices to interpret the sacred stories differently than he does feel like a threat to him. So, he feels justified in harassing them. As Ogden says, Saul is “someone trying to do the right thing in order to strengthen the people of God.” The problem is that he is driven more by his hatred of what he deems bad interpretations than his love of neighbor as required by God.

     Thank goodness the risen Jesus shows up like the ghost of a Jedi to tell him that this is not the way. Jesus instructs him to give up this violent quest for purity, and instead recommit to their shared religious values of love of God and neighbor. The Spirit Jesus makes clear that Jesus’ particular interpretation of the faith isn’t a threat to Saul’s beliefs. Instead, Jesus offers a new way to live out the most foundational parts of the faith. Saul, who is devout in a way that makes it hard for him to try something different, has to be convinced to change in a dramatic scene involving a flash of light and temporary blindness. It sure seems like science fiction. But, as we know, some of the most powerful stories are ones with elements we can’t fully explain. Nevertheless, they show us something true. I can’t explain what exactly happened to Saul on that road any more than I can explain what a midchlorian is, but I can understand that Saul needed to change, and when he had the right lesson, he chose to.

     One lesson I hope we carry with us on this May the Fourth is that we can be passionate about the things we love without harming people that love them differently. Sometimes, when we think we’re being “defenders of faith,” we just might be bullies. May we never be inspired by our ideas and interpretations in ways that make us hateful. Instead, let us live in a spirit of generosity and grace befitting the Christ we claim to love, and build the reign of God on this kind of hope. Saul changed his name to Paul when he realized this was the way. Let us follow Paul in this way, building in hope and acting in love.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
I am grateful for the work of these two pastors in developing liturgy and resources incorporating Star Wars into a typical Sunday Service:

• Jeremy Smith:
  • https://hackingchristianity.net/2025/04/star-wars-liturgy-for-may-the-fourth.html
  • https://hackingchristianity.net/2014/04/order-of-worship-for-starwars-sunday-may-the-fourth-be-with-you.html
• Mitchell Young: https://www.ucc.org/worship-way/may-4-2025-third-sunday-of-easter-year-c/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ95hNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFsRk12MTZzcTBiekVyNzZaAR49DxzqcaK2WYve83ygvl8R132dtbADQjgt_M74ECg2mHdFn4blfHQ0rOdAZQ_aem_iBSdn3D0M9vAq-1X-PkWZQ

​Amy Ogden: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-of-easter-3/commentary-on-acts-91-6-7-20-4

​Some general Star Wars stuff that was useful:

• This list of quotes: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/quotes/
• This background on what used to be called the Extended Universe (this is article with the Lucas quote): https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Legends
• Wanna make your own Star Wars intro-style crawl? https://starwarsintrogenerator.com/

An article about the racist bullying of cast: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/08/30/past-star-wars-actors-support-amandla-stenberg-after-the-acolyte-cancellation/